Cochise County Housing Authority outlines HUD-funded voucher budget, reserves and staffing

The Cochise County Housing Authority presented its fiscal year administrative budget and program funding sources at a Board of Supervisors work session, emphasizing that most programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and that the authority holds roughly $1.5 million in reserves.

The presentation, led by housing authority staff, outlined that the authority’s programs are principally voucher-based — including Section 8, emergency housing vouchers, special purpose vouchers and HUD-VASH — and that HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS) operates as a renewable grant. "We're funded by Housing and Urban Development," housing authority staff said during the review. The presenter said HRSA approved continuation of Ryan White referrals the authority uses, and that HUD determines funding under an annual contributions contract based on prior-year leasing and quarterly reconciliations.

Board members said they had no questions that required action. The session was informational; no motions or votes were taken.

Details presented

The housing authority presenter described a projected administrative income and a near-term budget shortfall that the authority would address from contingency funds if needed. "We have right under 1.5 in our, in our reserve right now," the presenter said, and added that HUD has advised the authority to keep a primary account under $500,000 and is reviewing options for investing any amounts above that threshold in HUD-approved interest-bearing accounts.

The presenter described operating arrangements with Cochise County: the county processes payroll and other payments, submits invoices to the housing authority, and is reimbursed from HUD grants. "So the county goes ahead and pays our payroll, and then they submit an invoice to us," the presenter said. The housing authority then charges payroll and other costs to the appropriate grant accounts and seeks reimbursement, usually within one month and rarely more than two.

Staffing, contracts and operations

The authority reported seven full-time housing employees overall, with three staff in a voucher field office (administering vouchers) and one staff member dedicated to HOPWA. The authority uses two vehicles for field work and said one vehicle is used about three to four times a week and the other about twice a week. The authority also described reliance on third-party accounting and software (identified as Lindsay MRI company) that reconciles accounts monthly and helps produce HUD-required reports, including HUD Form 50058-derived inspection reports.

Training and services

The presenter characterized training costs as relatively high because many HUD-related training conferences are out of state (examples cited included Washington, D.C., and Tennessee). "We can certainly cut in training," the presenter said when discussing options to reduce costs, but also noted a preference to avoid cutting training unless necessary. "Our software is literally our heartbeat," the presenter added, describing how inspections done on tablets now interface with the software to produce HUD-required reports.

Financial controls and reserves

The housing authority said HUD requires all accounts to be interest-bearing and is reviewing how to invest reserves above the primary-account limit. The authority identified Bank of America as the depository for its checking accounts and said HUD approves the account arrangements. The presenter noted a county overhead charge of about $3,960 per month that is invoiced to the authority and reimbursed as part of grant billing.

What’s next

The presentation closed with an invitation for questions; board members had none that required follow-up action during the work session. Supervisors were reminded of the next meeting date for multiple districts and the regular supervisors meeting. No formal board decisions or votes on the housing authority budget were recorded at this session.