Nogales Housing Authority director reports near-full occupancy, HUD review and field-office staffing cuts

During the Nogales Housing Authority Board of Commissioners’ March 5 meeting, the authority’s director gave a detailed operations report covering occupancy rates, voucher status, maintenance work orders, capital grants and a recent comprehensive review by a HUD field office.

The director said public-housing occupancy stood at 98% (217 leases out of 220 available units). She reported 72 maintenance work orders in February, with 65 completed and the remainder rolling into the next month because of inspections. Turnover figures included one unit in turnaround and six offline units; the authority counted 226 total units when including offline properties.

The Housing Choice Voucher program listing showed 77 vouchers in the program with 55 leased, 22 available, and 40 people on the waiting list; stability vouchers accounted for four executed leases and one outstanding. The director explained “portings” (participants who move to another jurisdiction and are absorbed by that jurisdiction’s voucher authority) and said the authority was processing one incoming porting.

On capital grants, the director said the authority had obligated $727,543 from its 2022 capital grant and had a remaining balance of $2,629 with a disbursement end date of May 11, 2026. The 2023 capital grant showed $680,891.39 obligated and $66,910.61 remaining; she explained HUD requires obligating 90% by the obligation deadline and cited obligation and disbursement end dates in the grant schedules.

The director described a comprehensive HUD field-office review conducted the week of Feb. 17–20. She said HUD staff conducted an A-to-Z review of policies and operations and that the office learned about gaps in the authority’s practices and training. The director said field-office staffing in Phoenix is being reduced: “they were still promising to provide the same services,” she said, but staff numbers dropped from roughly 12 to 3. She added the authority expects a final report with findings and recommended corrective actions in April.

Board members raised governance questions prompted by the review. One commissioner told HUD interviewers that Nogales Housing Authority follows the city charter after the city made the housing authority a city department, while HUD reviewers said the authority still must follow its housing-authority bylaws. The commissioner said Mr. Rose (an HUD or field-office contact referenced in the meeting) agreed to draft a letter outlining necessary clarifications between the city charter and housing-authority bylaws.

Other operational matters discussed included preventive pest control: staff proposed increasing the annual extermination/preventive maintenance allocation from previous ad-hoc spending to a $30,000 annual preventive plan. Commissioners and staff also discussed resident yard upkeep policy for gated areas; staff noted the current housekeeping policy holds tenants responsible for inside- and outside-unit maintenance and said policy change or volunteer programs could be considered.

The director closed by asking the board what additional reporting it would like going forward (monthly inspections, an activities/events list) and said she would provide the authority’s policy documentation and the forthcoming HUD review report when available.