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Tulsa Housing Authority Prepares for Cuts under Trump Budget Proposal

Trump Campaign

The Tulsa Housing Authority stands to lose up to $5.5 million for fiscal year 2018 if President Donald Trump's proposed Housing and Urban Development cut goes through.

Housing authority interim President and CEO Matthew Letzig said their loss of HUD funds would be exacerbate an existing problem.

"Public housing is already 10 percent short in funding, so it's already $1 million-plus down. Section 8 admin is already 16 percent in the hole from what HUD says we should get funded," Letzig said. "So, that's almost another half a million dollars we're already in the hole to start, and that's before the $5 million in cuts."

Trump proposes cutting HUD funding 13 percent — or $6 billion — in the 2018 federal budget. Tulsa Housing Authority would see the steepest drop in federal funding for repairs.

"We've got over $4 million in needs right now, and we're accruing about $4.1 million a year," Letzig said. "Funding, if we get the 68 percent capital funding cut — pretty significant — we're going to get less than $1 million to pay for those capital fund repairs. So, annually, that number could get pretty big, pretty quick."

The Section 8 voucher program would lose $1.5 million under the president's proposal, which could leave more than 200 families without rental assistance. Section 8 staff funding losses would likely lead to longer waits for assistance.

Letzig said their only choice is to absorb cuts.

"We're looking at doing some stuff with our developments for public housing now as far as doing rehab, maybe making them mixed-finance communities. There's some avenues out there that are HUD-approved," Letzig said.

There is some optimism, however, as many congressional Republicans oppose Trump's steep cuts to domestic, nondefense spending.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.