Housing authority to consider means test for new applicants; comprehensive‑plan workshops to follow survey analysis

The Cumberland Housing Authority is beginning to explore whether to implement a means test for new applicants, councilors said Monday, and the town’s comprehensive‑plan effort will soon move from survey collection into community workshops.

Councilor Thorson told the council the housing authority has decided to “wrestle with the idea of a means test” because the current admissions policy does not include one. She said the review is intended to ensure limited subsidized units serve the residents with the greatest need and that any new means test would apply to future applicants and not retroactively to existing tenants.

In the council’s update on the comprehensive plan, staff said initial survey results have been returned and that the selected consultant, the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG), included multiple public workshops in its contract. Town staff said they will analyze the survey results and schedule in‑person workshops across town to gather broader public input before bringing recommendation back to the council.

No formal votes were taken; councilors said they expect the housing authority and planning staff to return with recommended language and workshop dates.