The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) Board held a special meeting on Thursday to discuss multiple agenda items.
2027 PUBLIC HOUSING ANNUAL PLAN/CAPITAL FUND PLAN
The first item on the agenda was a resolution for the 2026 adoption of the 2027 annual plan, 2027 public housing capital fund plan, definition of significant amendment, 2027 public housing admissions and continued occupancy plan (ACOP) and lease changes, and the 2027 housing choice voucher administrative plan. In the past, these measures would’ve been handled separately, but Tahran combined them into a single resolution this year because they are all related to public housing and Section 8 housing initiatives. “Typically what we’ve done in the past is we’ve had separate resolutions for all those items. However, some of them kind of tie in together, so we did it under one resolution, and it’s quite overwhelming. So we had our special meeting today just for some more clarification and to let the board digest a lot of that information.”
The annual plan changed slightly from 2026, as updates were made to lower the lease move-out notice from 60 days to 30, increasing security deposits from $200 to $500, increasing pet deposits (excluding emotional support animals) from $300 to $500, and updating late rent fees to 8% of the total late rent per month.
The capital fund plan is part of a five-year plan developed in 2023 that needs to be re-approved annually as fund totals are updated and projects are completed before new ones are added. One lease change that was discussed was a change in the definition of apartment absence, which would lower the notice time from 180 days to 30 days. The goal of the change is to make more units available and prevent fraudulent activity, but exceptions are meade in certain situations like illness or hospitalization.
Tahran appreciated the feedback she received on the public housing plan updates, which were passed unanimously. “I think everything went very well. With the main resolution, we’re adopting quite a few items: our agency plan, annual plan, public housing capital fund plan, our significant amendment. We did revisions to our public housing admissions continued occupancy plan, and a few lease changes in our 2027 Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan. It’s a lot to digest, but overall it was a great discussion.”
AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER FINANCIAL REPORTS
CHEDA Assistant Treasurer Jon Roscoe presented the August and September financial reports to the board. The reports were generated by Urlaub and Company as part of their fee accounting services. Roscoe reported that the September numbers improved over August, thanks to additional awards entered from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), bringing the cash balances for the public housing funds into positive territory. He acknowledged that communication and organization have led to some tweaks along the way, but the board agreed that the reports are well-organized and thorough, yet simple and straightforward. “I guess in September and then going forward, some of the additional awards from the HUD grants have came in, so those were able to be drawn down and get our cash balances by each program to be in the positive. That was the good part in getting us closer to where we expected to be at the end of the year.”
HOUSING ALARY STUDY/HRA SALARY ADJUSTMENTS
CHEDA Executive Director Darin Selzler led a discussion on the housing salary study results and proposed HRA salary adjustments. The board had previously discussed the study and salary adjustments at the September 24 meeting and approved the study results at the October 29 meeting, but they tabled any action on the salary adjustments until more information could be provided on the options for a salary adjustment. Selzler went over the proposed salary adjustments, which are similar to the AFSCME contract approved by employees of the City of Crookston following a wage study conducted earlier this year. The adjustments would create a step-and-grade system that would gradually increase employees’ salaries as they advance through each step and/or grade following an annual evaluation. For 2026, the average increase would be 4.2%, with 2.25% increases in 2027 and 2028. The board unanimously approved the salary adjustments as presented.
Selzler thanked the board for their patience in this process and appreciated the work put into developing this new salary adjustment to provide employees with their cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for 2026-28. “Earlier in the year, we did a wage study similar to the city of Crookston, just to see how competitive our wages were and make sure they’re at market rate. Once we received that, it gave us a baseline for moving forward with possible COLAs for the staff. However, we wanted to wait until we had a few additional financial updates now that we’re working with a fee accountant to make sure that the budgeted COLAs are sustainable and what that looks like moving forward. So yeah, we’re happy with that discussion. We’re glad the board approved that, and we’re excited for the staff to get their 2026 COLA, which they haven’t received yet this year.”
