Located in rural Kansas, the Chanute Housing Authority provides affordable and safe housing options for income-eligible individuals in the city of Chanute. It ensures equal opportunity in housing through the efforts of a professional, caring, and responsive staff and Board of Directors.
Business Challenge
As one of the few housing authorities serving the area, Chanute Housing Authority (CHA) is challenged to meet increased demand for affordable housing and get the most out of its existing resources and limited funding. They struggle to keep up to date and comply with ever-shifting HUD regulations while managing day-to-day operations, and the program includes many older homes with unique maintenance needs. Moreover, the housing authority aspires to eliminate paper processes as part of a cultural move toward efficiency.
Solution
CHA uses MRI Software’s public housing solutions to manage several areas of their program requirements, including compliance, waitlists and applications, and financial and reporting needs for their housing choice voucher and public housing programs.
I wear a lot of hats, and I don’t need to wear one more. MRI Software’s solutions and services team have saved us time, money, and helped us boost accuracy.
– Mikki Herrera, Executive Director, Chanute Housing Authority
Business Impact
MRI’s public housing technology solutions give staff more time to focus on what matters most – taking care of their residents – instead of spending all their time working behind the scenes.
With their specific set of funding challenges, CHA is able to keep their homes up to HUD requirements with the resources saved by outsourcing accounting to a team of experts.
Simplified waitlist management
CHA uses MRI’s HousingManager.com to manage waitlists and applications. By entering applicant information into HousingManager.com, CHA saves time and eliminates the tedious paper application process. Once entered into the system, all their applicant criteria is visible and organized for their convenience, so they can provide homes to the people who need it most.
Expert, streamlined voucher management
As a housing authority that manages a Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers program, CHA uses the MRI system to keep track of vouchers, create the required VMS reports, and streamline communication with owners and residents. By outsourcing accounting services to MRI’s specialized team, CHA can avoid hiring additional staff to meet the monthly financial reporting requirements – saving significant time and money.
Increased audit confidence
CHA uses MRI Software’s rent calculation feature to determine and deliver total tenant payments (TTP) as well as collecting interim and re–exam forms. The software does all the math for them and provides documentation for how it arrived at all the numbers.
Improved PIC score
With the help of MRI’s PIC services team, CHA successfully moved their PIC score from 80% to 100% within 90 days.
