CDA warns of ARPA cliff, details housing production and healthy home repair surge

Interim CDA Director Matt Mocha told the Board of Aldermen’s Budget & Public Employees Committee that most CDA programming is federally funded and that the agency must obligate remaining HOME‑ARP funds by Sept. 30, 2026.

“we are down to our last 1.5 million,” Mocha said of HOME‑ARP funds and noted a Notice of Funding Availability on CDA’s website open until June 5 for the remainder. He said HOME‑ARP awards can support rental assistance and other services targeted to people at risk of homelessness.

Mocha outlined CDA’s major funding sources: CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) — $17.6 million for 2026 — plus HOME ($2.39 million), HOPWA ($3.3 million) and ESG ($1.55 million). He emphasized that CDA’s BB1 (board bill 1) budget covers only administrative personnel costs and not federal grant awards, saying, “we are not dabbling one dime in the 1010” general revenue fund.

Mocha reported production metrics he described as a record year: about 465 affordable housing units created in the past year, with roughly $14 million expended across single‑family and rental units and about 45% of the recent production financed by ARPA. He warned that ARPA‑driven results may be difficult to sustain once ARPA funds end.

On healthy home repair — a program that completed 158 projects in 2025 and averages roughly $28,000–$29,000 per home — Mocha said demand historically exceeds supply and the program’s design limits its ability to respond to catastrophic tornado damage: it is better suited to repairs that keep people in their homes than to full rebuilds.

Mocha also said CDA analyzed $5 million in RAMS funds initially transferred to CDA for home repair, concluded $2 million could be spent promptly by CDA, and moved $3 million back to the recovery office so that the recovery office could deploy those dollars where they would be most expeditiously spent; he said that decision drew some criticism but defended it as necessary to get funds into the community.

The presentation prompted questions from aldermembers about the sustainability of ARPA‑funded positions (Mocha said about 18.9 positions are at least partially ARPA‑funded and staffing transitions are under review with personnel and law), the timeline for housing NOAs (CDA plans to award the 2025 NOA shortly and issue the next round in spring 2027), and the status of a $300,000 vacant building initiative fund (Mocha said the money exists but the program has not yet been stood up).