Item 02 - Extension of Memorandum of Agreement for Inter-Jurisdictional Mobility

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Housing Authority santa-ana.org/cd Item # 2 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report April 5, 2022 TOPIC: Extension of Memorandum of Agreement for Inter-Jurisdictional Mobility AGENDA TITLE: Extension of Memorandum of Agreement for Inter-Jurisdictional Mobility with the Orange County Housing Authority, Anaheim Housing Authority, and Garden Grove Housing Authority RECOMMENDED ACTION Authorize the Executive Director of the Housing Authority to execute an extension of the Memorandum of Agreement for Inter-Jurisdictional Mobility with the Orange County Housing Authority, Anaheim Housing Authority, and Garden Grove Housing Authority effective May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2027, subject to non-substantive changes approved by the Executive Director and the Housing Authority General Counsel. DISCUSSION On June 6, 2017, the Santa Ana Housing Authority approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Inter-Jurisdictional Mobility with the Orange County Housing Authority, Anaheim Housing Authority and Garden Grove Housing Authority. On May 4, 2021, the Housing Authority approved a First Amendment to the MOA. This extension of the MOA combines the First Amendment and the original MOA. The only substantive revision is to extend the MOA by five years, from May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2027. For background, under the federal regulations for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, a family that has been issued a voucher by the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Ana (SAHA) has the right to use their voucher to lease a unit anywhere in the United States as long as the unit is located within the jurisdiction of a Public Housing Authority (PHA) administering a Housing Choice Voucher Program. The process by which a family obtains a voucher from one PHA and uses it to lease a unit in the jurisdiction of another PHA is known as “portability”. Approximately 660 families are exercising their right to portability and reside outside of SAHA’s jurisdiction. Their rental assistance is administered by the Garden Grove Housing Authority and Orange County Housing Authority, who bill SAHA each month for their vouchers. Under the federal regulations for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, SAHA does not have the authority to deny a family their right to portability. Specifically, SAHA does not have the right to deny a family to move out of our jurisdiction with their voucher or to ask another housing authority to absorb those families into their programs.