HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03121991 - 1.59 �-059
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA
TO: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DATE: March 12, 1991
FROM: Perfecto Villarreal , Executive Director
cc:
SUBJECT: LETTER FROM HUD SECRETARY JACK KEMP
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ACCEPT the individual points made by HUD Secretary Kemp in his letter of
November 14, 1990; direct staff to disseminate the suggested guidelines designed to
assist commissioners of PHAs in exercising their oversight duties as soon as they are
received; and, appoint an Advisory Housing Commission member as a "Resident
Initiatives Commissioner as recommended by the Advisory Housing Commission.
II. FINANCIAL IMPACT:
.None at this time.
III. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND:
A letter was forwarded to Supervisor Nancy Fanden as Chairperson of the Board
of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa, from HUD
Secretary Jack Kemp, warning housing authority commissioners of their
responsibilities, as well as those of HUD employees, and PHA management with regard
to their accountability in the administration of public housing programs.
At its meeting on January 8, 1991 the Board of Supervisors/Commissioner
referred the letter from HUD Secretary Kemp to the .Executive Director of the Housing
Authority of the County of Contra Costa. This letter was then referred ,to the
.Advisory Housing commission for consideration of appropriate actions to be taken.
The Advisory Housing Commission discussed this letter extensively at its
January 28, 1991, meeting and determined that the staff of the Housing Authority
keeps the Commission members well informed on all activities of the agency and,
additionally, is available to answer any questions, clarify guidelines and
regulations and explain budgetary matters. The Advisory Housing Commission then
voted to recommend acceptance of the individual points made by HUD Secretary Kemp in
his letter of November 14, 1990; directed staff to disseminate the suggested
guidelines designed to assist commissioners of PHAs in exercising their oversight
duties as soon as they are received; and, to appoint an Advisory Housing Commission
member as a "Resident Initiatives Commissioner
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S)
ACTION OF BOARD ON March 12, 1991 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF COMMISSIONERS
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT III ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS A TRUE AND
AYES: NOES: CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
OF COMMISSIONERS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: County Administrator ATTESTED March 12, 1991
County Counsel Phil Batchelor, Clerk of the
Housing Authority Board of Commissioners
M382/7-e3 BY `� . DEPUTY
Board of Commissioner .
March 12, 1991
Page -2-
IV. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
None.
/
cc: County Administrator
County Counsel
Housing Authority
2
As a commissioner responsible for ensuring that a PHA
administers its program in an economical and efficient manner,
you need to know and understand what is in your authority's
operating budget and whether it is appropriate. You need to be
aware of the necessity and propriety of actions taken by your PHA
that you have ratified by resolution. Your active involvement
and commitment to this oversight process is crucial if the public
housing program is to function, because you as commissioner are
ultimately responsible for the representations you make to HUD.
I have directed HUD's Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian
Housing to develop suggested guidelines designed to assist
commissioners of PHAs in exercising these oversight duties . To
some extent, these guidelines will help you know what information
you should request from your PHA. This is only a first step,
however.
Based upon the Strike Force findings and recommendations,
I am also writing to encourage you to promote the formation of
resident councils, and any other such efforts intended to
maximize. resident participation in the management of your PHA, as
a means of complementing and enhancing your monitoring and
oversight capability.
Recently, I entered into an agreement with the leaders of
the several national groups representing public housing authority
professionals and resident management corporations to promote
resident involvement in management and homeownership efforts,
where apporopriate, in our nations 's public housing developments .
The success of resident groups and resident management
corporations in solving some of the most intractable problems
encountered in public housing developments is well documented..
'These groups have played a significant part in reducing crime in
their developments, promoting self-sufficiency among residents,
and enhancing project operations . The Strike Force reported that
"organized resident councils and groups, actively involved in
management issues of the Authority, provide Commissioners with
qualitatively different feedback than residents voicing their
individual complaints at Commission meetings . "
I urge you to view these organized resident groups and
resident management corporations as a potential additional
resource for you to draw upon in your exercise of your important
oversight duties . As the Strike Force report stated, these
groups "provide Commissioners with invaluable information on how
well the Authority is delivering services and suggestions on
methods of improvement, as well as providing Commissioners with
an independent source of information that would assist them in
their evaluation of the PHA's management. "
O' yDe
* f D
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4h DEME
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON,D.C.20410-0001
November 14, 1990
Ms. Nancy Fanden
Chairperson
Contra Costa County Housing Authority
P. O. Box 2759
Martinez, CA .94553
Dear Ms. Fanden:
As you may know, earlier this year I ordered the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to take over the Passaic,
New Jersey Housing Authority after the discovery that its
executive director and several of his staff had engaged in
prolonged criminal activity that resulted in the misappropriation
of approximately $1. 7 million in federal funds . In addition to
suspension of the principals involved in the actual criminal
activity, several of the commissioners responsible for overseeing
that authority were also suspended. I immediately created a
Strike Force to investigate the practices of other public housing
authorities (PHAs ) in New Jersey, and to spot check for similar
practices in other parts of the nation.
The oversight and monitoring of a PHA's activities to ensure
that federal funds are properly administered may be the most
important function of a board of commissioners . When a board
passes a resolution approving an operating budget, for example,
it represents to HUD that the PHA is operating in an efficient
and economical manner; when it approves a contract, the
commissioners represent that all procurement requirements have
been satisfied. The events of Passaic show what can happen when
an uninformed and passive board of commissioners is manipulated
by the management of a PHA. These commissioners claimed
innocence because HUD had not informed them this had been
occurring.
Unfortunately for all involved, the commissioners had
facilitated many of the actions of the PHA's staff by adopting
and passing resolutions without understanding their implications,
or ever making any effort to question their propriety. The
report of the Strike Force makes it clear that inadequate or
improper oversight of PHAs is a problem not unique to Passaic or
New Jersey. I have every intention of holding HUD employees, and
all participants in the public housing program, accountable for
their actions and for their failures to act. The suspension of
the New Jersey commissioners occurred because they did not
perform their duties .
3
Resident groups cannot succeed without the active support
and advocacy of commissioners, such as yourself, which oversee
the local PHA. You can encourage PHA management to establish
explicit policies designed to maximize resident participation in
authority operations. You, because of your stature in your
locality, can ensure that resident management efforts maintain
the political support they need from the greater community to
flourish. And as a result of your familiarity- with your
locality, you can make sure that methods of increasing resident
participation and input into authority management parallel and
work well with the established community structure. Your
contribution as a commissioner is indispensable. My efforts at
the federal level as Secretary of HUD can be effective only with
your help and input at the local level.
Unfortunately, you and I both know that it is primarily the
bad news about public housing which gets the most attention. As
Secretary of HUD, I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet
countless PHA executive directors and commissioners who have
demonstrated their deep commitment to the residents of this
nation's public housing. Only by holding all HUD employees, PHA
management, and commissioners accountable for their actions,
however, can we hope to maintain the support of our taxpaying
citizens for the program.
I hope that you will join me in these efforts to assure. the
integrity of the public housing program. Your active
encouragement of resident efforts and input into the management
of your PHA can assist you in your efforts to increase the
accountability of the program to the local community and to the
nation's taxpayers .
At HUD, I have created an Office of Resident Initiatives
(ORI ) within the Office of Public and Indian Housing, to assist
in these efforts . There are also Resident Initiatives
Coordinators at every HUD Field Office that can provide you with
more information and assistance. You can contact ORT at (202)
708-3611, or your local HUD Field Office. I look forward to
working with you in this effort to increase the accountability of
the public housing program.
Very sincerely yours,
*acKemp