Davenport Housing Commission hears drop in voucher referrals, rising per‑unit costs; C Map audit due in August

The Davenport Housing Commission met June 15 and approved the May meeting minutes, the May financial report and the utilization report before adjourning.

Malea, a housing staff member who presented the financial and utilization reports, said the authority issued 11 vouchers to new households in May and reported 113 households on the wait list with 15 open vouchers. She said leasing improved as more vouchers were issued: 32% of new leases occurred within 30 days, 46% within 31–60 days and about 21% between 61 and 150 days. Malea also said the housing authority issued 12 HUD‑VASH vouchers so far this calendar year.

On special programs, Malea said the Foster Youth to Independence program had not issued vouchers since January because partner agencies had not provided referrals. She told commissioners that hurdles include missing documentation (birth certificates or Social Security numbers), no‑shows at orientation and transportation or technology barriers that prevent attendance. She said partner Family Resources recently added an additional case manager to reduce a previous single‑worker caseload that covered a large rural area and that the authority can offer Teams/Zoom or one‑to‑one orientations as reasonable accommodations.

Malea gave a breakdown of recent exits and terminations: five port‑ins (households transferring vouchers into Davenport) in May, three terminations that month, and a range of annual exits including transfers to other housing authorities, voluntary returns of vouchers, deaths and over‑income cases. She said participants have 15 calendar days to request an informal review of a termination; informal reviews are conducted without prior knowledge of the case by the reviewer, and a participant may then request a formal administrative hearing. Malea reported seven administrative hearings in the last year and said none had been overturned.

On budget figures, Malea said the program’s monthly allotment was $440,000 and spending for the reported period totaled $405,839, about 92% of that allotment. She attributed rising per‑unit subsidy costs to a policy change made last year that altered subsidy standards (giving heads of household their own room and separating opposite‑gender children over age six), which increased bedroom sizes awarded and thus raised overall housing costs.

Commissioners briefly discussed supports for the special population of youth, including mentoring and closer case‑management coordination. Malea said the authority is working with partners to improve referrals and follow‑through and expects to issue more vouchers in June as referrals arrive.

On communications, Malea said she had no specific HUD updates yet but noted a rule change under public comment that, if codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, would require housing authorities to set participant time limits and work requirements; she said she would report further details as they become available.

Under new business, Malea said the C Map internal audit — which samples re‑examinations, inspections and life‑safety follow‑ups — must be approved by the commission and submitted to HUD by the end of August; she plans to present the findings at the August meeting. The commission set its next meeting for July 20 at 3:30 p.m., to be confirmed by email. The meeting adjourned following a motion and voice vote.

Votes and formal actions taken at the meeting included approval of the May meeting minutes, the May financial report and the May utilization report; each was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.