Alexandria’s public housing authority is struggling to put together its budget in the wake of the recent government shutdown.
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority has a goal of submitting its budget to its Board of Commissioners next month, ARHA’s Chief Financial Officer Sheila White told the board on Monday night.
With a budget funded primarily through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants (67%), tenant rents (24%), local funding, as well as grants and management fees, White said the shutdown from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12 has made it hard to craft a cohesive budget.
“When I joined the organization in July 28 of this year, I knew developing a budget for the organization would be a challenge,” White told the board, “but I had no idea that the longest federal shutdown in history, coupled with the significant cuts and changes to the HUD agency, were all going to hit in this budget cycle.”
The total approved budget for the current fiscal year is $60.8 million, according to a presentation before the board.
During the shutdown, the board was unable to access HUD specialists who could have assisted with the budget process. This caused difficulties, White said.
“You just didn’t have anywhere to go, and so you’re searching online to get resources, you may be calling for folks who may be similarly situated,” White said. “That’s pretty difficult, especially for something that you need a great deal of certainty when you’re talking about people’s housing, the ability to deliver services.”
White said she wants to present a budget to the board on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, and will use historical data to temporarily fill in budget gaps.
“I think in the absence of any new information, we should use the best information we have, which is historical data,” White said.
ARHA is currently undergoing a restructuring, following the resignation of its nine-member board in October. City Council then appointed six new commissioners, chaired by former City Manager Mark Jinks.
“It’s going to be a difficult budget,” Jinks said.
Also Monday, Jinks announced one of ARHA’s new board members, Justin Jackson, resigned, leaving five board members in control of the organization.
ARHA is being led by acting CEO Rickie Maddox, who last month announced that ARHA will conduct a third-party inspection program of all of its owned and related units from private landlords with federal rental voucher-holding households.
ARHA is currently at 95% occupancy, and nearly 38,000 people are on its waiting list for housing. The public housing authority owns and operates more than 1,100 properties in Alexandria and administers the Housing Choice Voucher program to more than 1,600 residents in private properties citywide.
Ronesha Parker attended Monday night’s meeting. She has lived in a two-bedroom ARHA property on S. 28th Street for five years. In October, Parker and many of her neighbors were temporarily moved to a nearby hotel so that crews could make repairs to their homes.
Parker said that her house has mold, and that contractors simply painted over the walls with mold.
“We haven’t gotten any notice about new unit inspections,” Parker said. “That’s why I’m here, to get answers and clarity on how they move as an entity. I’m here to make sure that they know that tenants are not stupid. They’re going to see me every month at the board meetings.”
