Council orders Finance Committee hearings on the pace of Parker's H.O.M.E. housing spending
Resolution 260934 came two days after the controller reported $38 million of $278 million spent. Nine members signed on; no hearing date is set.
City Council will hold hearings on Mayor Cherelle L. Parker's housing plan, Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E. At-large Councilmember Kendra Brooks introduced Resolution 260934 Thursday authorizing the Committee on Finance to conduct hearings on the plan, and Council adopted it the same day, according to our record of the Oct. 29 session.
H.O.M.E. pays for home repairs, eviction help, new affordable units and first-time buyer programs. How fast that money is spent decides when residents actually see the help.
Why now
Two days earlier, City Controller Christy Brady reported that the city had spent about $38 million of the $278 million budgeted for the plan's first phase as of Sept. 30, the Inquirer reported. Only four of 29 approved programs had spent money, all existing programs that got more funds. Our story on the report.
The resolution is meant to examine whether the administration has delayed spending, the Inquirer reported Thursday. A Parker administration official said the programs are on pace to use their full budgets, the paper reported. Angela Brooks, the city's chief housing officer, earlier told the Inquirer that project spending is tied to milestones, "not on a calendar."
Housing money was also the subject of a West Philadelphia rally this week calling for a $36 million commitment for affordable homes, which Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Rue Landau supported, according to the Broad Street Brief. Our story.
What our records add
- Nine sponsors. Brooks plus Anthony Phillips, Isaiah Thomas, Jeffery Young Jr., Jim Harrity, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Mike Driscoll, Nicolas O'Rourke and Quetcy Lozada. That is just over half of Council. The roll call on adoption was not yet posted in our record.
- The chair is a sponsor. The Finance Committee is chaired by Majority Leader Gilmore Richardson, the Inquirer reported. She is one of the resolution's co-sponsors, and she was a lead sponsor of the plan's financing.
- Council approved the money. H.O.M.E. runs on borrowing Council authorized in two unanimous votes: Bill 250568, passed 16-0 on June 12, 2025, approving the financing agreement with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority; and Bill 251065, passed 17-0 on Jan. 22, 2026, which amended it. The controller's report says the remaining first-phase money must be spent by June 30, 2027, under the January legislation, according to the Inquirer.
- Who's not listed. Council President Kenyatta Johnson, a lead sponsor of the 2025 financing bill, is not a sponsor of the hearing resolution in our record.
What's next
No hearing has been scheduled, the Inquirer reported. When the Finance Committee sets a date, it will appear on our meetings page, and transcripts will be linked from the resolution's page. The One Philly Mortgage program, which Parker said this week would launch before the end of 2026 with Citizens Bank as its first lender, is part of the same plan.