Rachel Carter, Housing Authority Executive Director
Tracy Hightshoe, Neighborhood and Development Services Director
Geoff Fruin, City Manager
Jennifer Schwickerath, First Assistant City Attorney
The annual cost of the position including salary and benefits is expected to be $123,634. For the first two years, costs will be paid through Pro Housing grant funds. After grant depletion, Federal Housing Choice Voucher Program administrative funds will cover the increased staff cost.
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Staff recommends that the City Council approve the creation of a Housing Support Services Coordinator position within the Iowa City Housing Authority (ICHA). The position will establish housing counseling capacity within ICHA, serve as ICHA’s housing counselor, and lead the process to become a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. The position will be funded through the City’s HUD PRO Housing grant for its first two years.
The position will also supervise ICHA’s four Family Self-Sufficiency Coordinators and coordinate the FSS Program Coordinating Committee and Resident Advisory Board. Approval of the position will implement the housing counseling component of the PRO Housing grant while strengthening ICHA’s capacity to provide housing support services to HCV participants and landlords.
ICHA continues to see a need for a higher level of housing-focused support for Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) participants, particularly when difficult situations arise that cannot be resolved through routine program administration. Participants may need assistance addressing landlord concerns, understanding lease obligations, locating suitable units, addressing rent delinquency, planning for housing transitions, budgeting for housing costs, or connecting with community resources.
ICHA is also seeing a greater need for intentional landlord outreach and relationship-building. As some landlords move away from participating in the HCV program, maintaining relationships with existing landlords and addressing concerns when they arise is increasingly important. A housing counselor who can work directly with both participants and landlords could help resolve problems before they result in a failed tenancy or a landlord deciding not to continue participating in the program. The position would also provide additional capacity to recruit and support landlords as participants search for housing.
The City’s HUD Pro Housing grant includes funding to establish housing counseling capacity within ICHA and pursue approval as a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Housing counseling would be a primary function of the Housing Support Services Coordinator and would include housing search and rental counseling, housing stability assistance, budgeting related to housing costs, landlord-tenant problem-solving, and other eligible counseling services.
The PRO Housing grant will cover the position’s salary and benefits for two years. PRO Housing funds are available through September 2029, providing time to hire the position, establish housing counseling services, and complete the process for ICHA to become a HUD-approved housing counseling agency before transitioning the position to ongoing funding. ICHA’s HCV administrative budget has sufficient capacity to support the position on an ongoing basis following the grant-funded period.
Once ICHA becomes a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, it will also be eligible to apply for HUD Housing Counseling grant funding. This provides a potential additional source of ongoing funding for the housing counseling component of the position and could reduce the amount ultimately supported through HCV administrative fees. Because Housing Counseling grants are competitive and award amounts vary from year to year, this funding would be considered supplemental to HCV administrative fees rather than relied upon as the primary ongoing funding source.