City presents loans, forgivable grants and mobile-home assistance request totaling ~$744,554

Program manager Naomi Verhals presented the home improvements and rehabilitation program’s FY26–27 budget request and summary of recent activity on March 10.

Verhals described programs for single-family homeowners and mobile-home residents including forgivable loans for roofs, exterior paint and ADA compliance, a lead-hazard reduction program, and a block-improvement grant that partners with code enforcement. She noted mobile-home forgivable loans were increased to $30,000 (forgiveness over 10 years) and that in FY25–26 the program completed 17 projects at a total expenditure of about $430,009.

For FY26–27 the program requested $184,554 for salary and benefits (to fund half of Verhals’ position and add an inspector), $10,000 for supplies and $400,000 for loans and grants, for a total request of about $744,554 when combined with a $150,000 revolving-loan account. Verhals said 12 applications are pending and program costs were estimated using historical expenditure data.

Committee members asked about qualification criteria (income and assets are accounted for under CFR 24; assets above $5,000.54 of HUD passbook interest are included in annual income) and the structure of forgivable loans. Verhals explained forgiveness schedules and how repayment is adjusted if property is sold before forgiveness completes. The committee will consider the request during the funding deliberations.