The Little Rock Housing Authority has filed a rebuttal with HUD, saying the proposed federal takeover is premature and doesn’t take significant progress into consideration.
In an April 23 letter from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Assistant Secretary Benjamin Hobbs said the local housing authority was in “substantial default” because of numerous ongoing issues and that the best course of action is for HUD “to take possession.” Hobbs gave the authority 10 days to respond.
In an April 30 letter, Nadine Jarmon, executive director of the Little Rock housing authority, said a takeover was not a “balanced or proportionate” response when less severe measures were available, and that the substantiation for the move was based on incomplete or questionable data.
Little Rock’s housing authority oversees more than 1,200 sites, providing housing for more than 8,000 individuals. Hobbs said in his letter that the occupancy rate for those sites fell below the 96% requirement.
Jarmon countered that claim, saying that 97 public housing units at the Madison I and II complexes were not occupied because they were being renovated, and that some of the units were unavailable for occupancy because of ongoing financial problems that HUD was aware of. Those financial problems have now been addressed.
Jarmon, who is leaving Arkansas to start a similar job at a Houston housing authority this month, said some of the deficiencies identified by HUD, such as a low performance score the authority had in 2022, predated her administration, and that another low score in 2024 had been higher but was reduced without explanation.
She also ticked off the progress the authority had made in its efforts to address a “Recovery Agreement” to-do list from HUD, such as completing financial audits, strengthening financial conditions, establishing a property manager for the Madison units and maintaining good scores on inspections of the various properties.
Under the heading of “Proportionality of the Remedy,” Jarmon suggested alternatives to a takeover, saying that HUD could continue assisting the authority in various ways, such as offering technical and financial assistance in speeding up recovery efforts.
In closing, Jarmon said the authority recognized the seriousness of the situation and looked forward to working with HUD as the authority worked to improve its situation.
“At the same time, the Authority has made measurable progress under the Recovery Agreement, and we submit that this progress should be fully considered in determining the appropriate path forward,” she wrote. “At your earliest availability, LRHA requests a meeting with the Recovery Team prior to any final determination to discuss next steps and ensure alignment.”
