WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town's Emergency Rental Assistance Program continues to generate interest, but funds still remain for interested applicants, officials with the Affordable Housing Trust said recently.

 

In April, the trustees decided to partner with Pittsfield-based Berkshire Housing Development Corp. to administer a program designed to help residents who have been economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"After a slow start the pace of applications has accelerated," trust Chair Tom Sheldon said last week. "Ten residents have applied since May 1 and more are coming in almost every day. Three residents have been redirected to another program (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) with a higher grant ceiling."

 

The typical grant from the WERAP is expected to be $500, though it could go as high as $1,000 depending upon the applicant's need, the trustees decided.

 

The program was inaugurated with enough money to support about $18,000 in grants. The trust has been funded to date with proceeds from the town's Community Preservation Act assessment. 

 

The trust has applied for $75,000 in unrestricted CPA funds for fiscal year 2021, but the continued postponement of town meeting prevents voters from authorizing the release of that money.

 

At a Select Board meeting last month, one of the members suggested that the town could split up town meeting into two parts, handling more "routine" matters like the town's budget in one meeting while saving for a later date items, like CPA applications, about which voters may feel more passionate and, therefore, be more likely to discuss.

 

The Affordable Housing Trust's Sheldon said this week that he doubts such a division of  business would create a less-attended, more easily socially-distanced town meeting for the town budget warrant articles.

 

"I don't necessarily buy the premise that the operating budget is a 'boring' item in this year of highly unsettled economics and uncertainty in the outlook," Sheldon wrote in a response to a request for comment. "Many taxpayers are likely to be in very different circumstances than they were a year ago."

 

The trust is "highly dependent" on CPA funds to support its program, including its successful DeMayo Mortgage Assistance Program and the emergency rental assistance program.

 

"My hope would be that, if CPA funds are deferred to a later meeting, the town manager and town treasurer would be able to find other funds that would enable the Affordable Housing Trust to administer our programs of rental and mortgage assistance which will be more needed than ever," Sheldon said.

 

The application for the program can be found here.