NMHC mulls paying utility allowance directly to CUC

Should the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. decide to pay the utility allowance of tenants directly to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., it will be the first public housing agency to implement such a policy, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Hawaii Field Office.

“By talking to our HUD Field Office in Hawaii, they said that it is our discretion to do that. We will be the first public housing agency to actually do that,” Zerlyn Taimanao, NMHC Program and Housing Division manager, told board members during a meeting in December.

Taimanao said yesterday that public housing agencies give their tenants their utility allowance and hold them responsible for paying their bills.

In the case of Housing, Taimanao said they release the utility allowance check, which is calculated depending on the unit size of each tenant, every fifth of the month.

According to Taimanao, their HUD field office representative also told them that they “would possibly have to hire additional staff” if Housing decides to implement this policy.

“We have to keep in mind that the tenant is entitled to the full amount of the utility allowance,” added Taimanao.

The matter of paying CUC directly has been raised in several Housing board meetings to resolve delinquent utility accounts among tenants.

“We’re trying to curb the present tendency of delinquent accounts when they’re already receiving a subsidy to help them in their livelihood. We’re trying to take that extra step to help them with this responsibility,” said board member Tom Glenn Quitugua.

Board chair Marcie Tomokane noted that the only way to address the issue “is to make the payment directly to CUC.”

But Taimanao also reported to the board what the HUD Field Office representative pointed out about this prospective measure.

“She advised that although this was a great way to ensure that the utility allowance is used solely for utility, we should hold our tenant accountable to pay for their own bills,” said Taimanao.

Given that Housing has no accountability measures to see if utility allowance checks are spent on utilities, Quitugua proposed that tenants should be required to bring in their utility receipts. “That’s where we can correct the problem. Just nip it in the bud now.”

Taimanao emphasized that tenants go to Housing annually for their re-certification and their caseworker in-charge reminds them about their responsibility to maintain utilities in their units as required by their contracts. “Should you get disconnected or not have that in your unit, you may be subject for termination.”

Taimanao said she is still verifying with HUD the “inner workings” involved in this proposed policy.