A $100,000 down payment assistance program for Bloomington police and firefighters will finally take effect 10 months after it was introduced.
Using a combination of department funds and city general funds, the city will pay off no-interest home loans in increments of $10,000 over 10 years.
Mayor John Hamilton said the program will help emergency responders become part of the community they serve. He added that fewer than 10 percent of Bloomington police officers live in the city.
“The interactions and the relationship between police forces historically have can be very fraught with parts of our communities or whole communities,” Hamilton said. “One of the things this program tries to do is to help make it possible for more first responders, police and fire, to live in the community.”
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Hamilton said the city spent the last 10 months finding the right lender. It settled with FAHE, a network of housing nonprofits based in Appalachia.
To become eligible, officers and firefighters have to either work for the city at least one year or enter the force with three years’ experience from another department. Ten police officers and 10 firefighters will be eligible on a first-come-first-served basis.
“I hope it'll be soon,” Hamilton said. “We've had a handful, half a dozen or more, indicate interest in the last few months.”
The city hopes this incentive will also attract more qualified applicants.
The program exists alongside a pre-existing one-time $18,000 down-payment assistance program, but emergency responders can only take advantage of one or the other.
