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CDA interim director: about $1.5M of HOME-ARP remains; 465 affordable units produced last year
Summary
Interim CDA director Matt Moke told the Board of Aldermen’s budget committee CDA produced 465 affordable units last year and has about $1.5 million left to obligate from HOME-ARP; he warned ARPA-funded staffing and program capacity will fall when one-time funds expire in 2026.
Matt Moke, interim director of the city’s Community Development Administration (CDA), told the Budget & Public Employees Committee that CDA produced a record 465 affordable housing units in the last year, with about $14 million expended on those projects and roughly 45% of that production tied to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
Moke reviewed CDA’s federal formula grants and special funds, explaining how HOME and CDBG are used to close financing gaps on Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects and describing HOME-ARP, a Treasury-awarded HUD allocation targeted to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. He said HOME-ARP obligations are due this year and that the city has roughly $1,500,000 left to obligate; a notice of funding availability (NOFA) for those funds was open through June 5.
Committee members pressed Moke on staffing and program scale. CDA’s personnel budget is limited under Board Bill 1, which covers administrative positions only and does not include federal grants or ARPA. Moke said CDA has 60 approved positions and 44 occupied (about 26% vacancy). He estimated approximately 18 positions were at least partially ARPA-funded and said the ARPA-funded portion of staffing will end in 2026, requiring analysis with the personnel and law departments to avoid layoffs where possible.
On the Healthy Home Repair program, Moke said the program completed 158 projects in 2025 and has historically faced more demand than capacity; he emphasized the program is not designed to fully rebuild residences destroyed by tornadoes and defended CDA’s decision to move $3 million of a $5 million grant back to the recovery office so the larger recovery effort could spend that portion more quickly.
Moke and CFO Brian Yochem also described other funding lines (HOPWA for people with HIV/AIDS, ESG for homelessness response) and said some formula funds had shifted in recent years; HOPWA and ESG rose while CDBG and HOME declined overall.
The committee asked about CDA’s housing production NOFA schedule and LIHTC leverage; Moke said the tornado delayed the FY25 NOFA but CDA expected to award the stalled 2025 round and anticipate a new NOFA in spring 2027. He said CDA will consider extending CDA commitments for LIHTC projects that miss state rounds to keep projects viable.
