Local housing agencies are struggling to deal with federal budget uncertainties, affordable housing advocates said this morning at a meeting on the impact of sequestration hosted at the State House by the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association.
The cuts imposed last year trimmed the agency’s funding for Section 8 vouchers, the main form of rental assistance, by approximately six percent, as well as cutting funds for administrative staff.
Budget talks currently underway in Washington could help restore some of that funding, if Democrats and Republicans can come to an agreement, Barbara Sard, vice president for Housing Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities told the assembled agency staffers and advocates.
But if no deal is struck, the cuts would be extended through 2014. While many agencies have been able to call on reserve funding and cut other programs in order to keep people in their homes, many agencies may have to revoke assistance for some families if the cuts persist.
Across the country, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates 125,000 to 185,000 would be affected, approximately 2,100 to 3,300 of those in Massachusetts. Many thousands more will be required to pay more in rent or have other forms of assistance, such as vouchers for heating oil and other utilities, trimmed.
For now, local agencies are looking at different strategies to handle future cuts, said Thomas Graham, Director, Bureau of Rental Assistance, Department of Housing and Community Development.
But due to the uncertainty of whether any funding will be restored, it’s difficult to pick which programs and services should get the axe.
"What’s so frustrating about sequestration is that it’s a huge distraction from all the problems we come to work every day trying to work on," said Graham.
While many agencies have been able to juggle funds, trim staff and cut other programs in order to keep renters in their homes, the cuts are preventing many homeless families from getting housing, resulting in them being housed in shelters and motels at much greater cost, said Jonathan Zimmerman, senior policy advisor at the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.
