Collaborative applicant reports slow HUD contract rollouts, monitoring plans and federal funding threats; ARPA spend-down being tracked

The collaborative applicant reported that, as of the meeting, most HUD contracts for CoC-funded projects had not arrived; only one agency had received a single contract. The collaborative applicant will begin monitoring agency performance in June and is finalizing a monitoring tool modeled on HUD's approach so agencies will be prepared for federal reviews.

ARPA-funded projects and spend-down The collaborative applicant said it has been working with ARPA-funded projects that were behind schedule and had required action plans. Agencies that were behind submitted proposals for responsible spend-down and were in regular contact with collaborative applicant staff and Metro Finance to avoid rush drawdowns that can cause audit findings.

Federal budget and HUD funding risk The collaborative applicant noted the president's proposed "skinny" budget would, if enacted, propose large cuts to HUD homeless assistance grants (the proposal referenced a $532 million cut) and a consolidation proposal that could shift COC programming into ESG; the National Alliance to End Homelessness warned such proposals could end funding for tens of thousands of permanent supportive housing units nationally. The collaborative applicant emphasized this is a proposal and must be passed by Congress.

Ending The collaborative applicant said it will keep agencies informed, begin monitoring in June and work with the Performance Evaluation Committee on any reallocation decisions prompted by spend-down data.