PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Cutbacks in federal support for affordable housing and fallout from the foreclosure crisis have forced Rhode Island Housing to reduce its work force by about 15 percent, resulting in 30 layoffs last week, according to Executive Director Richard Godfrey.
The jobs of 10 temporary workers and 20 permanent employees were eliminated Aug. 20, saving about $1.9 million from the agency's $19 million operating budget for fiscal 2014, Godfrey said.
Although Rhode Island Housing is an agency of the State of Rhode Island, it receives no operating support from the state, and its employees are not state employees, Godfrey said. "We are entirely self-sustaining," he said.
"We're going to have to do the same amount of work with fewer people," Godfrey added. "That is a real challenge." He said the agency will conduct an analysis of how to best deploy the remaining staff to continue its mission.
Over its 40-year history, Rhode Island Housing has provided the money to help more than 60,000 low- and moderate-income Rhode Island households buy a first home, and it provides oversight and assistance to more than 25,000 affordable apartments.