The Housing Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ) applauds the Governor Phil

Murphy's decision to impose a mansion tax but wants the money from that tax allocated to build affordable homes, where funding sustained a budget hit.

Staci Berger, the CEO and President of the HCDNNJ, this morning co-wrote an op-ed in the Bergen Record. From the op-ed:

"The state’s newly expanded mansion tax will generate more than $300 million a year from home sales over $1 million, with higher fees for more expensive properties. This is a smart, progressive move, especially in a state where the housing market has left too many residents behind. The problem: none of that new revenue is being directed to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, or AHTF, New Jersey’s only dedicated source of funding for affordable homes.

"Even worse, this year’s budget raids the Trust Fund itself, diverting millions away from its legally intended purpose. That means fewer resources to build the affordable homes our communities desperately need, at a time when we are already facing a shortfall of nearly 290,000 homes for lower-income residents."

In conjunction with the op-ed and a public awareness campaign targeting billboards on the New Jersey Turnpike, Berger today convened a webinar with the express purpose of urging residents to contact state legislators and Governor Phil Murphy to fix the problem this summer.

Matthew Hersh, vice president of the network for policy, described the negative impact of $150 million absent from a $59 billion budget for affordable housing in a state in the middle of a severe housing shortage.

Noting a 300,000-unit affordable housing deficit in New Jersey, Hersh derided the Murphy Administration's decision to "divert" the mansion funds away from affordable housing and doubled down on Berger's argument for summer restoration of the funds.

"We spend a fair amount of time on the mansion tax and it's great the state adopted that approach, however, the goal of the mansion tax was to create new revenue to create affordable homes," Hersh said.

Edward Bethea, COO of the Gateway Community Action Partnership, described a "tough time for all of us" in the affordable housing network.

"We were excited when the Affordable Trust Fund came about and invested in not only acquiring lots but in personnel so they can work on a fulltime basis," said Bethea, whose partnership needs the program's financial backing to close on applications for 13 affordable homes.  "This is devastating," he said of programming cuts.

Liz DeCoursey, CEO of Morris Habitat for Humanity, said 44 projects in three municipalities are now stuck in limbo, thanks to the FY2026 state budget. "We're kind of stuck," she said.

Said Scott Millard of Passaic County Habitat for Humanity, "Nineteen homes in predevelopment in Paterson will not be built over the next two years... if we do not restore the Affordable Housing Trust Fund."

State Senator Benjie Wimberly (D-35) told InsiderNJ he is presently working on legislation to restore the fund.

"It's a work in progress but after all the good work we've done over the last eight years, and the good work of the Murphy Administration, I don't think the governor wants this to be part of the longterm legacy," said Wimberly.