MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Eau Claire County Housing Authority is to help provide safe, sanitary, and accessible dwelling accommodations for people of low and moderate incomes at rents and prices they can afford, and to help arrange the clearance, re-planning, and reconstruction of areas in which unsanitary or unsafe housing conditions exist.

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Robin Leary
  Chairperson-- County Board of Supervisors, staff, UW-EC Foundation Inc. 
Marlene Soppeland
  Vice-Chairperson--Citizen member
Sue Miller
  Citizen member
Anita Neuheisel
  Resident/Citizen member Retired school teacher                                                                                                Bruce Willett
   Member, County Board of Supervisors, retired Human Services Director

PROGRAM STAFF

An Executive Director, two Housing Specialists, and an Office Associate

 
HOUSING AUTHORITY PROGRAMS

Section 8 Rental Housing Choice Voucher Program
Administer 221 Family Housing Choice Vouchers to subsidize rents to private landlords and help with utility costs.
Maintain a waiting list of about 250 households (purged every 6 months).

High Performer rating each year under Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP)

Public Housing
Own and manage 16 scattered-site, large-family public housing units--23 units acquired and rehabilitated or newly constructed in 1995-1996.  Ten units have been sold under a Section 5(h) Homeownership Plan, which allows successful FSS families to purchase the home they occupy with deferred-payment, no-interest gap financing from the Housing Authority.  Sales proceeds are used to perpetuate the program--homes were bought and rehabilitated to be used for public housing in 1998 and 2003-and are also used in conjunction with the state-funded FreshStart Program (similar to HUD's YouthBuild Program).  Six homes have been built and sold to low-income families, and two homes are under construction.

High Performer rating each year under Public Housing Management Assessment Program (PHMAP) and Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS)

Received the Milwaukee HUD Office 1997 Award of Excellence

Family Self-Sufficiency Program
All public housing residents (16) and 36 Section 8 participants receive coordination of supportive services to help them to become economically self-sufficient.  Since 1993, 50 families have become self-sufficient; and have received $125,408 of escrow funds.  Nine more families are in the process of maintaining self-sufficiency for the required 12 months before receiving their escrow checks.

 
Housing Rehabilitation Programs
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program - Administered for Eau Claire County, the Village of Fairchild and the City of Augusta--Fund substantial rehabilitation of owner-occupied homes and homes purchased by first-time homebuyers with no-interest, deferred-payment loans; rehabilitates rental units with no-interest, monthly payment loans to landlords (rental units must be occupied by low-income tenants), and assists homebuyers with down payment and closing cost assistance. In addition, a sidewalk in the Village of Fairchild from the Fairchild Nursing Home to the downtown business district was constructed in 1993; an old nursing home, vacant since 1983, was demolished in 1999; and handicapped accessible restrooms at the Augusta city ball field were constructed. 

PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS: 

Instructions:  Print out the application for the program(s) you are interested in.  The completed application must be mailed with original signatures.  Faxed or e-mailed (with attachment) applications will not be accepted.

HOUSING REHABILITATION LOAN PROGRAM

AUGUSTA REHAB APPLICATION

RENT ASSISTANCE APPLICATION

Fair Housing
The Housing Authority enforces the County Fair Housing Ordinance, provides outreach and complaint processing, and conducts annual activities in conjunction with Fair Housing Week, including a poster and essay contest.
 
Miscellaneous Client Services
The Eau Claire County Housing Authority provides many services not directly associated with a single program.  These services include: a quarterly resident newsletter, one-on-one financial and homebuyer counseling, specialized workshops on topics of financial and credit management, home buying and homeownership, home maintenance, job searching techniques, energy savings, parenting, nutrition, fair housing, and youth-oriented subjects. 
 
HOME First-Time Homebuyer Program:  Fund substantial rehabilitation of homes purchased by first-time homebuyers with no-interest, deferred-payment loans.

Emergency Rehabilitation Program:   Make no-interest loans to owner-occupants to make emergency, critical repairs to their home.

State of Wisconsin Housing Organization Direct Assistance Program (HODAP):  Provides down payment and closing cost assistance to low-income home buyers, and provides security deposits loans.  

Housing Cost Reduction Initiatives (HCRI)

Fairchild Senior Living
The Housing Authority purchased the former Fairchild Health Care Center in December 2003, and was successful in obtaining $1,000,000 in state-administered CDBG and HOME and Federal Home Loan Bank funds in 2004. The building was renovated into eleven low-income elderly apartments in 2005. Supportive services are coordinated by the Housing Authority.  This facility is located in the Village of Fairchild, an economically depressed community of about 200 mostly low-income households located about 23 miles from the City of Eau Claire. 

See the Fairchild Senior Living brochure

* National Recognized Award Winning Project *

This project was the winner of two 2006 Awards of Merit from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) in the Project Design-Modernization/Rehabilitation and Program Innovation-Affordable Housing categories, and was nominated for Awards of Excellence in both categories. An Award of Excellence was awarded in the Program Innovation-Affordable Housing category. The project was also chosen from 39 Award of Merit winners in the eight-state region to receive the North Central Regional Council of NAHRO's 2006 Housing Achievement Award.