CM Narcisse on H&H asylum seeker budget wind-down
Narcisse asks about the $30.9M asylum seeker budget with no FY27 funding. Katz explains the money is closeout costs for hotels and shelters now transitioned to DSS. All employees were absorbed into other jobs with no layoffs.
Asylum seekers.
H&H has an asylum seeker budget of $30.9 million in fiscal 2026 with no funding in fiscal 2027.
How is the remaining asylum seeker funding in H&H budget being spent?
So the money that is showing in the fiscal 2026.
Fiscal year 26 is all the closeout of the hotels and shelters that we were running for people who were seeking asylum.
And now all of those services have been transitioned to DSS within the existing shelter system because we're no longer receiving the buses.
As you remember, there were days when 200 people would arrive to the city without any place to be sheltered.
And so in order to help our sister agency, we created another system.
But now that other system is no longer needed.
So there's no ongoing funding for the program.
It's all within DSS.
So I'll go to DSS.
Yes.
And the money that is there was already, that's already spent, that was money that was spent at the beginning of the fiscal year before the programs closed down.
Does H&H have any employees who are fully dedicated to asylum seeker operations?
If so, what will happen to them when H&H fully winds down in asylum seeker operations?
Everybody was absorbed in other jobs.
They were all absorbed.
Nobody lost their job.
Nobody lost their job.
Thank you.
Good news, especially in this climate.
Okay.
You know I love bridge to home, so I'm going to have to tax over to it.