Subject
title
Rockville Housing Enterprises (RHE) Annual Report
end
Department
Housing and Community Development
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council receive the presentation from Rockville Housing
Enterprises.
Discussion
Established in 1957, RHE was created by the Rockville Mayor and Council as the City’s public housing agency. RHE owns and manages over 400 public and assisted housing units in the city. RHE also administers approximately 415 vouchers under the Housing Choice Voucher program (HCVP) throughout the city and provides supportive services and self-sufficiency programs to public housing residents and program participants. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rates RHE as a “high performer” agency for its HCVP program.
While RHE was created by the Mayor and Council and RHE’s Board is appointed by the Mayor and Council, RHE is an independent agency that also functions under Federal and State law.
RHE’s program and operating funds are almost exclusively funded with HUD dollars. RHE receives operating and limited capital funds from HUD under its public housing program, and receives Housing Assistance Payments, which are funds used to pay private landlords for rental payments on the units leased to HCVP voucher holders. HUD also provides an administrative fee under the Section 8 program for the agency to manage and administer the program. Rental income from its residents and program participants is another stream of funding for RHE.
There has been a steady decline in federal funding, so many housing agencies are forced to continue to provide housing and services with much less. In some communities, local governments are stepping in to fill the void, but some housing agencies have reduced their staffing and programming in response to their financial realities. For example, some agencies will issue fewer HCVP vouchers because of the reduction in the Housing Assistance Payments from HUD. The smaller the housing assistance payments and the higher the market rents, the fewer number of families served.
The City of Rockville provides RHE with an annual grant of approximately $42,000 to defray refuse collection costs, as well as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding through a competitive award process. The CDBG funds are used to fund necessary capital repairs at its public housing units and project-based Section 8 units.
RHE’s Interim Executive Director, James Hedrick, will provide an overview of RHE’s financial and operational management, development, and programmatic activities for the reporting period covering January 2024 to December 2024. RHE’s annual report is attached (forthcoming).
Mayor and Council History
RHE provides an annual report to the Mayor and Council. This is the first report covering the
period from January 2024 through December 2024.
Boards and Commissions Review
The RHE Board of Commissioners receives a monthly report. The Mayor and Council Liaison,
Council member Zola Shaw and staff liaison Department of Housing and Community Development
(DHCD) Director Ryan Trout, attend the monthly RHE Board of Commissioners meetings.
Next Steps
RHE will follow up and coordinate with DHCD as needed, should there be any requests for additional information from the Mayor and Council.