Vallejo housing authority reports major Section 8 performance gains after system fixes and higher payment standard

Housing Director Alicia Jones told the Housing and Community Development Commission that the City of Vallejo's Housing Choice Voucher program saw measurable improvement in its HUD Section 8 management assessment performance.

Jones said the agency was approved at 85 of 135 available points (about 63%) for fiscal year 2023–24 and now expects to receive 110 points of the 135 available (about 81%) for fiscal year 2024–25, an increase she described as the result of internal process changes. "We put inspection protocols in place to conduct quality control. We put systems in place to do our monthly reviews on our annual recertifications, and any errors we identify, we correct them immediately," Jones said.

Why it matters: HUD uses 14 indicators — including waiting-list selection, rent-reasonableness comparables, adjusted-income calculations, utility allowance studies, and quality-control inspections — to grade housing authorities. An improved score can affect a housing authority's oversight level and its relationship with HUD, and can influence the agency's ability to manage vouchers and partner with landlords.

Jones told the commission the housing authority also asked HUD for a waiver to raise its payment standards above the typical 110% FMR cap; that waiver allowed the city to set payment standards at 120%. "With that, that allowed families to compete with... private market renters, to lease units that are typically out of their price range," Jones said, linking the change to higher lease-up and fund-expenditure performance.

Jones said the housing authority had previously failed to meet some inspection and monitoring indicators and was under a HUD corrective action plan; the department's corrective measures included instituting a quality-control sample of inspection work every 90 days, increasing leasing activity and addressing tenant calculation errors.

Details and context: Jones summarized the core CMAP items she reviewed for the commission and explained that some indicators (7–14) are pulled from HUD's PIC system and are not subject to local adjustment. She said the agency's leasing rate and fund-expenditure calculations improved and that the program achieved point gains by applying stronger internal controls and raising the payment standard. Jones also noted the city is not required to operate an FSS (Family Self-Sufficiency) program and therefore did not receive the 10 bonus points tied to a mandated FSS program.

Questions from commissioners focused on whether improved performance translated to more households exiting the wait list into housing. Jones said the housing market remains tight but reported a roughly 55% success rate for families who actively search and find units.

What happens next: Jones said HUD will confirm the housing authority's self-evaluation before the score is finalized. Commissioners asked staff to continue reporting on leasing outcomes and wait-list movement.

Provenance: Alicia Jones presentation and Q&A (topic intro: 00:32:32 — "Alicia Jones, housing director..."; topic finish: 00:44:13 — "That concludes my presentation. I'll be happy to take any questions.").