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Pima County will put $1.5 million in affordable-housing bond funds toward protecting neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosures and vacant homes.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to apply the bond funds to the county's Foreclosure Prevention Program.

The bond funds will be used along with $3 million in federal funds to buy homes that have been abandoned or foreclosed upon in the neighborhoods worst hit by foreclosures in Tucson and Pima County.

Pima County Affordable Housing Program Manager Betty Villegas said some of the details still need to be worked out, but the plan is for the county to buy homes that have been foreclosed on, fix them up if necessary and rent them out as affordable housing.

While it will not specifically prevent additional foreclosures, the program will make more affordable housing available while shoring up home values in hard-hit neighborhoods by keeping these houses off the market at bank-owned prices.

To have the most impact, the program will focus on three ZIP codes that have the highest foreclosure rates in Tucson — 85706, 85713 and 85746 — all on the Southwest and South sides.

The county also may use some of the federal funds to buy homes to resell as affordable housing.

Republican Supervisors Ann Day and Ray Carroll asked whether the money would be spent throughout the county or only in certain areas. They said their districts on the Northwest and Southeast Sides, respectively, have been hit hard by foreclosures as well.

Democratic Supervisor Richard Elías said the money would make a much bigger difference if it were concentrated in a few neighborhoods, rather than disbursed throughout the county.

Villegas estimated the bond funds would be enough to buy 12 or 13 homes.

The county also has a number of foreclosure-prevention programs, including counseling for homeowners and state funds to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

For more information, call 792-3087 or www.dbtaz.org.