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Nonprofits and housing advocates urge Howard County Council to preserve Community Service Partnership and housing dollars in FY26 budget
Summary
Nonprofit executives and housing advocates told the Howard County Council that Community Service Partnership grants and housing-related funding are critical to services for low-income residents and urged the council to preserve those allocations in the FY26 operating budget.
Multiple nonprofit leaders and a housing coalition urged the Howard County Council during the FY26 operating budget public hearing to preserve or increase funding for Community Service Partnership (CSP) grants, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) programs, and housing-related initiatives.
Representatives cited program outcomes and demand. Colleen West, executive director of the Howard County Arts Council, asked the council to support the executive’s proposed CSP allocation that she described as enabling 50–60 grants and serving hundreds of thousands of attendees. "Last year, attendance at these programs, funded through these grants, was 341,000 people," West said, and she asked the council to support a requested operating grant and an $81,000 relocation grant tied to the arts council’s move to the county courthouse in FY26.
Housing and shelter advocates stressed rising need. Jen Broderick, executive director of Bridges to Housing Stability, said Bridges serves about 50 households per month and that the county has new demand after an increase in the point-in-time count. She supported funding for CSP, the Community Renewal Program, homeless services and the Housing Opportunities Trust Fund, and cited a need for about 7,500 affordable units in the county.
The Housing Affordability Coalition asked the council to back several housing allocations in the executive’s budget: $17.4 million for the Community Renewal Program, $14.3 million for CSP grants, and a proposed one-time $4.5 million to create a new non-congregate shelter. "As the number of Howard County homeless unsheltered persons continues to rise, our community needs as many safe housing options for this population as possible," the coalition said through Jackie Eng.
Other nonprofit testimony: Aaron Shapiro of Patapsco Heritage Greenway asked the council to support $80,000 in CSP funding for his organization and listed recent stewardship and volunteer outcomes. Anne Hefner of Rebuilding Together Howard County described repairs to low-income homes and said the group completed 20 homes last year and that their clients’ average income is about $29,000 annually. Kiara D'Amore of the Community Ecology Institute, Jamie Fraser for Howard EcoWorks and others also asked the council to maintain proposed operating support.
What was not decided: The hearing recorded public testimony; no council votes or formal budget decisions were recorded in the transcript. Speakers repeatedly asked that CSP and housing-related line items remain in the final FY26 operating budget and noted that reductions would affect nonprofit capacity to serve vulnerable residents.
Next steps noted in the meeting context: The council scheduled additional capital budget work sessions and continues deliberations on the FY26 operating budget; the nonprofit speakers asked council members to preserve the cited allocations during those deliberations.
