By State Statute, the Village of Arlington Heights is allowed to issue bonds for private activity capped at a volume set by formula. The Village must utilize, reserve, or cede its 2021 Home Rule Volume Cap by May 1, 2021, or the authority to allocate this bonding cap will revert to the State of Illinois. At this time, the Village has no use for the 2021 Home Rule Volume Cap other than the opportunity described below and has no requests for purchase of our 2021 Home Rule Volume Cap.   

The Village has the opportunity to participate in collaboration with other Illinois municipalities in offering the Assist Homeownership Program. Through the Assist Homeownership Program, income-eligible credit-worthy home buyers may receive assistance with their closing costs and down payments. They may also qualify for the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program through which program participants may receive a federal income tax credit for up to $2,000 per year for the life of the mortgage thereby reducing the annualized cost of debt service by up to one third.

The Village ceded its 2020 Home Rule Volume Cap for this program, and 17 Arlington Heights homebuyers utilized the Assist Program.

Only the ceding of the 2021 Home Rule Volume Cap is required for Village residents to participate in the Assist Program. There are no costs to the Village, and the program is administered by private home mortgage lenders.   

RECOMMENDATION  

It is recommended that An Ordinance Approving the Transfer of Volume Cap in Connection with Private Activity Bond Issues, and Related Matters, be approved.