MILWAUKEE — Tuesday's Board of Commissioners meeting provided the latest update on the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM).
TMJ4 News has been closely following issues with the public housing authority for more than a year, including complaints from residents about their living conditions.
In January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) required HACM to outsource its largest program: Section 8 housing vouchers.
During their monthly board meeting Tuesday, HACM's Board of Commissioners planned to vote on who will be taking over the program. The decision was to delay the vote until later this month — a move HACM residents and city alders were hoping for.
The board chose to outsource the city's voucher program to a company called CVR Associates Inc., a for-profit company based in Florida.
Grassroots organization Common Ground, made up of HACM residents, took issue with a public housing program being controlled by a private, out-of-town agency.
Watch: HACM delays vote on outsourcing Section 8 program following tense meeting
Another concern from residents and city alders is that the city's Common Council has yet to approve nominations to complete the HACM Board of Commissioners, which currently has multiple vacancies.
"I think it's important if they do get appointed [those nominated], they have an ability to chime in on this process and have their voice heard," said Common Council President Jose Perez.
Those opposed filled the room Tuesday to call for a delay in the decision until all board members were in place.
With no public comment on the agenda, the meeting became tense, at times coming to a stop.
"Milwaukee does not need another for-profit company based in Florida trying to make a profit off the backs of working people," said Kevin Solomon with Common Ground.
Solomon called the board's decision to delay the vote a win for residents and the city.
Following the meeting, TMJ4's Mariam Mackar asked HACM's director, Willie Hines, about the 24-hour notice to residents about the Tuesday vote.
"What do you have to say to those residents here today frustrated by that?" Mackar asked.
"What we took into consideration was the time frame and our normal processes, so that's no different than what the city rules and regulations state," Hines replied.
The director went on to say the agency needs to make this decision as quickly as possible to prevent delaying next year's calendar planning.
However, according to HACM's own Corrective Action Plan submitted to HUD, the agency originally set a tentative deadline for selecting an outside agency by the end of January 2024. That timeline has now passed by nine months.
When asked if the board will wait until all its positions are filled by the Common Council to make this vote, Hines said no and that he was confident in the current board's ability to make that decision.
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