Section 8: Milwaukee housing authority board vote finalizes contract
Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM)
MILWAUKEE - The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee board on Wednesday voted to finalize a contract with an out-of-state vendor to operate its Section 8 voucher program.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ordered HACM, as the housing authority is known, to turn over its Section 8 voucher program to an outside vendor. HACM narrowed it down to a Florida-based company called CVR.
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Residents, in conjunction with Common Ground, attended an Oct. 11 board meeting in protest over the possibility of CVR taking over the program for the troubled agency. They said residents had been ignored throughout the process, and a decision should not be made with open vacancies on HACM's board.
"This service that we get right now is not great, but to have somebody out-of-state doing it bothers me because I'd rather have somebody here, hands on," Betty Newton, a Section 8 resident, said at the time.
Residents, Common Ground protest Milwaukee housing authority meeting (Oct. 11, 2024)
On Oct. 21, the Common Council's Steering and Rules Committee approved Karen Gotzler's nomination for a board position; her final confirmation is scheduled for Nov. 6. There were two additional HACM board commissioner positions to be filled.
HACM said Wednesday's vote ensured a 60-day transition period for CVR that aligns with the start of a new fiscal year. The housing authority said it was "essential" for the board to award the contract at this time.