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Nogales housing authority reports 98.65% occupancy, waiting‑list purge reduces applicants
Summary
Director Maritza Cervantes reported occupancy rates near 99%, completed maintenance work orders, and the results of a waiting‑list purge. Staff described voucher counts, project‑based vouchers, and grant timelines and budgets.
Maritza Cervantes, director of the Nogales Housing Authority, told the board the agency continues to maintain high occupancy in public housing and provided updated waiting‑list and voucher statistics during the director’s financial report.
Cervantes said the authority had 219 leased units out of 222 units, a vacancy/turnaround total of three and a reported occupancy percentage of 98.65. She described transfers that moved some tenants into smaller units and said the authority completed 84 maintenance work orders in the month and reported 10 callbacks, largely for clogged drains and holiday‑related lockouts.
The authority completed a waiting‑list purge that staff said began when letters were mailed Dec. 3 and took effect Jan. 3. Cervantes gave both the pre‑purge and post‑purge lists in the meeting: the packet reflected 1‑bedroom applicants at 139, 2‑bedroom 103, 3‑bedroom 37, 4‑bedroom 6 and 5‑bedroom 1 as of Dec. 31; after the purge she said the list read 79 for 1‑bedroom, 49 for 2‑bedroom, 14 for 3‑bedroom, 3 for 4‑bedroom and 1 for 5‑bedroom. She emphasized the waiting list remains open and will change as new applicants arrive.
On voucher programs, Cervantes reported the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) portfolio showed 176 vouchers on the top of the page, 156 executed leases and 20 available (for a total cited as 177 in the packet). Project‑based vouchers numbered 20 and staff said all 20 were executed under lease. Cervantes corrected a typographical error in the packet: stability vouchers total five, with four executed and one ported out. Emergency housing vouchers were reported as 15 total, with 11 executed and one ported out.
Cervantes also reviewed budget lines and grant obligations. She reported administrative expenses with $368,170 allocated and $238,172 obligated (leaving a balance the packet listed as $129,998). She provided utility, insurance and ordinary maintenance totals and an overall authority balance figure from the packet: out of $1,665,670 allocated for the year, the packet listed $879,589.97 expended and a remaining balance of $776,080.3 as of Dec. 30, 2024.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about grant obligation deadlines and program differences. Commissioner Bojercus asked whether the authority would obligate the remainder of the 2023 grant by Feb. 16; Cervantes said contracts are being drafted and that she expected the remaining funds to be obligated by the end of the week. When asked to distinguish stability vouchers from regular HCVs, Cervantes said stability vouchers were issued during COVID, are temporary, and participants know the assistance is time‑limited; she said staff is encouraged to move eligible participants to regular HCVs because the stability voucher funding is not permanent.
Cervantes closed by explaining how the five‑year action plan is written with broader line items (for example, roofing as a category) so staff can shift funds among properties as needs change over the five‑year period.
No formal board action was recorded on the director’s report during the meeting.
