The Tampa Bay office is among 16 field offices of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that will close as part of the agency’s plan to trim costs and “create efficiencies.” Four of those offices serve eight cities with the highest rates of foreclosures, according to CNNMoney.

“We need the boots on the ground in Tampa to help us deal with the housing crisis. Now is not the time to pull out,” said Sylvia Alvarez, executive director of the Housing and Education Alliance, a nonprofit group that helps people with housing issues in Tampa.

According to a HUD memo, all the closures were “based on the business needs of the Department.”