Shrewsbury Housing Authority Approves FY2027 Budget Amid Federal Reserve Restrictions

SHREWSBURY — March 10, 2026 — Shrewsbury Housing Authority approves FY2027 budget as new HUD rule permanently caps reserve growth. The board voted unanimously to approve its entity-wide fiscal year 2027 budget at its March 10 meeting, but the session was dominated by fee accountant James's detailed briefing on HUD Notice 2025-20, a federal directive effective January 1, 2026, that requires housing authorities to exhaust all non-federal revenue before drawing on federal operating subsidy and bars any unspent subsidy from flowing into reserves. The authority's HUD operating subsidy is down $207,000 in the new budget, and the overall national operating fund has been reduced to roughly 80 percent of last year's level. The Section 8 administrative fee proration dropped from 93 percent to 85 percent, cutting projected Section 8 net income from nearly $50,000 to $20,000. The authority's reserves, projected at $3.3 million, are effectively frozen: "The days of building up reserves is over," the accountant told the board. "There's no recovery." The authority also received a $35,000 Mass Housing Partnership grant for pre-development feasibility work at 11 Elizabeth Street.