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Housing office says billing incoming portability vouchers will raise short-term HAP expenses; budget increased
Summary
Staff told the Davenport Housing Commission that billing for vouchers transferring into Davenport has raised Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) expenses up front; staff said those costs are reimbursed later and the authority increased a line from $30,000 to $60,000 to avoid a shortfall.
Malaya, a housing office staff member, told the Davenport Housing Commission on April 14 that the office’s Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) expense line has risen because the authority now bills other housing agencies for vouchers that transfer into Davenport.
"Our HAP expenses include those portability requests for transfers into the housing authority. So we pay those expenses up front and then we receive reimbursement throughout the month from the other housing authority to pay for those expenses," Malaya said.
The increase is a cash-flow issue rather than a net cost, staff said. Malaya told commissioners the authority pays HAP for a household when that household leases a unit under Davenport administration, then invoices the originating housing authority and receives reimbursement later. To reduce the risk of running a deficit while reimbursements are pending, staff said finance agreed to expand the HAP expense line from $30,000 to $60,000.
Commissioners pressed staff for additional detail about timing and volume. Leah, a staff member who processes portability requests, told commissioners Davenport is billing for roughly "40, almost 40, 42, do not quote me" transfers into the authority and that many port-ins come from rural Iowa housing authorities. Leah said Davenport is seen as an attractive option because of housing, school and transportation options.
Malaya said the office stopped absorbing port-ins several years ago after drawing down reserves and that a recent increase in the payment standard contributed to spending from those reserves. "We will be billing moving forward for any vouchers that are transferring into this housing authority," she said.
Staff offered to present a fuller briefing on portability—timing of reimbursement, administrative cost impact, and how other authorities process portability checks—at a future meeting.
Ending: Commissioners scheduled follow-up briefings; the finance motion to approve the March financial report (which incorporates the HAP figures Malaya described) passed during the same meeting.
