Some local programs that receive federal funding are operational amid a partial government shutdown, but that may not last if the shutdown continues much longer.

A shutdown of many federal agencies has entered its third week as President Donald Trump continues his demand that Congress allocate at least $5 billion for a border wall with Mexico.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is among agencies that have closed. HUD provides funding for the Section 8 voucher program, which provides low-income individuals and households with rent assistance.

In Bowling Green, city government handles the 600 Section 8 housing vouchers used each month to reimburse about $250,000 monthly to local landlords.

City Neighborhood and Community Services Director Brent Childers said the city has previously received Section 8 funding through February, meaning rents due starting March 1 and later are not yet funded.

“We’re OK for the time being,” Childers said Monday.

Some other smaller funding streams from federal agencies to the city have also been impacted, but the big question is how, and if, the city would cover the Section 8 vouchers, which run about $3 million a year.

“We are starting those conversations now to be prepared,” Childers said.

Another major recipient of HUD funding is the Bowling Green Housing Authority.

That agency’s director, Abraham Williams, said the authority has also been funded through February.

After that, the agency would have to operate largely on reserves. Williams said the authority has perhaps six months of reserve funding, but doesn’t want to tap those funds.

“We hope” we won’t have to use the reserves,” Williams said. “We hope (the shutdown) ends by Feb. 1.”

Other local services are currently being impacted by the shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Office in Bowling Green is closed, according to recorded messages at the office, with workers on furlough, and volunteers with the Friends of Mammoth Cave group were on hand at the national park this weekend picking up trash and acting as unofficial tour guides in the absence of federal park workers.

Adding to the uncertainty is that local officials are forced to monitor news reports for updates on the shutdown.

“The federal workers are out, so we can’t call HUD and ask questions,” Childers said.