St. Paul HRA Board Meeting on Down Payment Assistance, ERA Updates, and Staffing - February 25, 2026
St. Paul HRA Board Meeting on Down Payment Assistance, ERA Updates, and Staffing - February 25, 2026
The St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) board met on February 25, 2026, to receive staff reports on the citywide down payment assistance and inheritance fund programs, and the emergency rental assistance (ERA) eviction prevention program, including proposed 2026 guideline updates. The board also acted on a resolution to transfer housing trust fund balances for ERA staffing. Five commissioners were present (Coleman, Joast, Kim, Yang, Chair Johnson) and two were absent (Bowie and Kim, though Bowie participated later; roll call indicated Bowie as present — discrepancy noted).
Discussion Items
- Down Payment Assistance and Inheritance Fund Update (Staff Report SR 26-21): Rachel Finazodal, Housing Program and Policy Manager, presented 2025 outcomes and 2026 proposed changes. Key data: In 2025, the programs opened interest forms three times, receiving 162 applications; 49 loans closed (44 citywide, 5 West Side Flats Inheritance Fund, plus one Rondo Inheritance Fund scheduled to close). Average purchase price was $265,000; average household income $67,000; 88% of buyers were former renters. Racial demographics (from lender data) showed about 66% of closed loans went to Black or African American households. The West Side Flats Inheritance Fund exhausted its $500,000 allocation and tapped other sources. Commissioners Bowie, Naker, and Kim raised concerns about excluding renters displaced by I-94 construction from inheritance fund eligibility, noting the administrative nature of the property-ownership verification requirement. Chair Johnson supported exploring inclusion of renters. A proposed 2026 guideline change would split the citywide down payment amount: up to $40,000 for households at 60% AMI or below, and $20,000 for 61–80% AMI, to stretch dollars further. The change will be voted on March 11.
- Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Update (Staff Report SR 26-22): Rachel Finazodal also presented ERA program data. In 2025, the program was open 23 days and processed 190 of 610 applications over 76 days. Average grant was $2,014; 53% of applicants requested over the $2,500 cap. 46% received a flat $2,500. Average need for those with a housing court summons was $4,463. 17% of applicants had a court date; 40% lived in protected affordable housing. Racial demographics: 66% Black or African American, 17% white, 4% Hispanic/Latino. Proposed 2026 guideline changes include:
- Increasing the grant cap from $2,500 to $3,500 to better meet average need and reduce administrative delays.
- Accepting PHA subsidies (e.g., housing choice vouchers) as proof of income.
- Reducing proof of income from 60 days to 30 days of pay stubs.
- Introducing timeline restrictions: not accepting cases with a writ of eviction and requiring applications before the summons date.
- Moving to a limited application system (open two days per month, with lottery selection of 50–60 applications) to improve processing capacity.
- Staffing: current 2.5 FTEs; proposal to add 1 PM from 2026 budget and 1 accounting tech from housing trust fund. Chair Johnson pushed for an April launch rather than June to address urgency. Commissioner Naker supported an earlier launch and explored potential collaboration with Ramsey County. Commissioner Bowie suggested outsourcing to community nonprofits for faster deployment, but staff noted the need to adhere to program guidelines and that partnership development takes time.
- Resolution RES 26-331 – Housing Trust Fund Budget Amendment for ERA Staffing: Deputy Director Green explained that $926,222 from the Families First Housing Pilot Program (housing trust fund) would be transferred to PED operations to hire two permanent staff for ERA. Combined with 2025 carryover (~$700,000) and new LAHA allocations, total ERA program funding for 2026 would be approximately $2.5 million (excluding staffing). The resolution was adopted unanimously (7–0). Chair Johnson noted this ensures multi-year staffing stability.
Key Outcomes
- The board unanimously adopted Resolution RES 26-331, transferring $926,222 from the housing trust fund for ERA staffing, with the intent to support the program for multiple years.
- Staff will bring formal guideline updates for both the down payment assistance program and ERA to the board on March 11, 2026, for approval. For down payment assistance, the only proposed change is the split of citywide assistance by AMI. For ERA, the changes include increasing the grant cap, income verification adjustments, timeline restrictions, and a lottery-based application system.
- Chair Johnson directed staff to target an April 1 launch for ERA, rather than June, using existing staffing if needed.
- Commissioners requested further exploration of including displaced renters in the Inheritance Fund program and more detailed data on application status reasons (e.g., denials vs. non-responses) and on the sustained homeownership of past DPA borrowers.
- The board acknowledged the West Side Flats Inheritance Fund’s success (full allocation used) and expressed desire to see similar uptake in the Rondo Inheritance Fund.
- Staff emphasized that any future partnerships (with county or nonprofits) must adhere to the city’s program guidelines.
Meeting Transcript
Roll call, please. Bowie. Coleman. Here. Joast. Here. Kim. Here. Yang. Here. Chair Johnson. Here. There are five present, two absent, being commissioners Bowie and Commissioner Kim. All right. Well, it feels good to be back with us on our uh my first week post maternity leave. Um, chairing this meeting. I just want to say thank you so much to Vice Chair Joels for holding it down while I have been gone. I have genuinely appreciated that and allowing me to attend virtually when I had to, and then also just being able to spend time with my son Isaiah. It means a lot to me to know that um this body was still in good hands and that um and to see the meeting still go successfully. So thank you so much for being able to do that. We got one more meeting. Yes, give it up for Vice Chair Joe's. Um, for the sake of the flow of today's meeting, we are actually gonna take this agenda out of order. Um, the resolution discussion item pertains to the emergency rental assistance guideline updates, and so I want us to get through the staff reports first. So if folks are okay with that, I'll I'll uh actually start with the staff report and then do the discussion last today. All right. Starting with item number two, uh staff report SR 26-21 update on citywide and inheritance fund down payment assistance program and the 2026 program guideline updates. All right, so you will notice that over the the um next several meetings into between now genuinely and April of this year, there will be many intentional presentations that have been given based off of the commissioners' priorities, where we'll be able to provide updates and plans uh for this body, and so different programs that we have either funded either through local affordable housing aid or through the housing trust fund or through the HRA in one way, shape, or form will come in front of this body for updates, guideline changes, and or just general plans for 2026. And so we're starting that out first with the down payment assistance and the inheritance fund. Uh I've heard a lot of support for this throughout the different wards, uh, but also just generally wanting to bring this back. So they won't be uh going into depth about exactly what something is. We had that last year. This will be really pertaining to the work in 2025 and the work plans for 2026. Um, we started with these early because I wanted to make sure that we were able to hear from uh Rachel and the housing team directly, and just wanted to be able to uh have a start somewhere. So we're starting with the down payment assistance fund and the inheritance fund here. And I'll head it over to Director McMahon, who will head it over to Rachel. So thank you. Pretty much. Rachel Finanzadal is here to be providing this update on the down payment assistance program. And she'll also note a suggested 2026 program guideline update, and that would then be before you for consideration next week. Thank you. And can you say your last name for me so I can get it correct? Because that's why I say Rachel, but you know, I should say your last name. The second one is easier, right? Um Rachel Finazodal is uh my name. Yes. Thank you. I was like, I'm going to say her first name. You got it. But yes, Ms.
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