MACDC's top priorities supported in FY 2020 State Budget

• The Small Business Technical Assistance (SBTA) program's funding increased by 50% from $2 million in FY19 to $3 million in FY20. Additional funding will support new businesses, new jobs and the overall increased economic stability in neighborhoods and towns across the Commonwealth. To learn more about the program and the powerful results for which it's noted, go to MGCC's website;
• Chapter 206 funding available to the Division of Banks was increased by 40% to $2.805 million. This program supports nonprofit housing counseling services that provide homebuyer education and foreclosure prevention counseling;
• Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative: A new $750,000 capacity-building program through MassHousing and MassDevelopment, in coordination with MACDC and MassINC. This program will help local governments and community partners implement neighborhood-level revitalization efforts to address vacant and abandoned properties in Gateway cities and rural areas and convert these buildings into homeownership opportunities and rental housing.  Check out the study released this past January by MassINC and MACDC "Building Communities of Promise and Possibility" upon which this recommendation was drawn;
• CPA Trust Fund: Most recording fees at the Registries of Deeds will be increased from $20 to $50, which would raise an estimated $36 million in additional annual revenue for CPA beginning in 2020, and increase the CPA match for all 175 CPA communities to approximately 30%. The Conference Committee also agreed to language that will authorize up to $20 million from the state's budget surplus to expand the November 2019 distribution. CPA exclusively supports the creation of affordable housing, preservation of historical sites, open space preservation, and development of recreational facilities.