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Committee reviews HOME, CDBG and changes to down-payment assistance amid tight HUD funding
Summary
City officials told the Finance Committee the HOME, CDBG, ESG and Continuum of Care grants fund a range of housing supports and that the local down-payment assistance program has shifted to a sliding scale now estimated at $10,000–$30,000 to serve more households; HUD funding exhaustion earlier in the year was also reported.
Finance Committee members heard detailed briefings June 1 on federal housing grants and changes to the city’s down-payment assistance program as staff prepared FY27 entitlement budgets.
Staff explained the HOME Investment Partnerships and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlements will continue to fund a range of affordable-housing activities, including down-payment assistance, multifamily rental rehabilitation and tenant-based rental assistance. The Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) supports emergency housing response, and the Continuum of Care (CoC) grant funds permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing programs on a regional basis.
On the city’s down-payment assistance program, staff described an updated sliding-scale approach intended to serve more households while balancing market costs. The program has historically used smaller flat grants and then a $5,000–$7,500 forgivable model; staff said the sliding scale was adjusted this year to roughly $10,000–$30,000 depending on income to reach more buyers. An Office of Housing representative clarified that the assistance is structured as a forgivable mortgage, with forgiveness phased over time under program rules: "it is the $10,000 will be a forgivable mortgage on the property that will get forgiven one/tenth every year," the representative said.
Committee members also raised the interaction between CPA eligibility rules and HUD calculations: staff noted statutory CPA income calculations result in some households above the CPA threshold but below HUD’s 80% area median income, creating complexity for eligibility; staff said they will reach out to state legislators to seek statutory clarification.
Staff told the committee that HUD funding for some programs ran out earlier this year due to high demand and program tweaks; the committee was told entitlement funding typically runs through June 30.
The Continuum of Care update explained HUD renewed last year’s grants in the current cycle after litigation paused competitive awards; the CoC serves Hamp County on a regional basis with a board that runs the competition.
No committee action was taken on the entitlement presentations; the items were informational ahead of budget work.
