A $90,000 line item, which would increase the city’s funding to A Regional Coalition for Housing tenfold, drew attention during a mid-biennium budget update at Sammamish City Council earlier this month.

The coalition, commonly referred to as ARCH, is a partnership of Eastside cities mostly in King County with the goal of preserving and increasing the supply of homes for low- and moderate-income households. The city of Sammamish has been a partner for about 15 years.

“Affordable housing is a regional issue,” City Manager Ben Yazici said at the Nov. 10 city council meeting. “The reality, however, is home prices in Sammamish have been raising at a much higher rate than perhaps some of our peer cities.”

The city had earmarked $10,000 for the ARCH contribution in 2016, but city staff suggest increasing that to $100,000.

“We can’t buy potentially one fifth of one unit with a $100,000 contribution,” Yazici continued. “But as we contribute to this pool we will get our share by supporting those projects in the immediate vicinity of the city and those we would benefit from.”

On average, the city donates $61,170 per year, which is less than other Eastside cities and “doesn’t match our leadership role in the world of affordable housing,” Deputy City Manager Lyman Howard said Nov. 10. Since 2014, Howard has been the chair of the ARCH executive board.

There are 15 cities, including Sammamish, that participate in ARCH.

Each city strives to contribute between a low and high annual goal. Sammamish’s annual goal is to give between $25,000-$196,000 to the ARCH trust fund.

In the last 15 years, Sammamish has given the least per year on average in comparison to surrounding cities — Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island and Redmond, according to Howard.

Issaquah, which gives the second most to Bellevue out of that list, has contributed an average of $528,502 per year for the last 15 years, according to Howard.

These contributions include money directly given to ARCH, in-direct monetary assistance like fee waivers and in-kind contributions such as donated land.

In 2009, the city of Sammamish cut its direct monetary funding to ARCH when the council decided to donate property, called the “Lamb House” located off 228th Avenue Southeast near Southeast 20th Street, for a Habitat for Humanity project. The land, valued at around $450,000, wasn’t officially donated until 2012 and later broke ground this year on July 15.

“Over time, the buying power of the ARCH trust fund has diminished,” Howard said.

From the early 1990s to the early 2000s, ARCH funding paid for nearly 1,900 units at $12,172 per unit.

From 2003-2013, however, at almost twice the cost per unit, ARCH funded about 840 units less than it did in the previous decade.

“The demand has never been greater for help in these areas,” Councilmember Tom Odell said Nov. 10. “We’re taking our money and bundling it and putting it in other areas where we do get more bang for our buck.”

Councilmember Nancy Whitten, who was not so keen to make a “policy decision” during a budget update, suggested ARCH was trying to “shame” the city into an increase, which Howard denied.

“There’s no shame in this,” Howard said. “It’s basically just an ask, given the cost of housing in Sammamish and the lack of affordable housing in the region.”

It is within the city’s right to decline the increase.

The increase, under social & human services in the 2016 general fund budget adjustment, is part of the $220.5 million 2015-2016 budget.

The council will have a second reading of the 2016 budget during the Dec. 1 regular meeting in Sammamish City Hall at 6:30 p.m.