We Support the Pilot Preservation Program

September 8, 2021
RE: Pilot Preservation Program
Dear Teton County Commissioners and Jackson Town Councilors,

Thank you for your support of the Housing Department and its innovative programs. The Housing Department staff is impressive, hard-working, and often underappreciated in public discourse.

The Preservation Program is a rare pro-housing strategy that should appeal to all members of our community. It cuts across the divide of “growth or no-growth,” as it keeps homes available to local workers without building additional units. As such, it should be celebrated as the most uncontroversial housing strategy available, and we hope that you will provide more and more resources to it over time.

All of that said, we understand the concern that resources are going to higher-income community members in this program. We share this concern: as you know, our priority is supporting housing for our community members and local workers in most need (earning less than the median income). Therefore, we support investing additional public funds to reach deeper affordability levels to serve our lower-income residents of Teton County.

As with any program, project, or initiative created by private enterprise, NGOs, or government, we as a community should continue to evaluate its effectiveness. Overall, please continue the Preservation Program, and please make sure that it’s a program available to all of our community members, including working-class and middle-class folks.

Sincerely,

ShelterJH
Clare Stumpf – Coordinator
Mary Erickson, Elizabeth Hutchings, Christine Walker, Mike Welch, Skye Schell, Ash Hermanowski – Board of Directors