Vallejo Housing Authority amends budget to add $150,000 for consultants, software and staff training

The Vallejo Housing Authority voted unanimously to adopt a midyear amendment to its fiscal year 2025'6 budget, increasing funding for consultant services, software upgrades and staff training by $150,000.

Housing Director Alicia Jones said the amendment covers consultant services used for annual recertifications, interim transactions and inspections, additional software modules to enable scanning and improved reporting, and training and certification for new staff. Jones said the funding is not coming from the city's general fund but from federal funds and the authority's fund balance. She said the fund balance before approval was approximately $590,000 and would decline to about $330,000 after the amendment; salary savings were estimated at roughly $500,000.

Board members questioned whether the increase would create a deficit and asked how the IT upgrade would improve customer service. Jones said the housing system is purchased at a base level and additional modules would enable scanning and paperless workflows and provide more reporting capabilities. She suggested consultants could be asked to expand their scope to help with customer-service functions, but that would require increasing the consultants' contract scope and cost.

Council members and the vice chair emphasized the operational need: the authority currently has multiple vacancies and only two days a week available for in-person appointments because of staffing limits. The board approved the budget amendment by roll-call vote; the motion carried unanimously.