Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board authorizes RHSO intermunicipal agreement renewal, continuing regional housing services for Bedford
Summary
The board approved a three‑year extension of Bedford’s intermunicipal agreement with the Regional Housing Services Office after a presentation on monitoring workloads, services and budget changes; Bedford-specific data on monitored units and program returns were highlighted.
The Bedford Select Board unanimously approved a three‑year extension of its intermunicipal agreement (IMA) with the Regional Housing Services Office (RHSO) following a presentation by RHSO director Kristen Gishard on June 15.
Gishard reviewed the RHSO’s role as a shared services monitoring agent that performs home‑ownership and rental monitoring, administration for affordable‑housing programs and other technical services for the region. She outlined Bedford‑specific activity: the handout provided to the board shows 191 rental‑monitoring units, two resales this year and 53 home‑ownership monitoring units; the RHSO reported a 91% return rate on annual certifications for Bedford.
She described the IMA structure (ten towns with an IMA and an annual budget amendment) and said Bedford’s FY27 cost change is modest after a multi‑year transition in leadership. The board asked routine clarifying questions about services and funding; members praised the regional collaboration and moved to authorize the extension.
Why this matters: The RHSO centralizes specialized housing functions for small towns, reducing local administrative burden and providing monitoring and program administration that many communities lack resources to perform in‑house. Continuation of the IMA preserves those regional services for Bedford residents.
What’s next: The town manager will execute the IMA extension and continue receiving monthly status reports and the RHSO’s annual and semiannual status reports.
