RIPEC report: RI Housing Resources Commission an agency in need of reform

The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) has released a policy brief highlighting issues with the design and operations of Rhode Island’s Housing Resources Commission (HRC):

RIPEC found that the HRC has wide statutory authority over housing policy and programming and shares many of the same top-line responsibilities with the Department of Housing. Conducting a 50-state analysis, RIPEC also found that the HRC’s combination of membership size, responsibilities, funding authority, and persistent issues with conflicts of interest makes it unique among housing stakeholder agencies nationwide.

“The HRC has wide statutory powers, and has been responsible for housing policy, rulemaking, and programming in Rhode Island since its inception in 1998,” said RIPEC President and CEO Michael DiBiase. “However, under current law, the HRC shares many of these same responsibilities with the Department of Housing and it is unclear which is the state’s lead entity for housing.”

Governor McKee recently submitted a budget amendment that would reimagine the HRC as an advisory body.

More Key Findings Highlighted in the Brief

• With 13 of 28 seats (46.4 percent), the HRC’s membership is weighted toward representatives of non-profit advocacy groups and service providers.
• The HRC has historically struggled with membership and currently has only 18 of 28 seats filled, with ten seats awaiting gubernatorial appointment.
• Meeting attendance has declined every year since 2019, with fewer than half of sitting members (47.1 percent) on average in attendance in 2024.
• Members holding statutorily designated seats often have matters before the HRC, leading to frequent abstentions.
• Since 2016, three community development corporations with representatives on the HRC received $17.0 million of $90.0 million available in bond funds administered by the HRC.

Policy Recommendations

RIPEC recommends policymakers:

• Change the HRC’s statutory authority
• Remove all HRC funding authority
• Reconstitute the HRC as an advisory body
• Reduce HRC membership and ensure members adhere to term limits

DiBiase added, “No other states have stakeholder housing bodies that are organized or operate like the HRC. With declining membership and attendance, conflicts of interest, and lack of transparency, our research demonstrates that the HRC is not the appropriate agency to hold decision-making authority over housing policy, programming, or funding—not when it was formed in 1998, and particularly not now, as Rhode Island faces especially steep housing challenges.” 

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Members of the HRC:

• Melina Lodge – Vice Chair, Executive Director, Housing Network of Rhode Island
• Michelle Brophy – Associate Director, Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals
• Lisa W. Bryer – Town of Jamestown Planning Dept.
• Maria Cimini – Director, RI Office of Healthy Aging
• Brenda Clement – Representative of Fair Housing
• Gene Michael Deary – RI Bankers Association
• Kim Simmons – Executive Director, RI Coalition for the Homeless
• Jordan Mickman – Office of the R.I. Attorney General
• Deborah Imondi – Pres., RI Mortgage Bankers Association
• Paula McFarland – Executive Director, Warwick Housing Authority
• Kimberly Merolla-Brito – Director, RI Dept. of Human Services
• Matthew Santacroce, – Deputy Director, RI Dept. of Business Regulation
• Melissa Sanzaro – RI Association of Executive Directors for Housing
• Mike Simoli– R.I. Department of Health
• Philip Tedesco – RI Realtors Association
• Carol Ventura – Executive Director, RI Housing & Mortgage Finance Corp
• Erik Wallin, Esq. – Executive Director of Operation Stand Down
• Rebecca Webber – Deputy Director for Performance and Projects, Department of Administration

The full RIPEC report: