At its Oct. 15 meeting, the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority heard staff say financials are stable overall, HUD funding for housing choice voucher accounts has been restored through Dec. 31, and the authority recently drew down a service‑coordinator grant that will show in the next report.

"Overall, when we go to our financials, we are in pretty good shape," staff reported. They said overall local community development income is about $108,000 below budget year‑to‑date but that expenditures are also below budget. The service‑coordinator grant — described by staff as roughly $58,000 and received Oct. 1 — will appear in the next financial report and is expected to improve the year‑to‑date position.

Staff told the board the Housing Choice Voucher program reported year‑to‑date income of about $6.8 million and this month's receipts exceeded budget (this month: $861,000 received vs. $652,000 budgeted). The authority also received additional shortfall funding in a prior year that increased program resources. Staff said HUD notified the authority last week that accounts are funded through the end of the year.

Board members discussed utility costs and operational items. Staff said electrical costs are rising and will continue to be monitored; the authority noted one rooftop chiller replacement and a sewer line replacement this month as capital expenditures of roughly $30,000 each. Staff also highlighted successful solar installations, saying payback initially projected at about 22 years occurred in roughly 11 years for one project.

Program and operations updates: staff reported 7,744 vouchers under lease and 231 not issued. The authority's project‑based waiting lists and tenant‑based lists combine for more than 4,000 people: about 1,600 on project‑based lists and about 2,500 on the tenant‑based voucher list. Staff said one‑bedroom unit demand is highest (764 on the one‑bed waiting list). Maintenance reported high activity (1,191 work orders year‑to‑date and 28 unit turns) and closed emergency work orders within 48 hours.

Construction and development updates included progress on Commerce Village 2 (final punch‑list and testing expected in November) and ongoing underwriting and lender coordination on the Locust project; staff said floodplain revisions required plan changes and have moved some residential units to upper floors with elevated structure beneath.

Homeless services funding: staff warned of federal and regional changes that could affect Continuum of Care (CoC) funding. They said some administrative directions are moving away from multi‑year commitments and restricting certain harm‑reduction activities from being funded. Staff said the CoC is proposing to cap supportive housing allocations at roughly 3% of certain funding streams, which staff said could jeopardize long‑term supportive housing for some residents.

The board approved the month’s financial and management reports by motion. Staff said they are exploring short‑term investment options for unencumbered reserves (7‑month CDs, money market accounts, and municipal league options) while retaining liquidity.

The authority also noted a resident from Franklin Heights won a national "What Home Means To Me" award; staff said they will distribute commemorative calendars to board members when available.

The board approved minutes for its Sept. 17 meeting and accepted management and nonprofit 501(c)(3) related actions presented during the meeting.