County officials, housing advocates upset by popular home repair program’s omission from state budget

A home repair program once passed as a landmark bipartisan initiative failed to receive funding in this year’s state budget, disappointing many county officials and housing and energy advocates. 

“Indications at the establishment of this initial funding round were such that there would be annual funding for this program,” LuAnn Zak, assistant director with the Indiana County Office of Planning & Development, told City & State. “Yes, there are a lot of competing budgetary needs. However, investing in the maintenance of this existing housing stock always gets pushed off the list of programs to be funded at the state level.”

The commonwealth’s Whole-Home Repairs program, championed by state Sen. Nikil Saval, originally received $125 million in funding in 2022 to help property owners repair and weatherize their homes and support training and pre-apprenticeship programs. The bipartisan legislation quickly garnered attention and an abundance of applications from residents and property owners across Pennsylvania seeking grants and forgivable loans to repair and modernize their properties. 

Saval expressed disappointment in the program's absence from the recently signed state budget, stating that the need to address Pennsylvania’s aging housing stock won’t disappear. 

“This year’s budget contains the fruits of several important hard-fought, hard-won victories, but unfortunately, a reinvestment in the lifesaving Whole-Home Repairs Program is not yet among them,” Saval said in a statement following the budget passage. “The coalition of housing and energy advocates, community organizations, Pennsylvania residents, and bipartisan legislators remains committed to the fight to fund this program to meet the enormity of Pennsylvania’s need. Our commitment to combating the housing crisis is unwavering. The need is not going away, and neither are we.”

The need at the county level was clear within the first year: In Indiana and Lackawanna counties, the waitlist for individual projects exceeded the county’s allotment by a factor of four; interest in the program in Lackawanna exceeded 10 times what the county could dole out. And in more suburban and urban areas such as Lehigh County, the application portal filled up within eight hours of opening.

The program’s popularity went beyond the state’s borders: U.S. Sen. John Fetterman introduced a federal version of the Whole-Home Repairs legislation and several states proposed similar programs modeled after the commonwealth’s. 

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was also a major supporter of the program, proposing another $50 million investment in the program in his budget address and going around the commonwealth to promote its impact in rural and urban areas alike. 

“It is clear that the need is there. It is clear that this initiative works. It is clear that a few dollars can make a huge difference for families,” Shapiro said during a press conference outside a repaired home in Philadelphia in March. “We’ve got to bring Democrats and Republicans together and do commonsense things like the (Whole-Home Repairs program).”

Zak argued that although lawmakers had many budget priorities to compromise on, a program like Whole-Home Repairs is a “win-win” in the areas of affordable housing, workforce development, and energy efficiency. 

“Keep in mind that the monetary investment in this housing is also an economic driver for the local economies, from the contractors to the suppliers,” Zak said. “If Indiana County were to get (even) $200,000 to $300,000 on an annual basis, that would be a godsend to our people that come (to us) with these emergency priorities in our housing.”

The Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance also expressed disappointment in the lack of appropriations for Whole-Home Repairs, calling it a “much-needed” program. 

“Partisan politics won out over Pennsylvanians when the General Assembly declined to include an appropriation for the popular and desperately needed Whole-Home Repairs program in this year’s budget,” KEAA said in a statement. “Whole-Home Repairs funds critical repairs for income-qualified homeowners and small landlords and improves access to energy efficiency.”

Despite its popularity, the future of the program remains uncertain. Both Shapiro’s office and state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman recognized lawmakers’ focus on education funding and human service programs without directly addressing the possibility of further funding Whole-Home Repairs. 

In a written statement, Pittman, who represents Indiana County, said the current budget is a balanced deal – without getting into specifics about the housing program. 

“While there are many programs that sought funding, as we looked at ways to responsibly invest tax dollars across the commonwealth, the substantial investments made for education funding and human service programs became the focus,” Pittman, who represents Indiana County, said in a statement to City & State. “The final state budget strikes a good compromise between a divided government and will help to both empower Pennsylvanians and protect taxpayers in the years ahead.”

Zak said Indiana County – which has completed 20 home projects while receiving more than 100 applications – has exhausted its funding, with repair contracts through 2024 and 2025. Additionally, as the county used the program’s flexibility to use a sizeable share of its funding for workforce development and training programs, Zak added that vocational programs and the contractor pipeline in the county could take a hit as well. 

“It's disappointing to not be able to build off of what we've started,” Zak concluded. Now, she added, “it’s one-and-done.”