Vermont housing board warns of $16M shortfall; urges preservation, service coordinators and net‑metering extension

Gus Sewick, director for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, told the House Committee on General & Housing on Feb. 19 that the board expects at least $16,000,000 in unmet housing requests to carry into next year even if the Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) passes.

Sewick said the board expects about $37,000,000 in applications for the remainder of the fiscal year and anticipates being able to fund roughly $21,000,000, leaving approximately $16,000,000 unfunded. "If the BAA passes...we'll have about $21,000,000 for the balances here for housing," he said. He told the committee that the broader multi‑year need to meet the board’s pipeline is in the $60 million to $70 million range for the coming fiscal year.

The shortfall matters because the board reported a mix of projects in active pipelines that will be sensitive to available state dollars, including preservation of existing subsidized rental stock, new rental construction,…