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1 WAYNE L. BIGGS, JR. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS AND FINANCE BILL NO. 36-0273 AN ACT AMENDING ACT NO. 8465 REDIRECTING THE APPROPRIATION FROM THE FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS PROGRAM TO THE WILLIAMS DELIGHT COMMUNITY HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM AND THE VI SLICE HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM JUNE 8, 2026 2 Good day – Senator Novelle E. Francis, Jr., Chairman, Committee members, 1 senators of the 36th Legislature, the legislative staff, and the listening and viewing 2 public. I apologize for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority 3 (“VIEDA”) team not being there in person to answer questions directly for reasons 4 explained in my cover letter. I would like to thank the Committee Chair and 5 members of the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance for inviting 6 VIEDA to testify on Bill No. 36-0273 - An act amending Act No. 8465 redirecting the 7 appropriation from the First-Time Homebuyers Program to the Williams Delight 8 Community Homeownership Program and the VI Slice Homeownership Program 9 and provide a status update on the VI Slice Moderate Income Homeownership 10 Program (“VI Slice”). 11 12 Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority (VIEDA) 13 The VIEDA is the umbrella organization that assumes, integrates, and unifies 14 the functions of the following subsidiary entities: the Economic Development Bank 15 (“EDB”), the Economic Development Commission (“EDC”), the Enterprise Zone 16 Commission (“EZC”), and the Economic Development Park Corporation (“EDPC”). 17 It is a semi-autonomous governmental instrumentality responsible for the 18 Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority Monday, June 6, 2026 3 development, promotion, and enhancement of the economy of the United States 19 Virgin Islands. 20 The basic objectives of the VIEDA are to promote the growth, development, and 21 diversification of the economy of the United States Virgin Islands; to create 22 opportunities for the gainful employment of residents; to promote access to 23 capital; to contribute to the development of the educational system; and to 24 preserve the environment, beauty, and natural resources of the Territory. 25 26 VI Slice Moderate Income Homeownership Program (VI Slice) 27 The VIEDA was charged by the Honorable Governor Albert Bryan, Jr., with 28 administering the VI Slice Moderate Income Homeownership Program known as VI 29 Slice. The primary goal of VI Slice is to establish opportunities that may increase 30 homeownership rates amongst moderate-income households in the U.S. Virgin 31 Islands by offering “Gap Financing”. The program supports long-term sustainability, 32 resiliency, and economic viability across the Territory by providing financial 33 assistance to expand affordable homeownership opportunities to first-time 34 homeowners. VI Slice is a “Gap Financing” Program funded through the American 35 Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) grant. To date, the aggregate total of the grant amount 36 received is $10M. It is administered by the Virgin Islands Economic Development 37 Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority Monday, June 6, 2026 4 Authority (USVIEDA) in partnership with the Office of Disaster Recovery ("ODR”) 38 and the Office of the Governor, with participation from the Territory's mortgage 39 lending institutions. 40 41 What is Gap Financing? 42 Gap Financing is supplemental funding to help applicants bridge the “gap" or 43 shortfall between the overall project cost and the amount secured through a 44 primary lender. 45 46 Supported Activities 47 VI Slice supports three (3) activities at the levels indicated under each item. Levels 48 can be combined as needed. However, the VI Slice maximum aggregate gap 49 financing amount is $200K. 50 • Home Purchase without or with rehabilitation, if necessary, to make 51 the house livable and bring up to current building codes, (Limit: 52 $200K), 53 • New Construction (Limit: $200K), and 54 • Down Payment & Closing Costs Assistance (Limit: $100K). 55 56 Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority Monday, June 6, 2026 5 Eligibility 57 VI Slice eligibility requirements can be found online at the VI Slice website at 58 www.vislice.com. It is important to note that if the Primary Participating Lender’s 59 mortgage requirements are more liberal than VI Slice Program financing 60 requirements, the Primary Participating Lender’s mortgage requirements are 61 utilized when evaluating the Primary Participating Lender’s VI Slice gap financing 62 request. 63 64 VI Slice Status Update 65 As of May 31st, 2026, 117 applications have been received requesting VI Slice 66 gap financing of $12,521,149.49 for overall primary lender financing of 67 $36,358,345.00. Eighty-seven (87) applications have been approved totaling 68 $8,970,989.05 in VI Slice gap financing with primary lender financing of 69 $26,497,226.00. 70 Of the 87 approved applications, 58 have been approved for St. Croix totaling 71 VI Slice gap financing of $5,143,275.98 with primary lender financing of 72 $16,618,476.00, 28 have been approved for St. Thomas totaling VI Slice gap 73 financing of $3,659,142.92 with primary lender financing of $9,378,750.00, and one 74 (1) has been approved for St. John totaling VI Slice gap financing of $168,570.15 75 Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority Monday, June 6, 2026 6 with primary lender financing of $500,000.00. Eighty-four (84) VI Slice transactions 76 have closed and are fully disbursed totaling $8,663,900.77 in VI Slice gap financing 77 with primary lender financing of $25,564,904.00 and three (3) approved VI Slice 78 transactions are pending closing totaling $307,088.28 in VI Slice gap financing with 79 primary lender financing of $932,322.00. 80 One (1) St. Croix application for “New Home Construction” is in the final 81 review stage of the decision process totaling $167,000.00 in VI Slice gap financing 82 with primary lender financing of $369,000.00, and one (1) St. John application for 83 “New Home Construction” is pending the submission of supplement documents to 84 be decisioned totaling $200,000.00 in VI Slice gap financing with primary lender 85 financing of $428,000.00. 86 Seventeen (17) applications were withdrawn by the primary financing 87 lender, and four (4) applications were withdrawn by VIEDA/EDB due to inactivity. 88 Three (3) applications were declined by the primary financing lender, and four (4) 89 applications were declined by the VIEDA/EDB due to eligibility. 90 The VI Slice online application portal is currently closed due to the depletion 91 of funding. 92 93 94 Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority Monday, June 6, 2026 7 Bill No. 36-0273 95 As it pertains to Bill No. 36-0273, VIEDA welcomes the additional funding 96 within the Bill for the VI Slice Moderate Income Homeownership Program. VI Slice 97 has been administered effectively and efficiently by the VIEDA/EDB team. It is a 98 successful and valued community program that assists Virgin Islands residents with 99 bringing their dreams of homeownership to fruition. It supports long-term 100 sustainability, resiliency, and economic viability across the Territory by providing 101 financial assistance to expand affordable homeownership opportunities to first- 102 time homeowners. 103 Although the online application portal is currently closed, the demand for VI 104 Slice gap financing remains constant. VIEDA/EDB receives daily inquiries from 105 residents and mortgage lending institutions. The last VI Slice funding amount of 106 $2M was received in late January 2026. VIEDA was forced to close the online 107 application portal approximately 60 days later in March 2026 due to the high 108 demand for gap financing that quickly exhausted the $2M appropriation. The more 109 funding received for VI Slice, the greater impact on the potential for 110 homeownership for residents of the territory. VI Slice has a direct impact on and 111 correlation to homeownership for moderate income families. The VIEDA fully 112 supports Bill No. 36-0273, an act amending Act No. 8465 redirecting the 113 Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority Monday, June 6, 2026 8 appropriation from the First-Time Homebuyers Program to the Williams Delight 114 Community Homeownership Program and the VI Slice Homeownership Program. 115 116 Individuals seeking more information regarding the program can visit the VI 117 Slice website at www.vislice.com or send an email request to vislice@usvieda.org. 118 Thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony on Bill No. 36-0273 119 and a status update on behalf of the VIEDA on the VI Slice Moderate Income 120 Homeownership Program to the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and 121 Finance. 122