Vermont affordable housing advocates, including VHFA Executive Director Sarah Carpenter, are testifying to the House Ways and Means Committee today.

The subject is the House tax expenditure budget bill, which proposes to eliminate the state Affordable Housing Tax Credit, along with the Charitable Housing Tax Credit and Mobile Home Park Sale Credit.

Federal housing credits have been responsible for most of the affordable housing development in the nation, including Vermont, since Congress created the program in 1987.

The Vermont Fuel Efficiency Partnership (VFEP), in cooperation with VHFA and Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB), is encouraging all owners/managers of subsidized rental properties in Vermont to complete a new online energy survey.

The survey will help VFEP determine where to best allocate resources to improve energy efficiency. Properties will be selected based on their level of fuel use as a function of their size and climate, and opportunities for savings.

Take the survey now.

VHFA's first wellness event of 2010 starts next week when staffers compete to see who can climb the most stairs in a 4-week period.

The Agency's headquarters are located in a three-story building at the corner of Main and Saint Paul streets in Burlington. Much to the detriment of guts and butts, the building is also equipped with a (mostly) functional elevator.

During a similar challenge in 2008, staff collectively logged 3,780 flights of stairs.

The final report of the Vermont Rental Housing Safety & Habitability Committee is available online.

VHFA Executive Director Sarah Carpenter chaired the 14-member committee over the last two years, and presented its recommendations to a legislative committee last week.

Read more about the initiative in our previous post, and download a copy of the report.