Fulton County aims to replace housing authority board

Four spots on the nine-seat housing board were already vacant, and three more members resigned at the county’s request.

County commissioners will meet Monday under a looming deadline from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. The housing authority has been in turmoil for months, with a dysfunctional board and near-unanimous staff turnover.

In late June, HUD sought to conduct an on-site inspection after the housing authority failed for three weeks to make Section 8 rent payments to dozens of landlords — an unprecedented lapse that left tenants open to potential eviction.

Inspectors from HUD requested extensive financial and procedural documentation, but the housing authority was unable to provide it, as outlined in several letters from HUD to the housing board and county commissioners.

Now federal officials have demanded the documents by July 31, just two days after commissioners meet. The penalty for failure is potential loss of federal funding, the housing authority’s only major source of revenue.

Housing authorities are independent public agencies with their own boards and staffs, not direct parts of local or state government, Pitts wrote on his blog.

“Although they are independently run, housing authorities are required to follow federal regulations and receive funding from HUD,” he wrote.

The county housing authority was created in 1972, Pitts wrote. But then much more of the county was unincorporated. Today only a small part, with very little housing, remains outside city limits. And seven of the county’s 15 cities — Atlanta, College Park, East Point, Fairburn, Palmetto, Roswell and Union City — have housing authorities of their own, according to Pitts.

The county housing authority doesn’t directly operate any public housing, but oversees the Section 8 voucher program that pays rent subsidies to private landlords.

“Nearly 2,000 families in Fulton rely on housing vouchers to ensure they have a roof over their head,” Pitts wrote.

Section 8 payments for July were two weeks late, according to landlords and tenants, with no word on who will take care of late fees for either June or July. HUD has recommended a third party — another housing authority or an outside consultant — take over the Section 8 program.

Pitts has said he would be open to a consultant but doesn’t think another housing authority should manage the county authority’s operations.