CalHFA board adopts strategic plan and FY 2026-27 budget, authorizes 19 new positions to scale lending

The California Housing Finance Agency board unanimously adopted a strategic plan, a business plan and the FY 2026-27 operating budget on Tuesday, authorizing a headcount increase to support expanded programs.

Rebecca Franklin, CalHFA chief deputy director, told the board the strategic plan now explicitly "names the people we serve," committing the agency to target low- and moderate-income Californians and to pursue goals that include expanding market-filling products, strengthening intergovernmental partnerships and modernizing operations. The board approved Resolution 26-17 to adopt the strategic plan.

The business plan (Resolution 26-18) and the operating budget (Resolution 26-19) were also approved by unanimous roll call. The budget authorizes adding 19 positions (raising the agency's authorized headcount from 221 to 240) to build capacity for anticipated program growth, with many roles tied to a planned construction-lending effort, training, underwriting and succession planning.

Chief Financial Officer Irwin Tam described the revenue drivers underpinning the budget: single-family securitization and lending generate roughly 60% of operating revenue, while multi-family revenues derive largely from interest earnings as loans convert and the agency's newer indenture grows. Staff noted "rate uncertainty" in market forecasts but said recent securitization and perm-loan closings support the revenue assumptions.

Board members pressed staff for more specificity about hiring timing and governance for a vacancy-pool concept (floating positions) that CalHFA proposed to retain flexibility for new program stand-ups. Several directors asked for a transparent hiring schedule showing when positions tied to construction lending and other initiatives would come online.

"We're asking the board to authorize positions that will be filled as programs ramp up," Rebecca Franklin said. "We will not post all vacancies immediately; hires will align with workload and program timelines and we will return with a detailed hiring plan." The presenters acknowledged the budget is conservative in assuming full-year personnel costs for positions that may be filled later in the fiscal year.

The operating budget includes one-time IT investments (server replacement for on‑prem systems that support single-family loan reservations) and higher short-term consulting and training costs related to program ramp-up and administering special program work (for example, disaster rebuilding contracts and other pass-through program administration). Staff said some consulting costs represent pass-through contract work funded by outside program revenues and therefore do not represent permanent increases in CalHFA's underlying baseline.

Directors also received an update on the agency's 520 Capital Mall building: net revenue from the building (approximately $1.5 million annually) will be used for capital improvements; elevator car replacements are in fabrication and phased replacement is expected to take about a year, and staff intend to create a first-floor boardroom and training facility by late this year or early next year.

Board members asked staff to return with (1) a hiring schedule that aligns position authorizations with expected program ramp-up, (2) clarifications on how vacancy-pool positions will be used and governed, and (3) additional performance metrics (for example, cost per bedroom vs. cost per unit) to better assess project comparability.

Next steps: Staff will implement the approved budget and present a detailed hiring plan and additional metrics to the board in a future meeting.