Housing department seeks flat FY26 operating budget while warning staffing limits could curb down-payment and home-repair aid

Ashley Cash, director of the Division of Housing and Community Development, told the Memphis City Council Budget Committee on May 13 that the department’s FY26 operating request is essentially flat compared with FY25 and that personnel costs remain the largest share of the budget.

Cash said department priorities include down‑payment assistance, community development grants, home‑repair assistance, construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing and homelessness initiatives. “Personnel and having adequate staffing or adequate funding for our personnel staff is just key to our whole operation,” Cash said.

The department’s authorized complement is 70 positions, Cash said, with a hiring freeze covering some administrative slots and several vacancies across program areas. Cash told council members there are roughly eight positions ready to post when the hiring freeze is lifted and that 11 positions are funded by federal grants.

Down‑payment assistance (DPA) remains a major component. Cash said the program offers awards up to $25,000 for first‑time buyers who meet income limits (about 80% of area median income or targeted occupations such as police, fire and teachers) and that HCD has funded about 87 DPA grants to date, targeted in ZIP codes including Hickory Hill, Binghampton and parts of Frayser. Community development micro‑grants (up to about $15,000) funded about 21 organizations in FY25 and HCD reported $300,000 deployed with $132,000 encumbered for remaining projects.

On home repair, Cash said operating funds pay staffing that administers several programs — lead remediation, weatherization and larger repairs such as new roofs or HVAC — and that HCD funded roughly 90 home repairs in FY25 at about $1.4 million total. Cash and council members emphasized that repairs for owner‑occupied homes involve more paperwork and in‑home coordination and can escalate in cost once contractors begin work.

Cash reported that HCD and partners completed 353 affordable housing units in FY25 and have about 300 more units in the pipeline, supported by roughly $11.7 million in funding that includes federal grants and trust funds. On homelessness, Cash said HCD spends federal Emergency Solutions Grant dollars and other funding to support services—she cited support for about 87 families and 210 individuals in the prior year through rapid rehousing, outreach and supportive services.

Council members asked for additional program metrics and locations. Chair Carlisle urged colleagues to review the department’s annual review and meet with HCD staff to understand federal funding flows and program details. Council members requested baseline metrics and trend data: average DPA award amount and the geographic distribution of recipients, more granular summaries of awarded affordable‑housing projects, and clearer tracking of home‑repair costs and program outcomes.

Cash said the FY26 operating request reduces materials and supplies modestly and totals about $44,000 less than FY25, but she warned any significant federal entitlement cuts could require reprogramming or discussions with administration and council on program priorities.

The presentation closed with plans to track response time and service delivery metrics as key performance indicators to improve efficiency and customer responsiveness.

For now, HCD staff said they will continue to manage programs within the current operating request while preparing additional metrics for council follow‑up.