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Office of Community Development warns of grant expirations, NDR underspend and reduced 2026 allocations

New Orleans City Council ยท November 5, 2025

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Summary

OCD told council its 2026 staffing and operating budgets fall amid expiring ERA2 funds and uncertain HUD allocations; staff warned a $141.26M National Disaster Resilience grant had spent only about $25M so far and cautioned the city risks forfeiting unspent federal funds by 09/30/2029.

The Office of Community Development (OCD) presented the council with a detailed rundown of federal and grant-funded programs that support affordable housing, shelters and neighborhood development and warned of significant 2026 funding and spending risks.

Director Tyra Johnson Brown said OCD is "100% grant funded" and highlighted key programs: HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS) with a $4.1 million allocation, ESG (Emergency Solutions Grant) at $1.1 million and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) public-service allocations. OCD staff said an ERA2 grant had expired, reducing available personnel and operating capacity going into 2026, and that the office was budgeting to actuals rather than prior projected staffing.

Councilors pressed OCD on an underspend of the National Disaster Resilience (NDR) award. "The NDR grant award is $141,260,569, but you've only expended about $25,000,000," one council member said. OCD staff explained that NDR funds were tied to multi-phased resilience projects and interdepartmental dependencies (notably the office of resiliency), that some projects are in phase 2 awaiting earlier-phase completion and that post-COVID bid inflation has complicated execution. Staff warned that failure to spend by the program27s deadlines (the NDR grant sunsets 09/30/2029) could require repayment of amounts not meeting national objectives.

OCD also reported an array of ongoing projects and tools to support production of affordable housing: a small landlord rental-rehab NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability), a two-lane non-congregate shelter funded with HOME-ARP dollars ($9.4M), and several resilience- and disaster-related grants with long award windows. Staff noted that bond funding can be used to support multifamily development, but bond proposals would need council approval and recurring funding commitments.

Council members expressed urgency about unlocking stalled projects and reducing barriers to spend down federal grant balances. OCD said it is coordinating with grant administrators and project managers but that some spending bottlenecks sit outside the department. OCD requested continued oversight and collaboration to ensure projects can meet federal objectives and avoid forfeitures.