Northwestern Wisconsin Counties Share Funds To Rehabilitate Homes

Nine counties in northwestern Wisconsin have formed a regional housing group with the goal of sharing funds to rehabilitate homes.

Sheldon Johnson is with the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, which represents 10 counties. He said that nine of those counties have formed a regional housing group to share money awarded from the state’s housing division. Johnson said some counties have never received housing rehab funds.

“For example, Burnett County and Price County — they had applied in the past,” Johnson said. “But they were never successful in receiving housing rehabilitation funds.”

The program provides no-interest loans to eligible homeowners based on household size and a sliding fee scale. The group is being awarded about $1.3 million for fixing homes and providing down payment assistance through 2015.