Solano County hears housing authority plan as staff warns vouchers are limited by HUD funding

Solano County staff presented the Solano County Housing Authority’s revised Administrative Plan, Annual Agency Plan and Move-to-Work (MTW) supplemental plan at a noticed public hearing on April 14, 2026. Solinda Aguilar Vasquez, Housing and Community Services Administrator, told the Board that while the authority is authorized for 372 vouchers it had about 313 vouchers under lease — roughly an 84% lease-up rate — and funding limits mean it cannot issue new vouchers at this time.

Why it matters: The authority’s ability to serve households is constrained by HUD funding and rising per-unit subsidy costs. Staff said the agency recently experienced a HUD shortfall that required a pause on issuing new vouchers until HUD authorizes resumption, even though the total number of allocated vouchers will not be reduced.

Key details and staff recommendations: Solinda Aguilar Vasquez said the administrative-plan revisions clarify residency preferences, debt-repayment actions, voucher terms and extensions, foster-care referrals, project-based authority, and waitlist preferences for Family Unification Program (FUP) and Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) vouchers. Under MTW changes described by staff, eligibility re-examinations will occur every 36 months for families with 90% of income from fixed sources (for example Social Security), asset self-certification will be allowed for totals under $50,000, and an initial lease-up affordability cap of 50% of income is being applied.

Board questions and staff answers: Supervisors asked about landlord recruitment and pilot outreach; staff said the City of Vacaville launched a landlord outreach pilot in summer 2025 and is conducting phone and virtual outreach to gather landlord feedback, and staff agreed to circulate flyers and materials to supervisors for member newsletters. On homelessness coordination, staff said the MTW supplemental plan includes an initial set-aside of approximately five to 10 vouchers per year for referrals from select partner agencies participating in the Continuum of Care; staff said they are willing to pursue further coordination if the board requests it.

VASH and other voucher programs: Staff said the authority submitted a registration of interest for an expanded allocation of VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) vouchers but had not received allocation confirmation. Staff also described tenant-protection vouchers (TPVs) as a HUD-requested approach used when projects return vouchers to HUD so affected tenants can be issued comparable assistance through the authority.

What the hearing did not decide: Staff recommended that the board conduct the noticed hearing and approve the administrative, annual and MTW supplemental plans. The transcript records the staff presentation and board questions and shows the public hearing was opened and closed with no public commenters; the transcript does not record a formal roll-call vote on plan adoption during the meeting record provided.

Next steps: Staff said they would continue monitoring HUD funding notices, budget conservatively (for example by not pulling from the waiting list while in shortfall status), expand landlord outreach with Vacaville’s pilot lessons, and report back with materials and updates as additional information or approvals arrive.