Reviewing Maryland’s Draft 2025-2026 Housing and Community Development Performance Report

Somerset County Falls Under State Reporting Cycle: CAPER Open for Comment

Per the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) framework, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) opened a 15-day public comment period on the Draft State Fiscal Year 2026 (Federal Fiscal Year 2025) Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). Somerset County is a non-entitlement jurisdiction; its HUD planning documents are administered at the state level, making this draft directly applicable to local housing and community development outcomes.

What the CAPER Covers

• The Draft CAPER documents DHCD progress on housing and community development goals from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
• This reporting window constitutes Year One of the current five-year Consolidated Plan.
• Coverage extends to Maryland's non-entitlement jurisdictions. Entitlement communities — Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties, and the cities of Annapolis, Baltimore, Bowie, Cumberland, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Hagerstown, and Salisbury — prepare and submit their own Consolidated Plans and CAPERs.
• For Somerset County, allocations, project outcomes, and performance metrics funnel through the state document, not a separate county submission.

Comment Window and Submission Protocol

• Public comment period: Friday, September 4, 2026 – Sunday, September 20, 2026.
• Acceptable submission channels: email, mail, or verbal comments by phone during the comment period.
• Designated point of contact: Lauren Metz, Senior Analyst, Federal & Strategic Programs, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, 7800 Harkins Road, Lanham, Maryland 20706.

Practical Steps for Somerset County Stakeholders

• Confirm jurisdictional status before commenting. Somerset County is not listed among entitlement jurisdictions in the CAPER framework; do not duplicate a comment submitted to a separate municipal process.
• Review the Draft CAPER on the DHCD Consolidated Plan page to identify State Fiscal Year 2026 performance metrics tied to Somerset County.
• Submit comments within the 15-day window using one of the three approved channels. Late submissions fall outside the statutory review requirement and carry no procedural weight.
• Direct questions to Lauren Metz before the close of business on September 20, 2026. Telephone comments are accepted but should be confirmed in writing if they contain material claims intended for the administrative record.
• Retain copies of all submitted correspondence. The CAPER is submitted annually to HUD; the state record constitutes the basis for federal review of Somerset County's covered activities.

The Draft CAPER is a planning compliance instrument, not a regulatory proposal. Its function is to measure performance against the Annual Action Plan and the five-year Consolidated Plan, both of which govern the deployment of HUD program funds within Somerset County.