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BCHA ratifies 2026 budget, outlines staffing reorganization and development updates
Summary
Sitting as the Boulder County Housing Authority, the board ratified BCHA’s 2026 budget Jan. 6, 2026; staff described a reorganization that reduced headcount from 83 to 67 FTE, capital work including a $3.4 million rehab at Casa De La Esperanza, HUD waiver approval for emergency housing vouchers, and acquisition of Josephine Commons.
The Boulder County Housing Authority board ratified its 2026 budget on Jan. 6 and heard staff present organizational changes, capital improvements and program updates that shape the agency’s operating plan for the year.
Executive Director Susanna Lopez Baker said BCHA completed a staffing reorganization that reduced positions from 83 to 67 FTE; eight positions were direct layoffs. She said the agency carved out compliance and HUD grants into a new unit that will report to Division Program Manager Kelly Schultz, who will oversee compliance work for HUD grants totaling about $20–22 million.
Lopez Baker described a recent $3.4 million rehab at Casa De La Esperanza in Longmont (work across roughly 32 units, environmental upgrades, a new playground and an upgraded community room) and said the agency plans a community ribbon cutting in March.
Sean Doherty, finance director, presented the 2026 budget assumptions: a planning occupancy rate of 93 percent, modest per‑bedroom rent increases averaging roughly 2 percent across the portfolio, and the inclusion of Josephine Commons on BCHA’s books after an acquisition. Doherty noted risks to the budget, especially federal proposals affecting administrative fee levels for voucher administration, and said BCHA set replacement reserve policy requiring approximately $450 per BCHA‑owned property per year to meet light‑touch compliance obligations.
Kelly Schultz provided updates on the voucher program: new payment standards and a revised utility allowance under the MTW program, three new housing specialist hires now taking caseloads, a simplified landlord assurance claim form, and HUD approval of a waiver allowing the agency to transfer emergency housing vouchers without making participants reapply. Schultz said additional HUD shortfall funding was approved after the board packet was prepared, helping to bring a mainstream program to whole.
Board members moved to ratify the previously signed 2026 budget resolution; the vote to ratify was recorded and approved by the board. Staff said they will present a finalized organizational chart and consolidated financial report at the January meeting later this month.
Next steps: staff will present a finalized org chart and a combined financial report for September–December 2025 at the next meeting and proceed with hiring for a compliance coordinator position that closed in December.
