A tougher issue may be the uneven receipt of federal funding for the program, Spann said.
"It's still a mystery what they're doing with our funding," he told the commissioners and board members.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has been eliminating unused voucher funding at the end of each year to reduce spending on housing.
"Future funding is based on what we've spent the previous year," Spann explained. But partly because Congress doesn't typically approve a federal budget until months after the federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30, the funding received by the county can arrive erratically. Still, if it isn't spent quickly enough, HUD may reduce the county's annual funding by the unspent amount.
"That's HUD math," said commission member Michael G. Riemer.
Last fall, Spann said, the county got more voucher funding near the end of the fiscal year, but feared losing part of it this year if it wasn't spent quickly.
Attempts to get clarification from HUD via letters were not answered, Spann said. Later, after intervention on the county's behalf by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski's office, Spann said, his agency got a letter from HUD stating the problem was solved, though no solution has been revealed to the county.
larry.carson@baltsun.com
