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Nogales Housing Authority reports 98% occupancy, HUD field office completes comprehensive review
Summary
Director Maritza detailed occupancy, voucher and maintenance statistics and described a recent HUD comprehensive review that included field-office staffing cuts; the agency expects a written report in April.
Director Maritza reported operational metrics for February and summarized a comprehensive HUD field-office review conducted March 17'20, saying the review was "a wonderful experience" and that a written report with recommendations is due in April.
Maritza said the housing authority had 217 units leased out of 220 available and that six units were offline for make-ready or remediation, giving an overall occupancy rate the authority reported as about 98 percent. She provided waiting-list totals by bedroom size: one-bedroom 96, two-bedroom 57, three-bedroom 19, four-bedroom 3 and five-bedroom 1.
On maintenance, Maritza said February produced 72 total work orders with 65 completed; she explained that public-housing inspections due at month-end caused some work to roll into the following month. On vouchers she reported that of 77 Housing Choice Vouchers there were 55 leased and 22 available; project-based voucher activity included one move-out and a unit in make-ready status expected to re-lease. She also reported stability vouchers (out of 5, four executed; one remaining) and emergency housing vouchers (50 total, 10 executed under lease with one ported out).
Maritza described the HUD comprehensive review as covering the authority "from A to Z." She said the local HUD field office'staffing was reduced from about 12 people to 3 and that some team members who participated on the visit were no longer with HUD when the authority learned of staffing changes. Maritza said the review highlighted gaps in tools and training; she said the authority will receive a final report and recommendations in April and that HUD staff had pledged to continue providing services despite the reduced local office.
Commissioner [unnamed] raised governance questions after the review, saying the authority has been operating under the city charter since the housing authority was made a city department but that HUD expects housing-authority bylaws to be observed as well. The commissioner said HUD reviewer "Mister Rose" indicated he would write a letter outlining governance issues; Maritza said the agency will follow up after receipt of the HUD report.
Commissioners also asked about portability of vouchers and certification training for commissioners; Maritza said some commissioner certifications are on record, that staff will verify completions, and that commissioners can log in to the training portal to confirm completion status.
