Salem Housing Authority adopts FY2025–26 operating budgets; director reports RAD relief, struggles reaching voucher applicants

The Housing Authority of the City of Salem on Monday adopted consolidated operating budgets for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 and authorized the commission chair to sign the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development public housing budget certification, officials said. In an information report, Housing Director Nicole Yoots outlined recent staffing changes, outreach efforts and a potential federal change to Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) rules that she said could increase funding for converted public housing projects.

Yoots told commissioners that Salem Housing Authority (SHA) staff had pulled 200 names from the agency's Housing Choice Voucher waiting list for lease-up for the first time since February 2023, but that many contacts were not successful. "Of those, 86 were returned as undeliverable and 65 individuals did not respond, leaving only 49 families for us to continue to work with," she said. Yoots said the agency is removing returned addresses and exploring email or other electronic notification to reduce costs and undeliverable mailings.

Why it matters: The budget vote allows SHA to complete HUD budget certification and continue operations that serve more than 9,000 residents, while the RAD update and voucher outreach signal potential changes in federal policy and on-the-ground capacity to place households quickly when housing openings arise.

SHA budget adoption and vote SHA's consent calendar included adoption of Resolution No. 2320, approving the consolidated operating budgets for FY2025 and FY2026 and authorizing the commission chair to execute the HUD public housing budget certification. Vice Chair Gwynn moved approval of the consent calendar and Commissioner Vang seconded. The record roll-call vote was recorded as Aye: Commissioners Brown, Vang, Nordyke, Varney, Matthews, Gwynn and Chair Nicioka. Commissioners Teigen and Resident Commissioner Vegas were absent. The motion passed.

RAD waiver: potential budget relief for converted public housing Yoots told the commission that HUD has indicated a new option allowing RAD properties to request a one-time "good cause" waiver that would permit the use of an adjusted standard for calculating tenant rents if projects can demonstrate cost increases outside their control. She said SHA and staff advocacy helped push the change. "When we approached this topic with HUD headquarters three plus years ago, we were informed this would literally take an act of Congress. And I'm pleased to stand here tonight to be able to say that Salem Housing Authority and Jessica Plagley took that challenge on and never let down on the advocacy for change for this program," Yoots said. She said the waiver could produce a substantial increase in RAD portfolio budgets and enable assistance to residents SHA previously could not serve because rents were too low to cover costs.

Voucher outreach and lease-up challenges Yoots reported the agency removed multiple names from the Housing Choice Voucher waiting list after mailings were returned. She characterized the returned-mail problem as one driver of low lease-up yields and said SHA had pulled 200 names for outreach in July; the agency removed returned names and is testing alternatives such as email notifications to reach applicants more reliably while containing mailing costs. The presentation included two different counts for returned mail in the same report (86 and later 43); SHA staff said the agency is reviewing the list and removing undeliverable addresses. (Transcript note: SHA presented both figures during the meeting.)

Other program and partnership updates Yoots told commissioners SHA completed several management occupancy reviews by the Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and has expanded resident services, including a family self-sufficiency program and a resident services pilot. She said 40% of SHA's workforce (out of 64 total employees) has two to three years of tenure or less and that staff onboarding has been a focus this year.

Regional partnerships highlighted in the report included: attendance at the Carson Commons grand opening in Dallas, Oregon (a 20-unit community with units for young adults transitioning from supervised settings); a groundbreaking for a Salem community land trust led by DevNW with City of Salem and OHCS grant support; and a Camp Rosenbaum youth experience. Yoots also thanked staff and singled out employees who recently earned a national management certification.

Programs and community outreach Commissioners heard additional detail about ongoing initiatives. Commissioner Brown asked about "Shop with a Cop" events; Yoots said SHA coordinates holiday and back-to-school Shop with a Cop programs in partnership with Salem Police, Marion County Sheriff's Office, CASA, Marion County Housing Authority and other organizations, serving between roughly 150 and 600 children depending on the event.

What SHA said about next steps Yoots asked commissioners for continued support as staff explore alternative notification methods for voucher applicants and continue to deploy grants and match funds for redevelopment projects. She said SHA will continue to use grant match strategies where urban renewal or other capital funds leverage state and federal grant opportunities.

Ending Commissioners offered brief appreciation and thanks to staff for the work. The meeting closed with the agency moving on to other items and noting a short break before the next scheduled meeting.