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Housing Authority of Washington County adopts FY26 budget amid voucher shortfall warning
Summary
The Housing Authority of Washington County adopted its fiscal year 2025–26 budget unanimously, even as staff warned the housing choice voucher program likely will face a federal funding shortfall because local rents outpace HUD reimbursements.
The Housing Authority of Washington County (HAWC) unanimously approved its fiscal year 2025–26 budget at a public meeting on June 17, 2025, with board members voting 6–0 to adopt the spending plan and related program updates.
The budget presentation, led by HAWC Executive Director Molly Rogers and Deputy CFO Ryan Bonsbach, forecasts overall positive cash flow after excluding noncash depreciation but flagged a likely shortfall for the housing choice voucher program by the end of 2025 if current market conditions and federal funding assumptions hold. Deputy Director Jill Chen told the board that the county is authorized for roughly 3,410 vouchers but is operating at about 3,100 because higher local rents create a gap between HUD subsidy levels and actual rental costs.
The board’s advisory committee member John Epstein told directors the advisory committee reviewed the budget in detail and recommended approval, saying the plan maintained current programming and showed reserves adequate to cover the near‑term outlook. Board members pressed staff on specifics, including progress on a program to sell single‑family public housing units to qualified residents under a Section 18 disposition; staff said the agency completed its first sale in May and expects two more by month’s end.
Rogers and staff highlighted that HAWC now manages multiple business lines in addition to vouchers and public housing, including a portfolio of affordable developments, supportive housing projects and a Moving to Work designation from HUD that gives flexibility in program design. Revenue diversification—tenant rents and development partnerships—was presented as a mitigating factor against federal funding volatility.
Board members and members of the public asked about the potential impact of proposed federal budget cuts discussed by staff, which included a cited federal proposal with deep reductions to rental assistance and operating subsidies. Commissioners and attendees noted that such cuts, if enacted, would sharply reduce the number of households served.
The board approved consent items earlier in the meeting to update the Housing Choice Voucher administrative plan and the public housing admissions and continued occupancy plan, effective July 1, 2025, alongside formal adoption of the HAWC budget.
