Consultant reports progress on HUD corrective actions; Housing Choice Voucher re‑exam backlog and PBV reconciliation remain key challenges

Outside consultants reported to the Housing Authority board on Sept. 10 that the authority has closed many HUD corrective‑action findings but still faces a substantial backlog in Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) annual re‑examinations and outstanding project‑based voucher (PBV) income certifications.

Michael Tonovitz, identified as co‑president of CBR, and Tracy Sheffield, identified as senior vice president, told the board their review found improvement across most CMAP indicators — including file quality, timely inspections and Housing Quality Standards enforcement — but that annual re‑examinations are falling behind. They said nearly 1,000 participant records require case‑by‑case review because PHA software status differs from HUD reporting status.

The consultants and HACM staff said they had intentionally slowed some processing in order to clean and verify files and avoid further errors. To address the backlog they said they mobilized seven corporate resources, approved four temporary housing‑specialist hires and will use additional temporary staff; the consultants said they are adding temporary reviewers through year‑end and that one person was assigned to clear a portion of past statuses. The consultants also reported ongoing PBV reconciliation work and efforts to obtain missing documentation so Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) can be processed retroactively to Jan. 1 for eligible units.

Board members raised concerns about resident confusion from earlier automated letters that appeared to threaten eviction. Consultants and staff said the problem had been fixed for letters generated from the voucher portfolio and that some confusing letters were still appearing from separate property‑management systems used in RAD developments; commissioners and resident leaders asked staff to review specific letters and provide case‑level follow up. Resident leaders and a commissioner said they were still receiving calls about eviction notices and asked staff to investigate individual cases.

Consultants noted statutory documentation expectations for tenant files, including birth certificates for dependents, and acknowledged that obtaining some documents can be time‑consuming and costly for residents. They also described operational performance standards for staff: housing specialists will process or “touch” a target number of files per day (staff described a 10‑file daily contact/throughput target) and HACM plans to continue targeted recruitment, outreach to hiring partners and job‑fair participation to fill vacancies.

The board was told CVR/CBR continues to work with HACM on a plan to improve the CMAP score and address the corrective action plan; staff reiterated that HUD and the consultant are aware of the issues and will monitor progress.