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HCD presents housing spending plan, seeks to relaunch Home Stretch and expand tenant organizing
Summary
Housing and Community Development presented a maintenance‑of‑effort FY27 budget focused on rental licensing revenue, a proposed $400,000 housing reserve contribution, a $135,000 Home Stretch down‑payment initiative, and a $250,000‑plus expansion of community grants and tenant organizing support.
Housing and Community Development Director Devin McNally briefed the council on the department's FY27 proposed budget and priorities, outlining programs to preserve affordable housing, expand tenant organizing, relaunch Home Stretch down‑payment assistance and pursue grant funding for multifamily improvements.
McNally said the HCD operating budget is roughly $2.7 million (personnel about $1.88 million) and that rental‑licensing fee revenue is expected to contribute a little over $400,000 to departmental revenue. HCD described core divisions: administrative intake and grants management (Ramon Sol and Patty Mallon were named as staff and grants manager) and a housing team that operates the tenant organizing fund and emergency assistance program.
On Home Stretch: McNally said the revived Home Stretch would be structured as forgivable loans targeted by income band; initial thinking for the $135,000 allocation could assist "between 3 and 8 households a year," depending on household income and award size. "If we're increasing the amount of assistance, we would want to increase the period that those loans burn off," he said, describing discussions about extending forgiveness timeframes as awards grow.
Housing reserve and grants: staff proposed a $400,000 contribution to the housing reserve for FY27 (the projected balance as of June 2026 was described as about $1.3 million). McNally also described an increase to the community quality‑of‑life grant program (the grants review committee recommended raising the program from about $110,000 to $250,000) and noted continuing grants (~$628,000) plus nearly $600,000 in new grant commitments that will roll into FY27 when agreements are signed.
Tenant services and inspections: HCD explained a county contract for rental inspections (~$330,000) that effectively funds about 2.5 FTE of county inspection capacity, enabling more frequent inspections than county practice. The department reported roughly 30–40 emergency‑assistance (EAP) cases per year and said the proposed $90,000 emergency assistance line is designed to cover typical demand; staff said they would return if funding needs were exhausted.
Questions and next steps: Council members asked for clarifying metrics (how many Home Stretch recipients historically, how many households could $135,000 assist), whether Home Stretch could be restricted to longtime city residents, how broadly CDBG funds might be used (staff and the council noted a 2025 resolution repealed a 2016 restriction to allow noncapital uses), and targets for tenant organizing (staff aim for 2–3 new registered tenant associations and broader resident engagement metrics). McNally said more detailed metrics will be provided to the council on request.
What happens next: staff will provide requested detail on Home Stretch award history, housing reserve balances and grant specifics; council deliberations will continue through budget reconciliation sessions.
