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New Castle County housing authority outlines 2026 budget, cites 72.4% voucher utilization and HUD reserve cut
Summary
Asante Scarpardi, administrator of the New Castle County Housing Authority, told the county Community Services Committee that voucher utilization is 72.4%, HUD offset $1.8 million in reserves and the authority will focus on landlord engagement and project-based vouchers pending funding clarity.
Asante Scarpardi, administrator of the New Castle County Housing Authority, told the New Castle County Community Services Committee on Nov. 25 that the authority’s 2026 housing-assistance budget will be about $2 million higher than 2025 and is focused on increasing voucher utilization and landlord participation.
Scarpardi highlighted two statewide initiatives that she said improved operations: a centralized waiting list (one application across five Delaware housing authorities) and a new landlord portal that standardizes vendor paperwork and inspection procedures. “The centralized waiting list will help us utilize more vouchers when we pull because the applicants will be ready to go,” Scarpardi said.
The administrator reported voucher utilization at 72.4% while HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) utilization remained at 100%. She said that HUD reduced the authority’s reserves by $1,800,000 this year, a change that has delayed plans to roll out project-based vouchers until funding clarity in January. “We just have to wait till January to see where we fall with funding,” Scarpardi said.
Scarpardi also gave program counts: 70 VASH vouchers are currently in use, and the authority’s homeownership program includes 32 homeowners (three new this year). She said the one-time Emergency Housing Voucher grant is winding down faster than expected and that staff are transitioning impacted clients onto the regular Housing Choice Voucher waiting list so subsidies can continue.
A council member asked whether the HUD funding shift was caused by faster spending of one-time grants or by federal realignment. Scarpardi said the primary cause was higher-than-expected rent increases that drove greater HAP payments, and she noted several HUD policy changes (Inspire, HOTMA) have been delayed by the federal administration’s implementation schedule. “There’s been a whole bunch of different rumors…we haven’t had anything concrete,” she said about the implementation timetable.
Carrie Casey, general manager for Community Services, praised Scarpardi’s leadership and the statewide collaboration that earned national recognition for the centralized waiting list.
Next steps: the county clerk read Order No. 25149, an appropriation of anticipated HUD funds for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to be considered at the Dec. 9 county council meeting. Committee members offered no public comment and took no final vote on the appropriation at this meeting.
