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Q&A
Rental assistance programs budget and baseline adjustments
1:27:51
ยท
83 sec
Council Member Ayala inquires about the budget for rental assistance programs, noting that actual spending has been higher than the baseline budget. She asks when OMB will increase the baseline budget to reflect current demand levels.
- The budget for rental assistance programs is $1.3 billion in FY25, dropping to $635 million in FY26 and out years
- Director Jiha explains that they monitor the budget and make adjustments to reflect reality
- The issue of 'cliffs' in the budget is mentioned, due to the lack of long-term funding streams
- Jiha emphasizes the need for monitoring on a monthly or quarterly basis to make appropriate adjustments
- Council Member Ayala stresses the need for pushing state and federal government to fund subsidized housing
Diana Ayala
1:27:51
Okay.
1:27:52
The rental assistance programs for HRA you just mentioned.
1:27:55
For the last past several fiscal years, actual spending on rental assistance program has been considerably higher than the baseline budget.
1:28:03
As of the preliminary plan, the budget for all rental assistance programs is 1,300,000,000.0 in fiscal year twenty five, dropping to 635,000,000 in fiscal year twenty six and the out years.
1:28:13
What is the city's current year to date expenditures on rental assistance and how much of that was for city reps, and when will OMB increase the baseline budget for HRA's rental assistance program so that it more accurately reflects the current level of demand?
1:28:26
I know we ask this every year.
1:28:28
We're keep asking.
Jacques Jiha
1:28:30
Again, this is the same issue.
1:28:31
We're trying to monitor to make sure that the agencies monitor the budget, you know, make sure that they implement the policies that are supposed to implement them, the rules that make sure.
1:28:42
So therefore, we're trying to monitor as best as we can those resources.
1:28:47
And as we go along, we make the appropriate adjustment of the budget to reflect the reality.
Diana Ayala
1:28:51
Yeah.
Jacques Jiha
1:28:52
But, again, it's an issue of cliffs, Yeah.
1:28:56
And we have a lot of cliffs in the budget because we don't have a long term funding stream for for those things.
1:29:00
So we have to, you know, monitor them on, you know, on a month or on a quarter by quarter basis and make the appropriate adjustment based on the actual population that we see using the vouchers.
Diana Ayala
1:29:14
Yeah.