Vallejo housing department closure draws confusion, worry

VALLEJO – Vallejo residents seeking the typical services at the city’s housing departments currently face an unexpected sight: a “closed until further notice” sign on the agency’s front door.

Since Sept. 30, the city’s public lobby for the Housing and Community Development Department and the Housing Authority has been closed, which a local real estate agent said has affected the ability of landlords to collect payments for rental assistance programs.

The action comes following a Sept. 23 report by the housing authority to the Vallejo City Council that it has made significant progress addressing the public’s needs. Housing director Alicia Jones said that the city has improved its standard of services under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s public housing assessment percentage system. She said Vallejo brought its score from meeting 63% of all standards in 2023-24 to an 81% score in 2024. 

Jones said in that meeting that she anticipates increasing Vallejo’s performance rating to 89%. She intends to show HUD how much “cleanup” has been done to address issues going back to 2019. “Our team worked very, very hard to get to where we are today,” she said.

It’s unclear how the city’s closure of the public-facing lobby, taking effect just one week after Jones’ report and amid a federal government shutdown, will affect the delivery of all programs and services. City spokesperson Robert Briseño told the Vallejo Sun in an email that the closure is due to “severe staffing shortages” and allows staff to address service backlogs. 

Briseño said a consultant will assist with case management for the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program – also known as Section 8 – to ensure program participants experience as little impact as possible during this transition. Jones reported earlier this year that as of June 30, the authority has assisted 1,510 households in total.

Some residents have decried the closure and interruption of regular services. Sayles Group owner and real estate agent Toni Mallory said the impacts of this closure are directly affecting her business. 

Mallory said landlords who typically receive payments from the Housing Authority, such as to address their properties with homes which work with the authority’s Section 8 program, have not been able to retrieve those payments due to the office closure. In an interview, she said several owners registered with the authority who successfully arranged to house Section 8 tenants have waited for months for the correct payment.

Mallory said the lack of payment affects at least four owners and tenants.

“We’re not going to put anyone out, because that’s not what we do,” Mallory said. “We just want our clients to get paid. We’re still waiting for stuff from last year that they owe us.”

In response to Mallory’s claim, Briseño told the Vallejo Sun that “The Housing Voucher program is affected by the staff shortage, and all services are operating except front counter assistance. Landlords have been receiving payments as normal.”

Mallory said that this simply has not been the case, adding, “We have sent countless emails, to no avail.” She said landlords facing this issue plan to send a letter to the city manager.

Briseño said that signs will remain at both entrances to the lobby as the closure continues. Anyone dropping off documents at the city’s department can leave them in the drop box located at 200 Georgia St. Vallejo staff are available by phone, email or for in-person appointments, he added. 

“We understand this change may cause inconvenience, and we appreciate the public’s patience as we work to improve service delivery,” Briseño said. “This approach ensures consistent, timely service delivery while effectively managing limited staff resources and training new team members in the specialized field of housing program administration.”

Concerns about the funding and staffing for the housing department have been circulating for months, with Councilmember Tonia Lediju over the summer asking how the authority will prepare for potential federal cuts. Jones said in June that the department’s expenses had reached $2.6 million, compared to revenue of only $2.2 million. 

HUD agreed in August to cover a $1 million shortfall to rental assistance programs amid growing concerns about cuts to social safety net programs under the Trump Administration. However, the federal agency hinted at cuts being on the way and told the city not to offer any new assistance or vouchers and to freeze the current waitlist and stop absorbing vouchers from other jurisdictions. 

Mallory also told the Vallejo Sun Tuesday that the city has warned that the formerly assured assistance may not become available before the end of the year, if the current federal government shutdown continues. The city has not yet confirmed if that will take place.