HACM Moves To Outsource Vouchers, Common Ground Blasts Plan

College Court housing complex, Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

After its internal practices were deemed “at risk for serious fraud, waste and abuse” by the federal government, the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) is moving to outsource its housing voucher program.

But Common Ground Southeastern Wisconsin, the coalition that has led public pushback against the agency, is asking the HACM board to pause the plan before it votes to approve a five-year, multi-million dollar contract at its Wednesday meeting.

Outsourcing management of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program would replace HACM personnel with a private contractor for the administration of a federal assistance program that provides cash payments (vouchers) to private landlords to provide housing for qualifying households.

In 2023, according to a January request for proposals, the agency was responsible for administering $42 million in vouchers and expected to receive $5 million in administrative fees. The vouchers cover approximately 7,800 housing units, of which 1,700 are HACM-owned. The majority of the vouchers go to private sector housing used by lower income residents who qualify for the vouchers.

The housing authority received six bids and wants to move forward with Florida-based CVR Associates. It previously contracted with the firm to improve its voucher program.

Common Ground doesn’t want any decision made until the citizen-led HACM board has a full complement of seven members. It currently has four members, with one serving with an expired term. The Common Council has not acted on Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s nominees, with Council President José G. Pérez previously saying the council will conduct a thorough review.

“Milwaukee does not need a for-profit, out-of-state company who does not care about our communities running our largest housing safety net,” said Common Ground organizer Kevin Solomon in an email to the board and other city officials. “Particularly given that Milwaukee County, a ‘high-quality,’ not-for-profit, local, publicly-accountable entity was among your top four proposals. It is wrong to privatize public services, waste taxpayer dollars, and lose out on local jobs all because you failed at managing Section 8 in the first place.”

As the email made clear, Common Ground would prefer Milwaukee County be awarded the contract.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has required HACM to execute a corrective action plan relevant to its review of the agency’s practices, including its Section 8 administration. Engagement over the issues has been ongoing, with federal officials meeting with HACM officials and residents in August.

The proposed contract is for five years with an option for a three-year extension. CVR, according to the pending resolution, would be paid an average of 80% of the $5 million administrative fee over the life of the deal.

HACM would also pay CVR up to $990,000 to conduct a “100% participant file review to ensure all documentation and calculations are correct with all participant files.” The review was required as part of HUD’s corrective action plan.

Milwaukee County’s Department of Health & Human Services Housing Services Division was the lone public entity to bid. The only other Wisconsin-based bid came from Pivotal Property Management, a Milwaukee-based property management firm.

CVR contracts with many housing authorities and its highest-ranking executives, including CEO Fradrique A. Rocha, all worked at housing authorities or HUD before joining the consulting firm.

The September HACM board meeting, the first in-person meeting since January, was dominated by Common Ground members and HACM residents requesting improvement to the conditions of the dozens of HACM properties.

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