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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 08142007 - D.3 I I HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA TO: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS i FROM: Joseph Villarreal, Executive(Director DATE: August 14, 2007 1 SUBJECT:. REPORT ON THE STATUSIOF THE AUTHORITY'S SEMAP CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN i SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION I I. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: I ACCEPT report providing information on the status of the Authority's SEMAP Corrective Action Plan. I DISCUSS when and where to schedule Board training. II.' FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. III. BACKGROUND The Section 8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) is designed to assess whether the Section 8 tenant-based assistance program is helping eligible families afford decent rental units at the correct subsidy cost. SEMAP also establishes a system for HUD to measure a housing authority's performance in key Section 8 program areas and to assign performance ratings. SEMAP provides procedures for HUD to identify a housing authority's management capabilities and deficiencies in order to target monitoring and program assistance more effectively. Under SEMAP, housing authorities that manage a Section 8 program receive an annual rating from HUD on 15 management performance indicators. These indicators are as follows: 1. Selection from the Waiting List 1 2. Reasonable Rent 3. Determination of Adjusted Income 4. Utility Allowance Schedule 5. HQS Quality Control �5,0�: CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE Joseph Villarreal,Executive Director RECOMMENDATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON Q /1 /Q� APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED_ C OTHER _� SCS Y1 ofi.+� bn.1 oJ VOTE OF COMMISSIONERS �� I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: \ ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Cpl,nr.�SSi B'ha✓' 1�ialPl•e rR vTusS-I"� d ATTESTED .O 9ll14/o::),- d JOH CULLEN,CLERK OF 1 S$ tro�u�5'h6d �I-a3)!,s W THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS �esS�V�e 1 AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR I i BY DEPUTY I C:\Documents and Settings\jhayes.000HA\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\0LK4E\B0 SEMAP Troubled Rating.doc I i i 6. HQS Enforcement 7. Expanding Housing Opportunities 8. Payment Standards 9. timely Annual Reexaminations 10. Correct tenant Rent Calculations 11. Pre-Contract HQS Inspections 12. Annual HQS Inspections 13. Lease-up 14. Family Self-Sufficiency 15. Deconcentration Bonus A housing authority that scores at least 90 percent on the fifteen indicators above receives a high performer rating. A housing authority with'SEMAP scores between 60 and 89 percent receives a standard rating. Any housing authority that scores less than 60 percent is considered a troubled Section 8 agency. IV. STATUS The Contra Costa County Housing Authority has been rated a troubled agency four out of five rating periods since 2003. As such, HUD issued, the Authority a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) effective July 1, 2007. This plan outlines 158 different tasks and action items the Authority must complete to HUD's satisfaction before HUD will conduct a confirmatory review to determine whether or not the Authority is still considered a troubled agency. In other words, even if the Authority's actual performance has improved beyond troubled, the Authority will not be able to remove this label until all 158 tasks and action items have been approved by HUD based on a successful confirmatory review. The Authority has already begun addressing the tasks and action items required under the CAP. The Authority will send HUD monthly updates until all of these are completed. Many of the items require the Authority to add or update policies and procedures to its Section 8 Administrative Plan. A revised Administrative plan will be brought to the Board for comment in September or October and for approval the following month. One action item concerns the Board in particular. HUD is requiring that the Board of Commissioners receive board training for housing authority commissioners. This training must be completed by all Commissioners, ideally within the next few months, as one of the steps to remove the agency's troubled program status. Staff was only able to identify one training provider, NAHRO, which provides board training for housing authority commissioners. NAHRO can send a trainer locally to conduct the necessary training. The training takes a day and a half to complete. For ease in your schedules the training can be conducted from 4 pm to 9 pm on a Friday evening and continue all day on Saturday, or another timeframe of your choosing. The other option would be to travel to San Diego where board training will be conducted on October 26-27, 2007, just prior to the NAHRO National Conference. Please advise staff how you wish to meet this requirement. i r� • ITY HOUSING AUTHORITY v v Of THE August 6, 2007 COUNTY Of CONTRA COSTA , afforda6le kousing solutions Mary Piepho, Chair Board of Commissioners 309 Diablo Road Danville, CA 94526 RE: Commissioner Training Dear Commissioner Piepho: A letter from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was sent to you dated May 2, 2007 (copy enclosed). The letter indicated that the Housing Authority would be receiving a Corrective Action Plan (CAP), which is required for agencies with a troubled program status. Pursuant to 24 CFR Section 985.107, the Housing Authority has received its CAP. As one of the overall improvement steps, HUD is requiring that the Board of Commissioners receive "Board Training" on the roll of a Commissioner by August 15, 2007. 1 have spoken to the HUD office in San Francisco and was able to extend the completion date to sometime in the near future. This training must be completed by all Commissioners as one of the steps to remove the agency's troubled program status. As far as I am aware NAHRO is the only source offering "Board Training" for Housing Authority Commissioners. NAHRO can send a trainer to the agency to conduct the necessary training. The training takes a day and a half to complete. For ease in your schedules the training can be conducted from 4 pm to 9 pm on a Friday evening and continue all day on Saturday, or another timeframe of your choosing. The Housing Authority will provide meals during the training should you select to have the training at the agency. The other option would be to travel to San Diego where the "Board Training" will be conducted on October 26-27, 2007, just prior to the NAHRO National Conference, with the agency paying expenses. Please confer with the other Commissioners and advise which avenue you would like to pursue. All Commissioners do not need to receive the training at the same time should one or more choose to have the training prior to the NAHRO National Conference. I can be reached at (925) 957-8011;or email at ivillarreal(cDcontracostahousinq.org. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Joseph Villarreal Executive Director cc: John Cullen Encl. 3133 ESTUDILLO STREET • P.O.BOX 2759 • MARTINEZ,CALIFORNIA 94553 • PHONE(925)957-8000 • FAX(925)372-0236 www.contracostahousing.org s ZME"'a� U.S.Department of housing and Urban Development WQ'PII n 44 _'* San Francisco Regional Office-Region IX L I�IIlllli j 600 Harrison Street San Francisco,California 94107-1387 www.hud.gov espanol.hud.gov FILE COPY MAY 0 2 2007 I Ms Mary Piepho Board Chairperson 309 Diablo Rd. Danville, CA 94526 j Dear Ms Piepho: This letter serves to transmit the;Independent Assessment and Confirmatory Review of the Contra Costa County Housing Authority's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher(HCV)Program. The Nelrod Company's Independent Assessment Team, an independent firm under contract to HUD, conducted the review during the week of February 5 through 9, 2007. This assessment will be used as the basis of a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for your Housing Authority. The CAP will be transmitted under separate cover within the next 30 days and will contain the response deadlines for each issue addressed in this report. Should you have any . questions regarding this report please contact Susan Platania, Program Analyst, at (415) 489-6445. j Sincerely, (lri?inal �.Lg,ned by Stephen Schneller Director Office of Public Housing Enclosure j CC: .Rudy Tamayo Executive Director Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa 3133 Estudillo St. j Martinez, CA 94553-3258 I I I