City of Perry

For around 10 years, the City of Perry has benefitted from their participation in the Dallas County Local Housing Trust Fund. At their most recent meeting, the Perry City Council approved a resolution to continue their per capita contribution.

The fund is managed by the City of West Des Moines, and offers funds to homeowners for smaller repairs and enhancements to their houses. Perry contributes $0.75 per capita to the fund, which equates to $5,776.50 for the current fiscal year. However, Mayor Jay Pattee says the citizens of Perry have been able to utilize the funds at a much higher rate than what the City puts in. He believes it has been and will continue to be a valuable resource for Perry as the City looks to improve its housing aesthetic.

“The whole goal, and the reason it’s so important for Perry to be involved in this program, is that it does help improve the overall condition of our housing stock. And that along with compliance issues, that’s what’s going to slowly but surely bring our housing stock up. So it starts to make sense that it isn’t just the one thing where we join this housing trust, but it’s a combination of several things, and the focus is housing in Perry.”

Pattee adds, the tax abatement program on new houses in Perry also applies to improvements made to existing houses that may increase assessed values. In that way, the abatement and housing fund work in concert to help homeowners. If anyone wants to utilize the Housing Trust Fund, they can pick up an application at Perry City Hall.