Housing plan advances to Council as concerns grow over federal funding cuts
The Community Development Commission stopped short of endorsing the city’s annual federal housing funding plan at its meeting last week and instead used the opportunity to raise alarms about how looming federal budget cuts could worsen the city’s homelessness crisis. The FY25/26
Action Plan
, which outlines the use of roughly $14 million in federal housing funds,
now moves
to City Council for review and possible approval on July 24.
Although the commission had the option to vote on the plan, no formal action was taken. Instead, commissioners centered their discussion on the need for a more expansive and flexible approach to homelessness and going beyond traditional shelter services to address the growing number of residents at risk of becoming unhoused due to economic instability.
Multiple commissioners pointed to ongoing debates in Congress over discretionary spending as a key reason to expand the city’s preventive strategies. Concerns were raised that cuts to federal programs, including housing, Medicaid and social service funding, could quickly lead to a surge in first-time or short-term homelessness among seniors, veterans and renters on the financial brink.
Mandy DeMayo, interim director of the Housing Department, said the city’s expected federal grant total of $14 million has remained relatively stable in recent years but cautioned that national fiscal pressures could change that outlook quickly. She noted that the city’s locally funded “I Belong in Austin” rental assistance program plays an increasingly important role in keeping residents housed, particularly those who do not yet meet the criteria for federal homeless services.
“Where we are not able to meet the community needs with federal funds for a variety of different reasons, we try to meet those needs with our local funds, so this is just a slice of our programs,” DeMayo said. “Our federal funds represent $14 million of our budget, whereas the budget in the Housing Department, including our capital for all loans for buildings is in excess of $100 million.”
One of the most discussed ideas during the meeting was a call to support day labor and same-day work programs for unhoused residents. Several commissioners voiced frustration that such programs were absent from the draft plan, despite the success of community-based models operated by groups like The Other Ones Foundation.
A motion to formally recommend funding for day labor opportunities was introduced and seconded, but ultimately withdrawn after discussion about timing, budget constraints and the need for further deliberation.
“As someone who’s experienced homelessness and is now trying to bridge some of these gaps, I think that should be something that the Community Development Commission focuses in on, even if it’s a formal recommendation to City Council around day labor opportunities,” Commissioner Lyric Wardlow said. “That will help with some (dignity) for people experiencing homelessness and also in building income and being able to pay for their own hotel room, whatever the situation is.”
DeMayo noted that the city’s current federal funding structure, particularly the 15 percent cap on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program funds allocated to public services, leaves little room for new programs without displacing existing ones such as childcare, senior services and mental health care. She agreed to have the department add more homelessness-related organizations to the list of stakeholder groups involved in reviewing and giving feedback on the annual plan.
In addition to funding concerns, commissioners flagged the limited number of responses to the city’s public survey about community needs. While some praised efforts to make engagement more “evergreen,” others argued that outreach still falls short of reaching the people most affected by the city’s housing challenges.
The plan for the upcoming fiscal year is part of the city’s five-year strategy for deploying funds from four federal programs: Community Development Block Grants, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the Emergency Solutions Grant and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.
Several updates to the plan were highlighted, including expanded outreach efforts, increased focus on program flexibility and a new commitment to formally respond to public feedback.
The action plan is scheduled for consideration by City Council on July 24, ahead of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s submission deadline of August 15. Commissioners plan to revisit several of the themes raised during their discussion, including workforce development, day labor,and upstream homelessness prevention, at an upcoming retreat intended to shape priorities for the coming year.
Photo made available through
a Creative Commons license
.
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