The Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee reviewed several HIF and CIP items on April 22, including a proposed $1.509 million increase for the homebuyer down‑payment assistance program (bringing the base to $5.509 million), a proposal for $500,000 in countywide facade easement state aid, and a $75 million allocation in taxable bonds for the Affordable Housing Acquisition and Preservation CIP for FY26.

Why it matters: the HIF and CIP items support homeownership assistance and preservation of affordable housing in Montgomery County. Committee members debated whether a portion of the recommended HIF increase intended for contractor‑provided homeownership counseling would be better placed directly into down‑payment assistance to reach more buyers immediately.

What the committee decided: committee members split on the technical assistance contracts included in the executive recommendation. After discussion, the committee registered a 2–1 recommendation (committee advisory) that more of the new funds be routed directly to prospective buyers, rather than pay for two new counseling contracts; the committee also recommended placing an additional proposed $5.5 million in general fund transfers to HIF (to expand down‑payment assistance) on the reconciliation list for full Council consideration. The committee recorded a 3–0 recommendation to include the HIF increase for down‑payment assistance in the recommended budget subject to staff clarifications and asked staff to provide demographic and equity breakdowns of the program’s recipients.

CIP changes: the committee reviewed two CIP amendments: (1) a countywide facade easement program that programs $500,000 of state aid in FY25 to fund façade easement projects, and (2) the Affordable Housing Acquisition and Preservation CIP, which the executive proposed to fund with $75 million in taxable bonds in FY26. Staff said the debt service for the $75 million issuance would be covered by HIF. Committee staff reported no objection to moving the CIP amendments forward as presented; final appropriation decisions occur in the council reconciliation and adoption process.

Montgomery Housing Partnership request: the committee also received a late request from Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP) seeking $200,000 to preserve an early‑education/after‑school program at a community center on one of MHP’s properties. Committee members asked DHCA to review eligibility and funding source options (HIF, CDBG, general fund) and report back; no formal committee appropriation or approval was made on the request at the hearing.

Follow up: DHCA agreed to provide data showing who received down‑payment assistance in FY25 (demographics and geographic distribution), to explain how the proposed vendor contracts would target underserved groups, and to show the program‑level impact of directing more dollars to direct assistance vs. technical assistance contracts. The committee will forward its recommendations and the requested analyses to the full Council for reconciliation and final budget action.