Asheville housing authority plans to cut workforce by more than half

The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville planned to cut its workforce from 112 employees to fewer than 50, leaving one of Buncombe County’s largest housing providers with less than half its current staff as it tries to steady its finances after months of strain.

HACA owns 1,525 apartments in eight complexes and administers about 1,300 housing choice vouchers for residents who rent in the private market. With far fewer employees, the agency would have less capacity for maintenance requests, tenant support, inspections, recertifications, rent questions and crisis response, all of which already weigh heavily on public housing tenants and voucher holders across Asheville.

The latest cut followed an April reduction in force that eliminated 34 positions, or 21% of the workforce. At the time, HACA needed to cut costs and refocus on its core housing mission. The authority burned through about $9 million in reserves across 2024 and 2025.

In late 2025, its top executives were Marvin Jean Jacques, the chief operating officer, and Ella Santos, the president and CEO. The staffing reductions have landed while the authority tries to keep older properties operating, including Pisgah View Apartments, which is 74 years old.

Asheville City Council eliminated the housing authority board chair and vice chair positions in February 2025, and advocates protested the restructuring and lack of transparency. In April, HACA and the Asheville Police Department agreed to add extra patrols in public housing neighborhoods after violent crimes, and in May HACA and the local Continuum of Care reinstated admission preferences for some people experiencing homelessness.

On June 22, three bodies had been found in vacant apartments there this year, and all three deaths were suspected overdoses. A 2025 housing needs assessment put the city’s housing need at more than 10,000 homes.