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Small affordable‑housing contractors tell Audit Committee delayed city reimbursements threaten operations
Summary
A contractor serving San Antonio affordable‑housing programs told the Audit Committee reimbursements have been delayed up to eight months, straining cash flow and raising concern that payment delays could reduce service quality for eligible residents.
Betsy Spencer, chief of operations at Holds Adams Consultant LLC, told the San Antonio Audit Committee on May 13 that her firm and other small contractors that provide construction and services for the city’s affordable‑housing programs have experienced reimbursement delays of up to eight months.
Spencer said the payment delays have cut cash flow, made it difficult for contractors to pay insurance and banks, and risked the ongoing delivery of services to low‑income residents who qualify for the city’s programs. “All the companies that are part of this identity are small and depend heavily on the reimbursements the city can provide,” she said.
Spencer told committee members she has contacted the appropriate city offices but received only requests for more time and no substantive responses. She asked the Audit Committee to intervene, investigate the cause of the delays and assist contractors seeking timely payments.
The committee did not take formal action on the public comment during the meeting; the presentation occurred during the public‑comment portion of the agenda. Committee members did not identify a specific department or cause for the delays during the discussion on the record.
