Davenport housing commissioners approve June reports, hear plan for $52,000 housing software and electronic wait list

The Davenport Housing Commission on Monday approved its June minutes and financial and utilization reports and heard staff updates on voucher activity, portability screening and a planned move to a new housing software system.

Matt, chair of the Davenport Housing Commission, opened the meeting, confirmed a quorum and led the vote to approve the June minutes. The commission later approved the June financial report and the June utilization report by voice votes.

Malia, housing authority staff, summarized June voucher activity. “In the month of June, we issued 8 new vouchers at our monthly orientation,” she said, and reported 34 vouchers leased up during the month. Malia also said the authority has issued 15 vouchers to the HUD VASH program since January 2026 and has resumed issuing vouchers by referral for the foster-youth-to-independence program.

Why it matters: the utilization figures shape how many people the authority can serve from its wait list and factor into HUD funding and local budget decisions.

Commission discussion focused on portability (port-ins and port-outs) and screening. Joyce asked whether the inter-jurisdiction administrative fee shown in the budget is for port-ins or port-outs; Malia explained HUD requires the lesser of the two housing authorities’ administrative fees to be used when a voucher moves between jurisdictions and gave examples of differing fees. On background screening, Malia said the authority now reviews criminal charges from the most recent 36 months and conducts a background check for every household member over 18. “You cannot just to be clear, you cannot deny someone portability request to come here,” Malia said, describing the paperwork and certification required of families who port in.

The commission also reviewed reasons for participant terminations. Malia said the authority recorded 52 terminations since January for a variety of reasons, including voluntary moves, over-income exits, returns of vouchers, a move to a nursing home, and involuntary terminations for noncompliance; one termination was related to violent criminal activity.

On the budget and operations side, Malia said staff will reclassify a recurring annual technology line from general "other supplies" to a dedicated "software costs" account to reduce confusion. She told commissioners the authority is preparing to transition to a new housing software system; the contract is pending legal review. “It’s $52,000 a year, which the first year includes the implementation,” Malia said, adding the system will eliminate the paper wait list, allow in-person assistance with iPads and enable the authority to apply new priorities for homelessness and VAWA (domestic violence) applicants.

Malia said officials will not fully open the wait list to the entire internet to avoid large numbers of out-of-area applications and reiterated the intent to prioritize applicants who primarily want to live in Davenport.

Other business: commissioners were asked to recruit candidates for a vacant commissioner seat and were told Malia will present the CMAP report at the next meeting; the commission must adopt a resolution and submit the report to HUD by Aug. 31.

The meeting adjourned after the commission completed the agenda items. Future steps include review of the software contract after legal counsel’s approval and the CMAP presentation and resolution at the next meeting.