Theresa Biggs, housing coordinator at the Chattanooga Housing Authority, helps housing voucher holder Aaron McCrary with his paperwork at the agency's offices in October 2015.Chattanooga Housing Authority Executive Director Betsy McCright offered both praise and apology at the housing authority's latest board meeting Tuesday.
The apology came when she took full responsibility for presenting a resolution in February that would evict Upward Mobility program residents who failed to find work.
She said she didn't know then that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Public and Indian Housing prohibited housing authorities from evicting residents who failed to meet their work or volunteer requirements. The board then on Tuesday reversed its decision made in February.
Instead of evicting them, the board unanimously agreed to move residents out of the more modern Upward Mobility sites like the Fairmount Apartments into family sites like East Lake or College Hill Courts, the largest and oldest public housing sites in the city.
If residents refused to move to those sites, they then could be evicted.
Only 2 Upward Mobility site residents out of more than 100 in the program were non-compliant on Tuesday.
"I want to say to you, we don't run this program trying to evict people," McCright said. "On the contrary Carol [Johnson] and her folks work very hard every day to help people remain compliant. We believe in the Upward Mobility program. This was just a misstep on my part."
Then came the celebration.
McCright led the housing authority board and audience in applauding the Housing Choice Voucher Program staff for their work toward fully using 3,593 vouchers.
That means all 3,593 people with vouchers got signed lease agreements and places to live. And it means the housing authority will be entitled to full HUD funding for that program.
CHA hasn't fully leased its vouchers since 2012.
"We've been working on it for the last four years, but this past year we had a really big push," program Director Tammie Carpenter said.
The Maclellan Foundation gave a $60,000 grant to the agency allowing the authority to employ Theresa Biggs as its first housing navigator. She devoted her full-time attention to helping residents with vouchers connect with landlords who wanted to rent to them. The agency also hosted landlord fairs allowing landlords to meet potential residents and more residents got signed lease agreements.
In other news, board members passed but several questioned a resolution to spend up to $219,564 with Manpower Temporary Services, Inc. to provide temporary general labor and clerical workers on an as-needed basis for one year.
Board member Jim Steffes asked if it would be less costly to offer overtime to full-time staff.
Board chairman Eddie Holmes noted that having more people working to repair buildings may save money because the authority could get apartments ready for occupancy faster.
The board meeting ended with Resident Advisory Board member Daughn-Alan Ward questioning the housing authority's policy to not allow resident councils to use funds from vending and laundry machines. Ward said he attended a resident training conference where he heard resident councils across the country talk about how the money helped to improve their quality of life. The funds provided activities such as dinners at resident meetings and block parties, he said.
But CHA officials said HUD forbids residents to use the funds.
Ward also invited board members to a resident leadership training April 8 at the UTC SIM Center from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
McCright noted that the next board meeting will be Wednesday, April 20 at 12:30 p.m. to allow board members and staff to attend Tennessee Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities Conference.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.