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Craig — Any money given to the Independent Life Center for its Section 8 housing voucher contract with the state is only temporary, the Moffat County Commission said.

There are problems with how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Colorado Division of Housing operate, the commissioners said, which should be addressed for the program long-term survival.

The Commission voted 2-1 at a special meeting Thursday to fund the Life Center only to buy the organization time to find permanent financing.

The county will give the Life Center $500 a month starting in May until the end of 2008, on the condition the Craig City Council approves a similar measure.

"We shouldn't cut (the Section 8 program's) throat just yet," Commissioner Tom Gray said. "But unless we have some new information, we're not willing to fund this program forever and ever."

Councilors and commissioners have said the area's affordable housing needs are rising, and Section 8 vouchers through the Life Center may be the most affordable option available.

A discussion about Moffat County's Section 8 program began when Evelyn Tileston, Life Center executive director, asked the Commission and Craig City Council in April for funds to help carry the program's administrative costs.

Tileston said the Life Center probably will be forced to close the program if additional fund are unavailable.

Section 8 vouchers pay the majority of a person or family's rent if they qualify for the program. Eligibility is based on income and number of children.

Commissioner Saed Tayyara cast the dissenting vote, saying he would not support a motion that might embolden the federal bureaucracy to dump more programs and costs on local authorities.

"My fear is that, when you give them that extra hand, they cut you deeper and they bleed you out," Tayyara said.

Life Center officials have ideas for where to start looking for long-term funding, said Marlena O'Leary, Independent Life Center housing coordinator.

It's possible, she said, the Life Center could either renegotiate with the state Division of Housing for a bigger share of HUD funds - which O'Leary said other Section 8 programs already have - or the Life Center could try to contract directly with HUD.

Section 8 contracts

The Life Center contracts with the state Division of Housing as an area Section 8 program administrator for Moffat and Rio Blanco counties.

The Division of Housing pays a certain amount to each administrator in the state for every voucher a person uses to lease a residence. That amount, meant to cover administrative costs for running the Section 8 program, increases based on higher inflation and cost of living within an area.

HUD provides a lump sum to the Division of Housing to fund Section 8 programs statewide.

Division of Housing officials said they do not understand why the Life Center needs more funding.

The Division of Housing also has steep administrative costs, Deputy Director Teresa Duran said. To help pay for that, it retains $15 for every $35 paid to the Life Center.

That amounts to 70 percent of a $50 allocation for the Life Center and 30 percent for the state, Duran said.

Every Division of Housing contractor gets the same split, but the actual amount differs with the inflation and cost of living formula, Duran said. Other contractors do not have different negotiated contracts as O'Leary suggested.

Duran added that Colorado gives more funding to contractors than other states, and the Life Center receives more funding than other parts of Colorado because of the economic formula.

"Most states give 50/50," she said. "Moffat County receives one of the higher fundings for this program."

Duran also addressed the Life Center's idea to contract directly with HUD.

The Life Center will not be able to contract with HUD, Duran said, because the state Division of Housing holds the contract to manage vouchers for Moffat and Rio Blanco counties.

Officials from HUD's Office of Public Housing in Denver verified that was accurate.

Questions

Duran also questioned the amount of money the Life Center budgets for O'Leary's position.

The Life Center holds 81 vouchers, plus another seven that it holds for temporary needs. Duran said that number of vouchers is small compared to averages across the state, and the Life Center should be able to administer the program with a part-time position.

A Life Center budget provided to the Commission Thursday showed O'Leary as a full-time position.

"This is really a baby program," Duran said, referring to the number of vouchers the Life Center holds, "and we're putting a lot of money into it. The average caseload for an average case manager on this program, I was told, is between 250 and up to 400 vouchers for a full-time person."

Life Center officials said there is no way, and there has never been a way in the program's 6-year history in Moffat County, to administer the vouchers with less than 40 hours per week.

The Section 8 housing voucher program is not for people who want a free ride, O'Leary said, which is part of why current funding hurts the program, she said.

"We do have a turnover rate with this program that we're proud of," O'Leary said. "People are not living on it. They are finding jobs and when they abuse the program, we try to catch them.

"But, we have enough of a turnover rate with this program that we're working full time on it."

O'Leary said she had about 50 vouchers turnover last month, which meant she processed new applications for each one. On average, 43 percent of the Life Center's vouchers turn over in a year.

She also said she processes about 100 applications before seven vouchers are leased, which keeps her working more than 10 times the number of hours she should work for one voucher.

Finding a center

Chuck Schloz is the Section 8 manager for the Boulder County Housing Authority. He said he has worked with Section 8 programs for about 20 years.

His agency has contracted directly with HUD since it negotiated a deal years ago, he said.

Schloz could not think of a reason why a Section 8 program administrator would contract with the state Division of Housing if that meant losing a percentage of leased voucher payments.

"I have no clue why they would," he said.

Schloz also said he thought it was unusual for 88 vouchers to demand a full-time workload.

Using rough calculations Schloz said were slightly inflated numbers, he guessed that many vouchers could take about 30 hours a week.

However, he added, the demand on a voucher case manager is entirely dependent on the kinds of voucher recipients. For one, if there is a high turnover rate - and he agreed O'Leary's numbers were high - that could add a lot of hours.

With his agency's direct contract with HUD, Schloz said the Boulder County Commission still helps pay for the Section 8 program.

As did Jim Sheehan, Grand County Housing Authority director.

Sheehan's office manages 96 vouchers across Grand, Routt, Gilpin and Jackson counties. In 2008, the Grand County Commission and various municipalities within the county contributed $166,730 to the Section 8 program.

No government bodies outside Grand County help pay for the program, Sheehan said. Other counties have much fewer vouchers, also.

Sheehan said it's difficult to manage Section 8 programs with current funding because of the large travel distances required. His office is getting close to needing a full-time position.

"We're getting close to the point where it will support a full-time person," Sheehan said. "I think part of it is the fact we do only get 70 percent."