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Kenosha commission approves proposed 2026 HOME Program description; budget contingent on federal appropriation
Summary
The Kenosha Home Program Commission approved a proposed 2026 HOME Program description and funding priorities totaling $680,070.51, but members and staff warned the plan depends on federal appropriations and discussed contingency options if funding is reduced or eliminated.
The Kenosha Home Program Commission on Nov. 7 approved the proposed 2026 HOME Program description and funding priorities, a plan staff said would total $680,070.51 assuming federal funding is available.
Mackey, a city staff member presenting the item, told the commission that the presidential budget and the House Appropriations Committee had both recommended zero funding for the HOME Program in fiscal 2026, while the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended restoring funding. A federal shutdown has stalled final action, Mackey said, and staff are proceeding under the assumption that some 2026 funding will be available.
The proposed budget is based on the 2025 allocation of $436,929, estimated program income of about $60,000 from loan repayments and rental payments, and $183,000 in existing carryover funds, yielding a total of $680,070.51. Staff recommended using up to the allowed 10% of the annual allocation for administrative expenses (about $49,000 including loan-repayment adjustments), funding at least the 15% minimum to Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) — identified as Habitat for Humanity in the packet — and up to 5% for CHDO operating costs.
Staff outlined proposed spending priorities: program administration; tenant-based rental assistance at $130,000 targeted to elderly households, veterans, and people with disabilities (roughly $10,000 per month in rent payments); an additional $50,000 for the rehabilitation loan program (on top of $40,000 carried forward); $323,531 proposed to an approved CHDO (listed as Habitat for Humanity); and $105,000 to replenish the homebuyer purchase assistance program, which staff said had exhausted current funds after about six loans this year.
A motion to approve the 2026 HOME Program description was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The transcript shows no roll-call vote or recorded individual tallies.
Commission members pressed staff on contingency planning if federal funding does not materialize. Mackey confirmed that under a ‘‘doomsday’’ scenario with no federal allocation for 2026 the commission controls roughly $369,000 now — $243,000 identified as controllable funds plus about $60,000 of program income and approximately $126,000 in administrative carryover — and said staff would return to the commission with revised plans if the award is reduced or eliminated. Committee member Anthony Kennedy urged residents to contact their congressional representatives, saying, “This is not pie in the sky. This is right here where the tire meets the road in Kenosha,” and highlighted the local impact of the difference between $680,000 and $369,000 in available funds.
The commission’s approval sets program priorities and a proposed funding plan but leaves implementation subject to final federal appropriations and any follow-up adjustments the commission may make if actual funding differs from the proposal.
