Press Releases

SALINAS, Calif.-The Housing Authority of the County of Monterey (HACM) has received news from the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (the Center) that more than 450 households in Monterey County who receive federal Section 8 subsidies to pay their rent may lose that assistance if the Bush administration's budget is approved as proposed. Currently, Monterey County receives $28 million in federal Section 8 subsidies, which assist 3,770 households. If the proposed cuts are approved, the Section 8 program in Monterey County would be reduced by 12 %, which equates to $3.3 million.

According to Lyn Ann Rosen, Chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey, "Elderly and disabled on the Section 8 program, on fixed incomes could either lose their subsidy altogether or have to pay a higher percentage of their limited income on rent." Forty-four percent of Section 8 households are elderly and/or disabled. In addition, 56% of Section 8 households are families, many of whom are considered the "working poor" in Monterey County. The average income of households who receive Section 8 vouchers earn a salary of less than $15,000 a year.

The HACM's Section 8 program is vital in supporting very low-income households in Monterey County who live in privately owned rental properties throughout the County. A major cut in the Section 8 program would make it even more difficult for residents to afford to live in Monterey County. Many landlords in Monterey County who depend on the rental subsidies to obtain sufficient rent to cover their mortgages and property costs, would also be negatively impacted by theses proposed budget cuts.

"These cuts would do serious damage," said Barbara Sad, Director of Housing Policy at the Center. "Vulnerable families in every community would be hurt." The Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs. The Center has released new estimates showing the funding shortfall that each state and local housing agency would face in 2005 and 2009 if the cuts are approved. The estimates, available on the Center's website at http://www.cbpp.org/3-17-04hous-pr.htm, also show how many vouchers each agency would have to eliminate - or the average rent increase it would have to impose on families with vouchers - to compensate for the shortfall.