As home prices on Whidbey Island increase, officials are trying to find affordable housing for lower income families.

They’re hoping to get a bigger bang for their buck by changing the way money in a fund is doled out.

The county has been collecting a $10 surcharge on every document that is recorded at the Island County Auditor’s Office since 2002. That money helps fund housing projects that benefit low-income families. Between $14,000 and $15,000 a month is collected. Currently $447,000 is in the fund.

Since the fund started, two non-profits, Habitat for Humanity and Goosefoot Community Fund, have received money to buy single-family lots. Goosefoot purchased one lot and Habitat purchased two lots, said Steve Gulliford, executive director for the Housing Authority of Island County.

The authority also used the fund to provide matching money for Marjie’s House, a transitional housing and emergency shelter that was built in Oak Harbor.

Because officials want to see the money pay for larger projects rather than single-home construction, they are approving a change in how the money is apportioned. The fund will now help pay for larger projects that are at least 10 units in size.

“We just want to get the maximum we can and one lot at a time isn’t serving enough people,” said Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard. She is a member of the advisory board that helps decide how the money is spent.

With the change in the type of projects being funded, Habitat for Humanity officials don’t know if they can meet the new 10-unit requirement for funding.

“It would affect us if the source would dry up,” said Harvey Herrigstad, who heads construction for North Whidbey Island for Habitat.

He said Habitat is looking at building multi-family units for three or four families, but it would be difficult for Habitat to find a project large enough to meet the 10-unit requirement. Habitat would have to look at other funding sources to make up for the loss.

Habitat has had people come forward to donate property for homes. For example, six lots in the Red Wing development were recently donated. Habitat has built three homes in the development and there are three to go, Herrigstad said.

Karan Reed, executive director for Island County Habitat for Humanity, said she would like to see the fund still used for home construction.

“I’d hate to see that go to large, multi-family units,” Reed said. She added that home ownership provides stability for families and helps the larger community.

Habitat will continue to look at all options to make it possible for more homes to be built available in the county. To date, Habitat for Humanity has built 13 homes on Whidbey Island.

Reed said Habitat would look at finding enough property sites to meet the 10-unit requirement and work out an arrangement over an extended period of time.

Gulliford said he couldn’t speak for the board that oversees the surcharge funds, but encouraged Habitat to test the waters.

Affordable housing options in Island County are limited. Gulliford said there are several apartment complexes that offer assistance. The federal Section 8 voucher program has 350 households on its waiting list. The program stopped accepting new applications in 2004 and some families have been waiting since 2002 for help. Households receiving Section 8 support pay 30 percent of their paycheck for rent while a voucher pays for the remainder.

Marjie’s House provides short-term housing to help families establish a rental history. However, long-term affordable housing remains a pressing need. The houses currently being built on the island won’t change the situation.

“It’s not affordable,” Gulliford said of the home construction.

The change in the surcharge will allow money to be saved for larger projects. It would probably be used to provide matching money needed to access larger money pools such as the state housing trust fund, Gulliford said. He added it will take a variety of funding sources to pay for a larger project.

The document surcharge was established four years ago following state legislation. Proceeds are overseen by an advisory board, consisting of mayors and members of the affordable housing industry.

All three cities and the county have to approve the change to the document fee. The Coupeville Town Council approved the change during a late-September meeting.

Gulliford said he didn’t know if the other jurisdictions had approved similar motions but he didn’t foresee any problems getting the change approved.