Sikeston, Scott County waiting for HUD OK on housing merger

Standard Democrat

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Scott County and Sikeston housing authorities are waiting to hear from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on a request to merge and reduce the number of Section 8 vouchers.

In documents submitted July 15, local authorities officially requested "the merger and a 10 percent reduction in the allocation," according to Bobby K. Henry, executive director of the Sikeston Housing Authority.

"It's been approved by the St. Louis HUD office and is in Washington now waiting their approval," Henry said.

Henry said he does not know when local officials can expect to hear back with a decision from HUD on the merger and voucher reduction request.

The housing choice voucher program is the federal government's major program for assisting low-income families, the elderly and the disabled to afford housing in the private market.

A housing subsidy is paid to the participating landlord directly by the Housing Authority on behalf of the family, which then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program.