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Residents and advocates press council to protect Housing Trust Fund and ARPA-funded services amid budget cuts
Summary
During public comment, housing advocates and nonprofits urged the council to honor the voter-approved 2% Housing Trust Fund (calculated against the amended general fund) and to avoid cutting ARPA-funded programs that serve pregnant people, youth diversion and violence prevention; councilmembers pledged to restore the 2% as revenues are recognized.
Numerous residents, nonprofit leaders and program directors used the council's public comment period to urge protection for the Housing Trust Fund and community programs threatened by reallocation and cuts in the 2026 budget.
Speakers from housing advocacy groups requested that the Housing Trust Fund be funded at the full 2% of the general fund now that the council has amended the revenue total. "If the general fund has increased to $799,000,000, then the housing trust fund must be increased to the numbers commensurate with that number," said Dronika Morris of the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance. Advisory-board co‑chair Maxwell Ciardullo told the council the trust fund committee expects to receive roughly $1.3 million more when additional revenue is recognized and urged quick deposit into the fund.
Nonprofits warned that cuts to ARPA-funded programs — including March of Dimes maternal supports, the Opportunity Pass transit program for youth, and community violence-prevention efforts — will have immediate consequences for families and small organizations. March of Dimes and other program directors asked the council to honor invoices and reimbursements before cutting grants they said were already in process.
Council response: Council members repeatedly said the charter-mandated 2% funding is intended to be honored. Council Member Harris, who introduced the housing trust motion on the agenda, and other members committed to increasing the trust fund when the amended revenues are officially recognized. Several council members also acknowledged procedural frustrations, pledged greater transparency and promised monthly budget oversight to avoid sudden program disruptions.
What happens next: The council approved the housing trust implementation motion on the agenda and said the trust fund amount will be adjusted to match officially recognized revenues. Nonprofits said they will continue to watch disbursements closely.
