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City staff warns that proposed federal cuts to CDBG and HOME would halt many local housing programs
Summary
Budget staff told the council that proposed federal cuts to CDBG and HOME could eliminate most of the city's affordable housing development activities, reduce rental inspection capacity, and curtail neighborhood services; staff presented scenarios and urged advocacy with legislators.
Jonathan McBride, the city budget staffer, presented scenario models showing how cuts to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds would affect Hampton.
McBride said national proposals under the president's budget could reduce HUD funding by about 13 percent and that elimination scenarios for CDBG and HOME would total roughly $3 billion nationally. Locally, he said that under full cuts the city would lose its capacity to support new affordable housing development (he cited roughly 41 homes impacted in a full-funding scenario baseline) and would see reductions in housing counseling, CHDO funding (Habitat), and neighborhood revitalization programs.
He also quantified service impacts: rental inspection activity that averages about 1,200 inspections a typical year would be affected; neighborhood engagement events and other participants (he cited roughly 6,100 participants across activities) would fall; and roughly $650,000 in personnel costs to operate some programs would represent a challenge for the city to absorb.
Staff said they will package CDBG/HOME priorities in the city's recommended budget so that if funds are available the uses are already prioritized, but warned that if funds are zeroed out the city is not positioned to fully backfill the programs without identifying offsets or seeking state support.
