Hubbard County HRA presses DW Jones on Meadows Edge vacancies, tenant screening and collections

The Hubbard County Housing and Redevelopment Authority on an unspecified date questioned its property manager, DW Jones, about occupancy, tenant screening and collections after one property showed notably different occupancy than nearby buildings.

Board members and staff discussed Meadows Edge' occupancy and whether lowering the tenant credit-score cutoff would address vacancies. Mary (staff member) said leasing staff had recently rejected applicants with credit scores between 570 and 599, below the HRA's current cutoff of 600, and that the property is "the southern most of the 2 buildings over by Walmart" and was reported as "86%" in the meeting transcript.

Why it matters: the HRA owns the developments and uses third-party managers; changes to screening, voucher acceptance or write-off practices affect rent revenue, taxpayer subsidies and the HRA's cash position.

Discussion and concerns

Mary said she had asked DW Jones for clarification about whether managers were using a conventional credit score or a blended residential score that accounts for eviction and rental history. "We HLDC uses, what's called a residency rescore, and that takes into account not only credit, but eviction history, rental history," Mary said, describing how blended screening generally yields lower numerical cutoffs than mortgage credit scores.

Board members expressed concern that dropping a cutoff to 500 or similarly low levels could increase delinquencies and eviction risk. One board member said the HRA already requires a cosigner for applicants below 600 and asked how effective cosigners have been in practice.

Section 8 (Housing Choice Vouchers)

Board members were surprised to learn during the discussion that some HRA units appear to be accepting Section 8 vouchers. Mary said the HRA originally priced some workforce units "just above the Section 8 guidelines" so they would not be subsidized units, but that rents had likely stagnated and now allowed voucher acceptance in practice. Board members asked staff to research whether the HRA has formally elected to accept vouchers, how many units are occupied with vouchers and what legal or contractual steps would be required to change that policy.

Collections, write-offs and financial oversight

Mary read the manager's collection procedures, saying tenants one month behind receive a 15-day notice of intent to evict, followed by phone outreach and options such as a verified payment plan or move-out. "If none of these options are received by the deadline, we proceed by filing for eviction," she said, describing a typical 2-to-4-week court timeline and the agency's practice of forwarding vacated balances to collections, where recovery "is minimal, if any."

The board also flagged apparently large write-offs on year-end financials that the manager had booked directly to the properties. Board members said write-offs historically had been brought to the governing board for approval before being removed from the books and asked staff to confirm whether current practice matches the contract with DW Jones.

Audit and next steps

Mary reported accounting work to reconcile two software systems (Down Home and MIP) and said staff is completing entries and bank reconciliations to enable the auditor to review 2023 and 2024. The board agreed staff should seek legal and accounting clarification on voucher acceptance, write-off authority and vacancy drivers; members also said they want clearer answers from DW Jones about marketing, collections and cash management.

The board did not take a formal policy vote on screening thresholds at the meeting. Several members asked staff to return with counts of voucher users, vacancy data by property and a clearer explanation of advertising and leasing practices.

Ending

Staff will produce the requested data and confer with auditors and counsel; the board signaled it expects follow-up reporting before any change to tenant screening or formal voucher acceptance policy.