Questionable ED Search at High Point Housing Authority

Housing Research has learned there is a questionable Executive Director/CEO Search at the High Point Housing Authority. It appears that HUD may review the hiring practices of the High Point Housing Authority Board, including the exclusion of highly qualified candidates, and the inclusion of candidates with less than 6 months of executive HA, HOPE VI, Section 8, and development experience.

 

Angela McGill

Philip D. Brown from the Richmond County Daily Journal has also looked into the Executive Director/CEO search. See his report HERE.

It appears the former “Executive Assistant” at the High Point Housing Authority, Angela McGill is one of the finalist for the position of  Executive director/CEO at the High Point Housing Authority, although she has limited long-term Executive  Director/CEO, development, or management experience.

Ms. McGill was employed by the High Point Housing Authority for six years serving as an admininstrative/secretary, or  ”Executive Assistant” to the former High Point Executive Director/CEO for 5 years. She was  promoted to the position of chief operating officer at High Point shortly before the High Point Housing Authority CEO, Robert Kenner stepped down in May of this year when his three-year contract expired.

The agency recently told the High Point Enterprise it has a short list of candidates it’s brought in for an interview.

He held the job for five years.

As reported by Philip D. Brown from the Richmond County Daily Journal, “The six remaining candidates are primarily from the Southeast and have a variety of experiences with housing authorities,” the Enterprise reported.

The Richmond County Daily Journal also reports: 

When asked whether she is interviewing for her former boss’s job, McGill said she didn’t wish to discuss her personal life and would consult her attorney to find out who was spreading rumors about her.

She didn’t clarify whether she had interviewed for the position, or is still being considered for it.

RHA Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Denise Sullivan said she and board member Cohen Cox met with McGill to ask if she interviewed for the job, and were told she hasn’t.

“She said she has not been for an interview, but that she was being pursued for the position,” Sullivan said. “She said this wasn’t anything new, and had been going on for some time.”

Sullivan said McGill pledged she would give proper notice if she did take another job.

Kenner’s contract paid him approximately $117,000 a year. McGill makes about $80,000 a year with the RHA.

She has a rolling contract arrangement, and also received a $3,000 moving allowance, a car allowance, health insurance and the use of a cell phone and other amenities as part of her employment.

The three-page resume McGill delivered to the RHA at the time of her application shows she is a veteran of the U. S. Army, leaving the service in 1994 after six years in the military.

Kenner is also a veteran, having served for 25 years with the U.S. Marine Corps. Read More HERE

Choice Neighborhoods Funding

The Choice Neighborhoods initiative will transform distressed neighborhoods and public and assisted projects into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs. A strong emphasis will be placed on local community planning for access to high-quality educational opportunities, including early childhood education. Choice Neighborhoods grants will build upon the successes of public housing transformation under HOPE VI to provide support for the preservation and rehabilitation of public and HUD-assisted housing, within the context of a broader approach to concentrated poverty. In addition to public housing authorities, the initiative will involve local governments, non-profits, and for-profit developers in undertaking comprehensive local planning with residents and the community.

Additionally, the Department is placing a strong emphasis on coordination with other federal agencies, with the expected result that federal investments in education, employment, income support, and social services will be better aligned in targeted neighborhoods. To date, the Departments of Education, Justice and Health and Human Services are working with HUD to coordinate investments in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, including those targeted by Choice Neighborhoods.

In the FY 2010 HUD Appropriations law, Congress authorized the Secretary to use up to $65 million of the HOPE VI appropriations for a Choice Neighborhoods demonstration. HUD and Congress are currently working on authorizing legislation to formally establish the program for FY 2011 and beyond.

FY 2010 Funding Information – Public Webcast on Sep. 1

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Visit: Core Synergy Group your Choice Neighborhood grant writing and project implementation consultants.

FY 2010 HOPE VI Revitalization NOFA

 

Revitalization Grants Notice of Funding Availability

The FY 2010 HOPE VI Revitalization Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) was issued on August 25, 2010 and announces approximately $124 million available for award. Eligible applicants are only public housing authorities (PHAs) that have severely distressed housing in their inventory and that are otherwise in conformance with the threshold requirements of the NOFA. The deadline for applications is November 22, 2010.

The NOFA is posted here for your reference. The NOFA and its application forms must be downloaded from Grants.gov and the application must be submitted through Grants.gov. The CFDA number for HOPE VI is 14.866.

FY 2010 HOPE VI Revitalization NOFA

 

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U.S. examines private sector’s role in ensuring affordable housing

As reported by Zachary A. Goldfarb at The Washington Post, The Obama administration is grappling over how much to force private lenders to pay for apartments and homes for the poor as it presses ahead with a major overhaul of the government’s housing policy, officials said.

The question is among the thorniest facing the administration as it tries to build consensus around a new system that would ensure ordinary Americans have the financing they need for their homes without the government backing nearly every mortgage, as it is doing today.

Most administration officials agree that the government should continue to have a major role in the housing market. But how much federal assistance should be extended to make sure financing is available to low- and middle-income families has stirred debate within the administration. Agreement has yet to form over whether the government should take on this task or whether the private sector should bear some of this responsibility.

A decision, whenever it comes, could have severe consequences. Some say government pressure on mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to spend a portion of their profits on affordable housing pushed the companies to finance risky loans, adding to the troubles that nearly led to the firms’ collapse. The companies’ federal regulators, which relaxed the firms’ affordable-housing requirements after seizing them, are among those who hold that view.

But without government intervention, it may not be profitable for lenders to make loans to low-income families, and so those people may be unable to get financing.

One option under consideration is simply to require mortgage lenders to provide a portion of their loans to affordable housing, essentially putting the burden on the private sector. Another idea being discussed is to put the onus on government agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration, which makes loans to borrowers who cannot afford to make a standard down payment.

A third choice would be a hybrid of private and public participation. For instance, the government could make private firms pay a fee into a federally administered fund that would subsidize affordable housing.

A senior Housing and Urban Development Department official said that officials are looking at all of their options. “Consideration about affordability and access are going to be really important,” the official said. The official, like other sources interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans are still under discussion.  Read More HERE

This as over 35,000 mostly black crowds swarmed into  Tri-Cities Plaza in East Point (right outside of Atlanta GA) as people tried to apply for Section 8 housing. More HERE

It’s time for a new policy on helping the poor gain affordable housing. The current status quo is not working!

HUD’s Choice Neighborhood initiative Guidelines

As reported by the National Mortgage Professional.com

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has posted the Choice Neighborhood FY 2010 Notice of Funding Availability Pre-Notice to give potential applicants guidance prior to the actual Choice Neighborhoods funding notice, to be published this summer. The guidance offers advance details regarding the application process to compete for funds through this pilot program.

“We want the Choice Neighborhood pilot program to build on the achievements and lessons learned under the HOPE VI program,” said HUD Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing Sandra B. Henriquez. “To do that, we believe it is absolutely necessary to inform our partners as early as possible of the tools they will need in place to be ready when the competition begins.”

The Pre-Notice outlines the core goals of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative that Congress approved with the passage of HUD’s FY 2010 budget. The information will help entities interested in applying for funding under Choice Neighborhoods better prepare for the Notice of Funding Availability, the official federal government application to obtain funding.

“Posting guidance of this magnitude for upcoming funding availability is an unprecedented step for HUD,” said Carol Galante, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing. “We hope this early guidance is helpful and we stand ready to respond to questions for further clarifications.”

This is the pilot year of the competitive program that will award up to $65 million to public housing authorities, local governments and non-profit organizations to extend neighborhood transformation efforts beyond the public and or assisted housing to link housing revitalization with education reform and early childhood education. One key feature in the pilot program is the requirement that any public housing or other HUD-assisted housing unit demolished under the program must be replaced with another unit unless there are valid, quantifiable reasons for exception. The program widens the traditional pool of eligible applicants by allowing for-profit developers to submit joint applications with a public entity.

The Pre-Notice introduces key program elements and activities as well as the framework of the competition HUD will use to award this year’s grants. While the nearly 20-year-old HOPE VI Revitalization Program has been successful at transforming neighborhoods with distressed public housing into revitalized mixed-income communities, Choice Neighborhoods aims to use a more comprehensive approach to community development with housing transformation as its center. The program also expands targeted units to include both public and assisted housing.  Read more HERE

For more information, visit www.hud.gov.

CMHA Receives A Positive Organization Assessment “

CMHA ranks amongst the best run Housing Authorities in the Country.” That’s the opinion of David Gilmore and his team of associates who were hired nearly six months ago to complete a comprehensive management assessment of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority.  The team from Gilmore Kean, LLC has completed its Management Assessment of CMHA and presented an oral report to the Board of Commissioners at the end of January. A written report will follow in a few weeks, but the results that were provided were extremely complimentary of CMHA’s staff. Gilmore began his presentation commenting that CMHA is a solid, competent agency and everyone involved with administering our functions should be congratulated. This team found that CMHA is a well run agency that could benefit from a few changes that would make it a fantastic agency. The team did recommend the development of a modern, comprehensive strategic plan to ensure successfully moving forward as an agency. This is a recommendation that CMHA’s executive staff has been discussing. The strategic planning process is scheduled to begin soon. More HERE

Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant funds available

Community Development Agencies, Non Profits, PHA’s urged to seek grant funds.

There is a new opportunity to apply for Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant funds. Core Synergy Group, a Maryland based consulting firm is providing grant writing and technical assistance to sucessfully obtain the grant.  The firm, which has successfully written millions of dollars in community development and Neighborhood Networks Community Technology Grant applications for a number of public agencies throughout the United States.

A number of community development corporations, non-profits and public housing authorities (PHAs) applied, often in partnership with their local universities, library systems and community organizations have received the funding.

It is expected that $1.4 billion in grant awards will be announced on a rolling basis through February, and that non-profits and PHAs will receive a share of the funding. This is the second and final opportunity to apply for BTOP funding.

The funding is designed to help provide broadband (high-speed Internet) to communities in need, including residents served by non-profits and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs).

Core Synergy Group‘s Principal Consultant noted, “As more services related to government, employment, health, job training, and education are delivered online, access to broadband is becoming increasingly necessary. Non Profits, PHA’s, and Community Development organizations must be prepared to quickly apply for these grants.”

More on the $2.6 billion BTOP  awards program:

The 2.6 billion BTOP awards program will award in second round funding is made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to help advance the Administration’s goal of providing broadband access to all Americans. Most importantly to us in the public housing business, BTOP expressly recognizes that HUD and PHAs are already working with the communities, infrastructure (including Neighborhood Networks centers), and populations that the Administration is targeting.  Applicants are encouraged to leverage other Recovery Act funding, State or Federal funding, towards their Broadband project.

BTOP is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce. The Program’s Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) announces three types of grants, two of which are directly applicable to non-profits, Neighborhood Network Centers, PHAs:

1.      Public Computer Centers (PCC):  The PCC category will help expand public access to broadband service and enhance broadband capacity at entities that  permit the public to use these computing centers, such as community colleges and public libraries.   The NOFA includes “Neighborhood Networks centers in public housing developments” as part of its definition of a public computer center. (See NOFA, p. 3798)

Funding Available:  At least $150 million.

2.     Sustainable Broadband Adoption (SBA):  The SBA category will fund innovative projects that promote broadband demand, including projects focused on providing broadband education, awareness, training, access, equipment, or support, particularly among vulnerable population groups that traditionally have underutilized broadband technology.

Funding Available:  At least $100 million.

The third category, Comprehensive Community Infrastructure (CCI) will focus on Middle Mile broadband infrastructure projects that offer new or substantially upgraded connections to community anchor institutions or to organizations or agencies serving vulnerable populations.  (see definition of CCI on p. 3797, and footnote #57 on p. 3806)

Funding Available:  Approximately $2.35 billion.

More Application Information:

Deadline:  All applications for funding BTOP projects must be submitted between February 16, 2010, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and March 15, 2010, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

The NOFA is available via this link:  http://www.broadbandusa.gov/files/FedRegNOFA_R2_NTIA.pdf

Non-Profits and PHAs interested in these opportunities should explore application opportunities with other eligible entities for the above categories and/or the third category.  Core Synergy Group is available to provide grant writing assistance. Contact Core Synergy Group’s Principal Consultant immediately at 240-696-1135

Funding for the HOPE VI program’s successor, The Choice Neighborhoods Initiatives program

Housing and Community Revitalization

The President’s proposal calls for an overall increase of funding from $43.6 billion to $48.5 billion for HUD.
For the second year in a row, the President requested full funding for the Community Development Block Grant program at $4 billion. It also includes $150 million for the Sustainable Communities cross-agency initiative.

The President also proposed a new program, the Catalytic Investment Competition Grants program, to be funded at $150 million.  Grants awarded under this program would help cities and towns create or improve economic development opportunities in neighborhoods suffering economic decline.

In response to ongoing high levels of  home foreclosure rates, the President calls for increased funding for Section 8 housing vouchers, which provide home rental assistance for low-income families, from $18.2 billion to $19.6 billion.  Funding for the HOPE VI program’s successor, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiatives program, would be increased to $250 million to support the development and maintenance of affordable public housing.
Finally, the President’s proposal increases funding for Homeless Assistance Grants from $1.86 billion to $2.1 billion. Read More HERE

Powers of KC Housing Authority board revoked

A failure to appoint any new members to the Kansas City Housing Authority board has prompted the agency’s special master to revoke the board’s powers.

The Housing Authority blames lack of communication from Mayor Mark Funkhouser, but the mayor’s staff says the agency dropped the ball.

In a news release Tuesday, the authority said Jeffrey Lines, the court-appointed special master, was revoking the board’s powers because all its remaining members had resigned.

Lines said he was forming an advisory committee to study ways to establish a new way to govern the authority, which oversees public housing services for nearly 10,000 Kansas City families.

Under state law, the mayor makes appointments to the seven-member board, Executive Director Edwin Lowndes said Tuesday. Lowndes said agency representatives met with Funkhouser several times to emphasize the importance of the board appointments and suggest nominees, but the mayor had appointed no one since he was elected in 2007.

“We’ve been trying to work with the mayor’s office,” Lowndes said. “There was no direction from the mayor.”

Funkhouser’s chief of staff, Kendrick Blackwood, responded Tuesday that the mayor received a list of four nominees in late 2008. Funkhouser was fine with three of them but wanted someone different for one position.

Blackwood said the nominating committee rejected the mayor’s choice, and never came back with a new slate for the mayor to consider.

“The mayor ought to have some discretion in these appointments,” said Blackwood, who noted that abolishing the board seemed drastic.

Read more: Powers of KC Housing Authority board revoked – KansasCity.com

Berkeley Public Housing tenants rally against the loss of public housing.

Berkeley Public Housing tenants showed up at Tuesday’s City Council meeting to rally against the loss of public housing.

The Berkeley Housing Authority, which has been a separate entity from the city of Berkeley since 2007, approved the sale of 61 units of federal housing scattered around the city to a private developer so that BHA can focus on its Section 8 voucher program.

BHA Director Tia Ingram contends that as a “troubled” housing authority, the agency had been given a Dec. 31, 2009, deadline by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to either create a plan to fix its public housing or get out of it entirely.

Although current BHA tenants will receive relocation vouchers and some will even be able to return, the group is not giving up without a fight.

“The housing has been allowed to deteriorate due to neglect,” said Keith Carlisle, a tenant. “Now that the mismanagement of the BHA administration and its board are being called into question by HUD, the BHA director and board want to sell off the problem that they have created. We say no. We say you messed up, you take responsibility and clean it up.”

Carlisle and other tenants complained about mistreatment, mismanagement of funds and called for Ingram and BHS chair Carole Norris to be fired.  More HERE