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11 Mr. Rick Turner said he was surprised that Council has not called an emergency meeting about the mortgage lending rates. He said that has tarnished the image of the City. He said the National NAACP has filed a lawsuit against lenders. He said he hopes the City looks at the matter, and said U. Va., the Chamber of Commerce, and Piedmont Housing Alliance should be involved in the discussion. He said it will have a devastating effect on the current structure of our city. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Norris said he understands that Piedmont Housing Alliance is planning a community meeting about the high mortgage rates and wants to see what concrete steps the community can take. Ms. Hamilton said that 48% of the subprime loans are to African Americans, 11% are to whites, and 45% of the African Americans are low to moderate income. She noted that the article only appeared in the paper on Friday, and asked that Mr. Turner give Council credit for bringing it up at this meeting. Dr. Brown said the City should fully participate in the discussions about this issue. Ms. Hamilton said we need to find out what we can do about the issue of banks preying on people. Mr. Taliaferro said he would like to see a list of the institutions. Dr. Brown said that Delegate Toscano organized a meeting to make sure people are aware of the earned income tax credit. Also discussed was predatory lending and people not having access to banking. He said we should have policies in place in the community. Ms. Hamilton said that the Rose Hill neighborhood plan in the Comprehensive Plan includes the need for that community to have access to a bank. Mr. Lynch said we should also find out if the article was specific to the City of Charlottesville or the Charlottesville area. Dr. Brown said he has met with Ken Boyd, Chairman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, and staff to discuss the IMPACT recommendation of an affordable housing committee. He said the recommendation is to create a task force composed of a Council member, Board member, Planning Commission member, City Housing Committee, U. Va., Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, and nonprofits (AHIP, Habitat for Humanity, and Piedmont Housing Alliance). He said the focus will be on low income rental and special needs housing. He asked for Council’s approval and input. He said he would also like to identify a chair or facilitator. Mr. Norris said he would like to clarify that the recommendation is not to merge the City and County housing groups into one. Dr. Brown said that is not the recommendation. He said the hybrid group will focus on what issues are not being met. It was the consensus of Council to approve the charge and membership of the Task Force. Referring to the recent newspaper article about police hiring bonuses, Mr. Taliaferro said he understands the reason for the hiring bonuses, but is concerned that it can cause compression and creates morale issues when new hires make more than longer term employees. Mr. Lynch said Council has supported public safety greater than general employees, and expressed concern that they are now getting something new.