Dear SHA Residents and Voucher Participants, 

For the first time in my thirteen-year tenure as Chief Financial Officer for the Seattle Housing Authority, and perhaps in the history of the agency, SHA will not undertake its customary process for developing the next year’s budget. Responding to the coronavirus pandemic, and maintaining housing and services under unprecedented circumstances, has required the full attention of our staff, many of whom ordinarily would devote time over several spring and summer months to budget development. Instead, SHA will propose a budget for 2021 that basically carries over the budget from 2020, with some minor adjustments.  

What this means for you is that we will not conduct the annual budget survey as we have in past years, when we’ve had more opportunity for changes in priorities in building our following year’s budget. Your feedback in past budget surveys has been very important and has helped SHA direct resources to the things you care the most about. 

While we won’t conduct a formal survey this year, your feedback on SHA’s budget continues to be meaningful and we would like to hear from you. Even if we won’t have the same level of flexibility, or ability to reprioritize programs and services, your thoughts could help us as we consider minor changes we may be able to make. If you would like to share thoughts or have any questions on SHA’s budget priorities, please email me at shelly.yapp@seattlehousing.org, call me at 206.615.3390 or write to me at 190 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109. 

Every year, it is the highlight of my year to read your feedback in the budget survey and have in-person discussions with many of you in various SHA community meetings. I will miss that and look forward to the survey and meetings resuming in the future. 

In the meantime, I hope you and your families are safe and well, and a special thank you to those of you who are first responders or working in health care, food supply, child care and other essential services. 

Warm regards, 

Shelly Yapp 

SHA Chief Financial Officer