Housing authority needs collaboration, not a takeover

The Santa Clara County Housing Authority needs a shakeup. Dealing with federal rental vouchers and other programs for lowincome residents, the authority’s appointed governing board is autonomous from both the county and the city of San Jose.

The joint authority manages about $300 million in federal Housing and Urban Development funds granted to the county and the city. It should be governed by publicly-accountable elected officials from both.

Talks are underway to make that happen, but it was a rocky start.

An impatient County Supervisor Cindy Chavez jolted things into gear two weeks ago by proposing a unilateral county takeover of the authority — without consulting the city first — and aiming for a vote Oct. 17. Fortunately, that will be postponed, and discussions among top-level city, county and housing authority staff last week left everyone hopeful that agreement can be reached. Maybe even optimistic.

Whew. The worst thing that could happen is a split between the city and county housing authority programs, duplicating work and diluting effectiveness. Nobody wants that.

The joint housing authority for decades has managed the HUD funds, including Section 8 rental vouchers. It is budgeted to serve about 16,300 households — but today some 700 with vouchers can’t find a landlord to rent to them in this insanely hot market.

The authority also is an innovator in helping to get affordable housing built. It is one of a few designated by HUD as a “Moving to Work” agency, which gives it more flexibility in spending the money. As an example, it can commit vouchers to specific apartments rather than individuals. That helps developers finance affordable housing construction, which is the greatest need now.

Chavez’s aim is to align the authority’s work with the coming investments from the nearly $1 billion housing bond voters passed last November. She says its board, while appointed by county supervisors, has sometimes been slow to act and less transparent than an elected board might be.

San Jose, meanwhile, has been frustrated with its lack of influence on the agency, even though 40 percent of the HUD resources are city allocations. City leaders felt the authority, under a previous director, was too slow to join in the fight against homelessness. And when that director left, the city had no say in the authority board’s choice of his successor.

One thing everyone seems to agree on: The new director, Katherine Harasz, and her team are terrific. The concern is with long-term governance. And with HUD Secretary Dr. Ben “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” Carson likely to take his surgeon’s scalpel — or a meat ax — to allocations in coming years, this is the time to get the authority’s house in order.

The county set off a panic with that sudden takeover bid. Now officials need to reassure the city and other players, including tenant groups, that they’re committed to inclusion, shared responsibility — and greater public accountability.