Redondo Beach Housing Authority flags modest Section 8 funding shortfall, board approves quarterly report

The Redondo Beach Housing Authority on Tuesday received and filed a quarterly status report that flagged a modest funding shortfall in the city’s Section 8 rental-assistance program and outlined proposed steps to avoid dropping any current voucher holders.

Housing staff reported the program currently assists 454 households, including 335 elderly or disabled households, and carries projected quarterly housing-assistance payments in the range of $2.1 million. Imelda Delgado, the city’s housing manager, told the board the authority’s HUD portfolio management specialist projects a funding shortfall of "a little over $187,000 by the end of this calendar year." She described a package of corrective actions aimed at closing the gap without removing existing families from assistance.

"We are already taking measures to ensure that we watch all our dollars carefully," Delgado said. She listed planned steps including right-sizing vouchers so that two-member households receive one-bedroom vouchers when appropriate, reducing payment standards tied to published October indexes and using unrestricted administrative fees or HUD-held reserves as contingency funds. Delgado said staff is also contracting with a non-accounting firm to refine financial reporting for HUD.

Elizabeth Pausk, community services director, added that staff met with HUD and believes the corrective steps will allow the authority to continue serving current participants. "It really is modest compared to the size of our program," she said, adding that staff and HUD "all seem to be in line with what it is that we can do to make sure that nobody that's currently on a voucher is impacted by the shortfall."

Board members pressed staff on specifics. Council Member Kaladjitovich recommended more frequent purges of the waiting list and a reapplication requirement to prioritize local residents and employees; Delgado said the authority currently sends annual waiting-list verification letters and that the waiting list is mostly exhausted of the highest-priority local-preference applicants. Board members also asked about special-program vouchers: the authority currently assists 33 VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) vouchers and about 19 emergency housing vouchers; staff noted the emergency vouchers expire in December 2026 and said renewal or set-aside funding would be needed to absorb them permanently.

Board members discussed outreach to the federal delegation. Mayor Light offered to draft letters and work with the city’s federal lobbyist to request supplemental HUD support; the board directed staff to pursue federal outreach in coordination with the city’s lobbyist and to return with follow-up. The Housing Authority then approved a motion to receive and file the quarterly status report on the Section 8 and fair housing programs. The board recorded the action as approved; the transcript records the vote as unanimous but does not list a numeric tally.

Staff said the authority will bring an administrative-plan update to the board next quarter that will include specific numbers for the proposed right-sizing and payment-standard changes. The update will also present any contract language and financial projections before staff implements changes that affect payment levels or voucher sizes.

Notes: The Housing Authority presentation included program counts, waiting-list detail and projected expenditures. Staff emphasized contingency options (administrative fees, HUD-held reserves) and that corrective steps aim to avoid terminating current voucher recipients. The board directed staff to pursue federal advocacy to seek supplemental funding and to return with the administrative-plan update for formal policy changes.