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The Capital Gazette




Two of the largest housing agencies in Anne Arundel County are asking Congress to stop cutting county programs that help fund housing for low-income residents.

The Anne Arundel Housing Commission and Annapolis Housing Authority hope Congress will pass a spending bill that will fund housing voucher programs.

Without a federal appropriation, the Anne Arundel Housing Commission could see its budget for vouchers and other programs cut by 9 percent, said Clifton C. Martin, CEO of the county’s housing commission.

“The biggest impact will likely be the reduction in the number of housing choice vouchers,” Martin said. “The number of families that we serve would be reduced.”

The Anne Arundel Housing Commission distributed 1,640 vouchers to low-income residents in 2012, but only gave out 1,512 this year due to federal spending cuts. It manages 1,026 public housing units in the county.

The Annapolis Housing Authority, which manages public housing in the city of Annapolis, administered 384 vouchers last year.

Both the county and the city Section 8 voucher program, which helps low-income households pay rent to landlords, is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Congress has failed to pass a public housing spending bill for four years, Martin said. Instead, he said, it has passed continuing resolutions that have helped cut funding for vouchers over the last three years.

The Anne Arundel Housing Commission received $20.4 million in federal funding for housing choice vouchers in fiscal 2011. County and city housing agencies receive federal funds to run the local voucher program.

The program garnered $17.3 million in federal support in fiscal 2012 and was further cut to $15.9 million in fiscal 2013 due to the federal sequester, which took effect March 1.

At the panel’s monthly meeting on Monday, members of the county housing commission said they hoped Congress would pass a spending bill for the departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies.

Committees in both the House and Senate have drafted separate versions of a housing bill. The Senate version would provide $19.6 billion in federal voucher funding; the House version, about $18.6 billion.

A federal spending bill would help the Annapolis Housing Authority fund housing for needy families, said Vincent O. Leggett, executive director of the city’s housing agency.

Leggett said federal budget cuts forced his agency to transfer 20 families from the city to the county voucher program in 2012. Further cuts, which would occur if Congress passes another continuing resolution instead of an appropriations bill, would hurt even more county residents, Leggett said.

“Between continuing resolutions and the sequester, I think everyone is being forced to do more with less and find ways to be creative as possible,” he said.

Bills have yet to pass in the House or the Senate. To take effect, a combined bill would need to pass both chambers and be signed by President Barack Obama.