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Affordable Housing Commission says limited use-tax allocation and ARPA timing strain ability to meet demand
Summary
April Ford Griffin, executive director of the Affordable Housing Commission, told the Budget Committee that the commission’s FY26 budget centers on a $5.6 million subsidy line while statutory expectations and ARPA timing complicate the commission’s ability to meet growing housing needs.
April Ford Griffin, executive director of the City of St. Louis Affordable Housing Commission (AHC), briefed the Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 21 about the commission’s FY26 budget and the role of the affordable housing trust fund.
Griffin said the commission’s proposed FY26 budget totals $6,513,175, with the bulk of that in a subsidy/housing-assistance line item ($5,555,512). She described the commission’s annual competitive funding round, which in the most recent cycle produced about $4.7 million in program awards (37 nonprofit programs) and $2.0 million toward housing development that will create 88 rental units. The AHC has invested approximately $150.7 million in St. Louis housing and programs since 2003 and has produced or preserved 2,728 affordable units, Griffin said.
Why it matters: Griffin emphasized that the enabling ordinance for the trust fund requires the commission receive no less than $5 million annually from the dedicated use-tax revenue, a pledge from the fund’s origin. She said recent budgets have reduced the commission’s annual allocation below full potential and that recaptured funds from closed projects and personnel savings have helped the commission carry program funding this year.
ARPA timing and tornado impacts: Griffin said several ARPA-funded developments and contracts are in progress; she and staff are surveying awardees to check whether tornado damage will delay projects or increase requests for additional funds because construction bids and material costs have risen. She noted that some ARPA deadlines for fund liquidation could complicate projects if delays occur.
Program mix and priorities: The commission funds both development (about one-third of funding historically) and services (about two-thirds), including homeless prevention, home repair, tenant legal assistance, eviction prevention and workforce programs tied to housing stability. Awardees this round included nonprofit homeless-service providers and developers whose projects will create mixed-income rental units.
Office capacity and transparency: Griffin said the commission has seven permanent positions but carried vacancies and that staffing savings plus loan repayments and contract closeouts helped the commission’s FY26 numbers. She pointed committee members to the commission’s annual report and project-level documents the commission posts to city files for transparency. Griffin said the AHC aims to be nimble in deploying funds — a flexibility she noted is greater for the trust fund than for HUD or other federally constrained funding sources — and that the commission can amend existing nonprofit contracts to move money quickly when emergencies arise.
The committee did not vote on AHC allocations at the hearing; members thanked the director for the annual report and asked staff to continue monitoring ARPA timelines and storm impacts on housing projects.
