Although Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency dominates the headlines around federal funding, Salt Lake City leaders are still moving forward with their efforts to fund critical housing programs with federal dollars.
Despite the uncertainty, they say immediate federal funding is not in danger.
“With the continuing resolution that Congress passed, [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] is actually working on getting the grant awards out to the city for this coming year,” city director of housing stability Tony Milner told the city council at a March 25 work session.
Salt Lake City uses HUD grants to fund everything from affordable housing construction to child care and end-of-life services. For the 2026 fiscal year, the city is in the process of determining where nearly $4.9 million will go.
When it comes to what could happen in the future, city housing stability spokesperson Sofia Jeremias said they are still “working to understand shifting federal guidelines and funding priorities.”
“Many of these federal grants are competitive or rely on formulas that may change year to year,” she said. “We are always cognizant that a specific grant may not be available in upcoming years and prepare for that.”
The Salt Lake City Council is discussing a new five-year consolidated plan for 2025-2029, which is a requirement to receive any funding from HUD.
Councilors discussed the framework for those grant programs on March 25, including whether or not to raise the minimum funding request of $30,000 for organizations that hope to be awarded grants. They cited the increasing costs for nonprofits looking to provide these services.
“I think the general guidance to raise it to $50,000 helps the recipients,” said District 1 Councilor Victoria Petro, who represents the northwestern part of the city. “The only caveat I would have is wanting to retain the option to go lower in the event of a federal decrease.”
The council took a non-binding straw poll and was in unanimous agreement to keep the current minimum level for this year, with the option to either raise or lower it depending on funding levels from the federal government.
The annual allocations are first proposed by the mayor’s office and then approved by the council. Exactly where the current tranche of money gets allocated, however, is where councilors appear to still have work to do — especially in areas where some applicants may provide overlapping services like home repair.
“I am just confused about the duplicity of programs, and I'm trying to wrap my head around that,” said District 2 Councilor Alejandro Puy, who also represents the west side.
The council agreed they will need to be strategic on which programs and services they would like to prioritize.
Petro added the funding landscape will continue to change.
“We are going to be put in these crosshairs more and more over the next four years and I think we have to have conversations about the new reality,” she said. “There's not going to be a good answer. We're going to have to figure out what our strategy is.”
The council is expected to revisit the discussion over HUD grants later this spring.
