Polk County housing officials warn proposed HUD budget would cut local aid, urge lawmakers to preserve direct allocations

West Valley and Salem housing authority representatives told the Polk County Board of Commissioners on May 27 that parts of the presidential FY26 budget outline and a House reconciliation package could sharply reduce federal housing dollars reaching Polk County if direct allocations are moved through the state.

"We are the boots on the ground and can help and assist those, and inform some of those decisions rather than just having it taken away completely and handed to the state," said Jessica Blakely, a Polk County resident and former West Valley Housing Authority board member who works at the Salem Housing Authority.

Blakely said the “skinny” presidential proposed budget would consolidate many direct allocations into a state rental assistance block grant and would eliminate programs including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME, and family self‑sufficiency funding. She and Christian (director of the West Valley Housing Authority) told the board that those changes would reduce direct aid to local housing authorities and likely require the state to build new administrative infrastructure to receive and reallocate funds.

Why it matters: local housing authorities say direct HUD funds let them target local needs promptly and pair federal dollars with local partnerships. Blakely said a proposed 43% reduction to West Valley’s public housing funding would affect roughly 200 people — primarily seniors — in a public housing inventory she described as about 341 units. For the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program she said the program serves about 1,095 Polk County household members with 508 vouchers in use, and that the county currently can serve up to 775 households in total when funding allows; under recent funding pressure she said the effective voucher capacity is about 508 units.

Blakely and Christian highlighted other program impacts they identified in packet materials: elimination of CDBG and HOME would remove local community development resources; ending family self‑sufficiency programming would stop a cohort of 32 Polk County families that have saved about $91,000 combined from continuing to accrue escrow balances and progress to self‑sufficiency.

Commissioners acknowledged the county’s stake in federal decisions. One commissioner noted that "95 were housed in the Section 8 program" through a county housing navigation effort and said the county would continue contacting federal legislators. Commissioners asked about the status of HUD‑VASH (veterans’ vouchers) and emergency housing vouchers created during the COVID response; Blakely said West Valley recently added five HUD‑VASH vouchers after a HUD incremental allocation but is having trouble receiving referrals from VA caseworkers based in Portland.

Blakely and Christian also described administrative strain from recent HUD rule changes and compliance expectations. Blakely said a rule identified in their packet as “HATMA” (as written in materials) has firm implementation dates while HUD’s systems and regional staffing remain limited; she said their regional field office staff has been reduced and that state compliance reviews are applying standards the local offices cannot yet meet. She urged the board to press state and federal policymakers for regulatory relief rather than shifting direct funding to the state.

No formal county action was taken. Commissioners and staff discussed next steps for advocacy and coordination with county and statewide associations.

Ending: Speakers asked the board to contact state and federal elected officials and to press county associations and regional partners to amplify the housing authorities’ regulatory‑relief priorities and to preserve direct appropriations to housing authorities.