Sacramento County approves SHRA budget amid federal shutdown, concerns
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Board approved SHRA 2026 budget $341.7M; federal funds provide 70% support.
- Federal shutdown creates funding uncertainty for HUD grants and Housing Choice Vouchers.
- SHRA will conserve spending, seek waivers, and rely on state HHAP funding through Dec.
The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency will receive a budget of $341.7 million, with 70% coming from federal funds, after the Board of Supervisors approved its 2026 budget Tuesday.
In that budget, which passed unanimously, $242 million comes from other resources such as housing vouchers, public housing and capital funds, according to a presentation from the housing agency. But, with the ongoing federal government still shut down, where future funds will come from is uncertain, said Jim Shields, SHRA’s executive director.
“We’re in day 35 as you all know, with no end in sight, it’s very difficult to try to look and see what’s happening in the future,” Shields said. “However, we do know that (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) has given us our funding for this month.”
The federal government has shut down for more than a month, as Republicans and Democrats in Washington. D.C. continue to disagree on a health care subsidy extension from the Affordable Care Act.
SHRA is the housing authority for Sacramento County and is responsible for providing affordable housing and related services. SHRA also hands out Housing Choice Vouchers, formerly known as Section 8. Currently, SHRA has no open emergency housing vouchers, Shields said.
“We’ve also asked for a waiver to put them on the list, to be at the top of public housing. And again, there’s nobody there to review the waiver,” Shields said. “So we haven’t received an answer, but we hope to get an answer to that soon.”
‘That could be a challenge’
Shields said SHRA receives funding for the Homeless Housing, Assistance Prevention program, which is state-funded. HHAP provides a grant to Sacramento County, its cities and regional continuums of care for permanent housing initiatives. HHAP funding has been extended into December, he added.
Federal funds go to the county’s infrastructure and public facility improvements, housing projects and safety net programs such as Meals on Wheels, Rapid Rehousing and emergency shelters, SHRA’s presentation stated. Kay Giunta, the assistant director of finance for SHRA, said the majority of federal dollars is from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“These dollars are critical in sustaining our largest programs, especially the Housing Choice Voucher Program and public housing program,” Giunta said.
Supervisor Phil Serna asked how funds are being distributed within unincorporated Sacramento County. He brought up community development block grant funding, which is federal funds used for housing rehabilitation and economic development for low income communities.
“We’re reminded about that political geography every time we get briefings on,” Serna said. “...We have to think, with a reminder in the back of our minds, that it’s just about the unincorporated county and for a couple of us who represent big chunks of our largest city, that could be a challenge.”
Other concerns about federal funding
With the budget passed, Shields told the board that SHRA will be “conservative” with how it spends its money. The remaining $99 million in SHRA’s revenue is from state and local funding. He said SHRA will take the approved budget and “split it up” to present to the board in the future.
Concerns about changes in the federal government are facing other housing agencies, including Sacramento Steps Forward. On Oct. 28, Lisa Bates, the CEO of Sacramento Steps Forward, said Sacramento County is at risk of losing 1,000 affordable housing units with the Trump administration’s proposed funding realignment.
“We’re going to have to come together in ways we never have before,” Bates said during the Sacramento County and city joint meeting. “We’re going to have to think about all of our different funding streams, we’re going to have to prioritize what’s most important in the moment.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
