ACDS briefs council on nearly $12 million housing trust program, eviction prevention and federal grants

A staff presentation from Arundel Community Development Services (ACDS) at the Anne Arundel County Council's May 12, 2025 hearing outlined the agency's administration of federal HUD entitlement funds, the county's Housing Trust Fund and several locally administered programs intended to address homelessness prevention, rental assistance and affordable housing preservation.

Key points presented by ACDS leadership and senior staff included:

- Federal entitlement funds and timing: The agency said federal HUD entitlement figures for fiscal 2026 were pending final calculation by HUD staff. ACDS asked the council to note that most federal funds (Community Development Block Grant, HOME, Emergency Solutions Grant and Continuum of Care) are not final until HUD issues allocations; ACDS said it expected mid-May HUD notices and was optimistic about level funding for FY26. - Housing Trust Fund size and pipeline: ACDS reported almost $12 million in available Housing Trust Fund resources for the ensuing fiscal year and said the fund has supported preservation and creation of hundreds of units. The agency summarized closed projects in FY24 and FY25 and said three new projects in Odenton, Brooklyn Park/Glen Burnie area and the Gambrills/Gambles area were in the pipeline. - Eviction prevention and tenant assistance: The agency said its streamlined eviction-prevention program is smaller than the COVID-era effort but remains active; ACDS reported preventing hundreds of evictions in recent years (with specific totals presented in the budget slides) and said it expects to prevent roughly 600 evictions in the current fiscal year with allocated funds. ACDS also described the Moving Home program (tenant-based rental assistance) that has helped about 80 households over two years, with roughly half graduating after 12 months and a majority maintaining or increasing income thereafter. - Transitional housing and special programs: ACDS said Housing Trust Fund dollars support group homes and transitional housing, including a Patriot House program for formerly homeless veterans and group homes for people exiting incarceration. ACDS noted planned partnerships with youth-service organizations to expand transitional housing for young people. - Community reinvestment and repair funding (cannabis excise/local share): ACDS is administering the county's Community Reinvestment and Repair program (local cannabis excise allocations) on behalf of a locally appointed commission. ACDS said FY25 allocated about $1,000,000 and FY26 program funding requests would amount to $775,000 and that the ACDS application window was open with a large number of initiated applications.

Why it matters: ACDS manages federal entitlement flows and local housing trust funds that directly finance homelessness prevention, rental vouchers, affordable rental construction and small-scale homeownership programs; these funds are central to county housing policy.

Council comment and next steps: Council members asked about the Literacy Council and community support grant placement (ACDS said the Literacy Council request had been routed through the Community Support Grant process). Council members also asked for a detailed list of grant awards and applicants; ACDS agreed to provide the list for council review.

Ending: ACDS said it would supply HUD final allocation numbers when released and provide council members the list of community support grant awards and detailed pipeline information for Housing Trust Fund projects.