Flagstaff housing board approves administrative changes to accept Williams voucher program transfer

The City of Flagstaff Housing Authority board on a unanimous voice vote adopted an amendment to its Section 8 administrative plan to accept the transfer of the City of Williams housing choice voucher program, directing staff to incorporate technical changes and to use revised language on Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) reviews.

Sarah, housing authority director, told the board she had "received a HUD letter of approval on May 1" for the transfer but that the letter did not include the conditions the board and the Flagstaff City Council had attached. She said she will rewrite HUD’s draft acknowledgment to include the conditions the board requires before the transfer becomes effective.

The amendment updates the authority’s jurisdiction to include the corporate limits of the City of Williams and permits technical and conforming edits across the administrative plan so staff can reflect the new jurisdiction and related policy changes. Sarah said the changes are administrative and do not expand leasing into Belmont or other surrounding areas without an additional public process.

The board also approved language—proposed by staff and revised on the floor after a suggestion from Caleb, housing authority staff—that EIV records for former Williams participants "will not be reviewed for the purposes of determining any retroactive rent charges" for periods prior to each household’s first effective recertification date as a Flagstaff participant. That exemption will sunset on June 30, 2026, unless the board amends it earlier. Sarah explained the temporary exemption is intended to protect participants from retroactive charges tied to actions the Williams Housing Authority could not administratively adjust before the transfer.

Board members discussed operational items the amendment enables: separate payment standards and utility allowance schedules for Flagstaff and for the Williams corporate limits, and the need to preserve Flagstaff’s high Section 8 management score. Sarah said the authority has requested 12 months of lease-up time for the roughly 50 transferred vouchers and technical assistance from HUD; she noted that historically Williams has had fewer leased vouchers and staff estimate between 17 and 22 vouchers are currently leased in Williams.

Sarah said the authority will not begin issuing new vouchers from the Williams transfer immediately; the plan is to pause new issuances for roughly 60 to 90 days while staff completes onboarding and verifies participant records. She also warned that expanding the leasing area or local preferences into adjacent areas will require a separate public process with at least a 45-day comment period and other public notices.

After discussion, Mayor Becky Daggett moved to adopt the resolution with the revised EIV language suggested by Caleb; Ashley Page seconded the motion. Chair Bridal called for the vote; those present responded "aye," and the chair announced the resolution adopted with the agreed modification.

The board instructed staff to complete technical and conforming edits throughout the admin plan, to send the revised HUD acknowledgment language back to HUD Phoenix, and to prepare additional proposed amendments for the board’s consideration later this summer when more data about Williams’ waiting list and unit inventory are available.

Director’s report items tied to the transfer were included in the meeting’s business. Sarah also reported staffing challenges in the Williams/field office and within the authority’s compliance team: Kurt, the compliance and reporting manager, is out on medical leave. Sarah said temporary staffer Dixie Barlow will support the admin-plan edits. She also announced that housing will move from Community Development to the city manager’s office to become its own division later in the year.

The board scheduled its next meeting for July 17, 2025, at 9 a.m.