Essex Commits $400K to Four Affordable Townhomes, Presses on Tenant Selection

Essex County commissioners on Sept. 2, 2026, sent $400,000 in federal housing money to build four affordable rental townhomes in Orange. The unanimous vote came only after the meeting's sharpest questioning, about who will actually get to live in them. The administration also announced it plans to pull county workers out of the State Health Benefits Plan, a shift that could reshape benefit costs for years.

• $400,000 in HOME funds goes to Sierra House for four low-income rental townhomes; the board wants written tenant-selection criteria.

• County plans to exit the State Health Benefits Plan on Jan. 1, 2027, projecting it will cut a roughly 20% increase in half.

• $10M in state gas-tax aid will repave six county roads in 2027, a 10% jump over 2026.

• $5M medical examiner bridge deal follows Hudson and Passaic counties' exit to join Bergen.

• Residents raise repeat crashes on South Orange Avenue and allege skipped employee suspension hearings.

Where things stand: The board reprogrammed $400,000 in HOME funds from the county's one-year action plan to Sierra House, a nonprofit based in East Orange, to build four affordable townhomes. Housing Coordinator Andre Narvaez of the Division of Housing and Community Development called the money gap financing. He said it would be combined with dollars from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA), other federal funds and municipal tax-credit assistance, and that county review found the amount sufficient.