Adrianne Todman Named New NAHRO CEO

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

The Board of Governors of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Adrianne Todman as the incoming Chief Executive Officer. She will assume this position on June 1.

Ms. Todman was selected after a nationwide search.

“Ms. Todman’s rich experience in crafting and executing housing and community development policy at both the federal and local levels of government, coupled with her respected leadership and organizational expertise, makes her an exceptional choice, ” stated Steve Merritt, President of NAHRO. “The Board and I are excited to usher in an era of new leadership at NAHRO.”

“I am humbled to have been selected to lead this venerable organization,” said Ms. Todman. “NAHRO represents the most diverse membership of community development, local and state housing agencies, and professionals who house America’s families. Our important work over the course of the next several years will impact the lives of millions of households who need affordable housing in vibrant, sustainable communities. I look forward to this opportunity, and am prepared to ensure that NAHRO’s mission is forward-looking and results-driven.”

Ms. Todman is currently the Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, the region’s largest affordable housing provider, where she manages more than $400 million in affordable housing programs. During her tenure at DCHA, Ms. Todman has created a national model to house and assist homeless veterans, opened the first public affordable assisted living facility, increased the number of affordable units available for low-income families, and utilized innovation to increase the stock of affordable housing. Under her leadership, DCHA has deployed $80 million in New Market Tax Credits in emerging neighborhoods.

Prior to joining DCHA, Ms. Todman held several key positions in both the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. She served as a Legislative Director in the House of Representatives where she worked on national housing, education, and transportation legislation. She also worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as the first manager of the national HOPE VI competition, then as a policy assistant at both the Office of Public and Indian Housing and the Office of the Secretary.

Ms. Todman has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the D.C. Building Industry Association’s Public Official of the Year, and NAHRO’s 2016 M. Justin Herman Memorial award, the association’s highest honor, and one which acknowledges exceptional contributions to the housing and community development industry. She is frequently sought out to comment on national and local housing policies on various outlets and organizations, such as NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, Armstrong Williams Radio Show, the Urban Institute, and local city and county housing industry groups. Ms. Todman resides in the District of Columbia and is a proud alumna of Smith College.

NAHRO is a professional membership organization comprising more than 20,000 housing and community development agencies and officials who collectively administer a variety of affordable housing and community development programs at the state and local level. NAHRO members own or administer 674,000 units of public housing (a vast majority of the nation’s inventory), 1,724,000 units of tenant-based Section 8 housing, and 285,500 units of other assisted housing. In all, NAHRO’s members provide housing for more than 7.9 million low-income people and bring more than $1.5 billion Community Development Block Grant and HOME funding to their communities.  

HOTMA Implementation e-Briefing – Tomorrow

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!
HOTMA Implementation
A NAHRO Professional Development e-Briefing
Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 11, 2017
1:30 – 3:00 pm EDT

On July 29, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA), legislation that received unanimous, bipartisan support from Congress.

As HUD has begun the process of implementing the provisions in HOTMA, many local agencies are wondering how they will be impacted. Join National NAHRO’s in-house policy experts as they review the key provisions included in HOTMA, discuss HUD’s implementation notices and timeline, and explain what NAHRO is doing to help HUD move forward with implementation of this critically important reform legislation.

Reminder: Whether you’re watching alone or with an audience of 100, only one registration per connected device is required, making NAHRO Professional Development’s e-Briefings an outstanding value!

Online registration closes TONIGHT (Monday, April 10) at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

NAHRO Sends Letters to HUD on HOTMA and Triennial Certifications

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

In order to maintain the spotlight on issues important to our members, NAHRO sent two letters to HUD last week.

The first letter (member login required) was on the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) and focused on the Project-Based Voucher (PBV) provisions that HUD is currently implementing through Federal Register notice. In addition to other provisions, this notice included two provisions very important to our members. The first allows PHAs to choose to calculate their general project-based cap based on either voucher funding or voucher allocation. The second allows PHAs to project-base up to 30 percent of their vouchers in units targeted to the homeless, veterans, elderly, people with disabilities or in areas where vouchers are difficult to use. HUD has been discussing reopening this Federal Register notice for additional public comment. NAHRO’s letter explained the importance of these provisions to PHA operational flexibility and local housing need, while noting that if the public comment period is reopened, the effective date in the original notice of April 18, 2017 should remain.

The second letter (member login required) was on the triennial recertification interim final rule required by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Language permitting triennial recertifications was a hard-earned and significant win for PHAs across that country that are currently facing historically low levels of federal funding. On January 19, 2017, HUD previewed an interim final rule that would implement the triennial recertification provision of the FAST Act, but it was never actually published in the Federal Register due to the regulatory freeze on the new administration, so the FAST Act triennial recertification provisions were not implemented. NAHRO’s letter asked for the FAST Act triennial recertification interim final rule to be published, since the 60-day regulatory freeze period is now over.

HUD to Host MTW Listening Sessions

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, a NAHRO member forwarded an email sent by General Deputy Assistant Secretary Bryon of HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing announcing four listening sessions “for PHAs that are interested in applying to MTW and other industry partners.” Through the listening sessions, HUD hopes to hear feedback on its MTW Operations Notice. The MTW Operations Notice will govern the operation of PHAs that are selected to participate in the 100 PHA Expansion of the MTW Demonstration Program.

HUD is particularly interested in feedback on the following topics:

  • Evaluation and performance assessment;
  • Calculation of funding;
  • Statutory and regulatory waivers; and
  • Regionalization.

The listening sessions will be held in the following cities on the dates listed next to location (click on the location to register):

NAHRO’s comments on the MTW Operations Notice can be found here.

NAHRO Releases Preliminary Joint FY 2018 Budget Recommendations with PHADA and CLPHA

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, April 6, NAHRO released joint budget recommendations with industry groups CLPHA and PHADA. The document containing the recommendations states that the recommendations “are based on the best information available at this time. [The three groups] will submit revised funding recommendations to Congress when more detailed and timely information, such as the President’s FY 2018 budget request and Congressional Justifications, becomes available in May.”

These recommendations would fully fund the Operating Fund and provide enough funding for the Capital Fund for PHAs to begin addressing their capital needs backlog. Additionally, these recommendations would fully fund voucher renewals, fully fund the administrative fee formula, and fully fund project-based rental assistance contracts. The recommendations also provide sustainable funding for other important programs.

NAHRO / PHADA / CLPHA FY 2018 Funding Recommendations (in millions)
Public Housing Operating Fund $5,349
Public Housing Capital Fund $5,000
Emergency Capital Needs $21.5
Resident Opportunities and Supportive Services (ROSS) $35
Jobs Plus $15
Public Housing Financial and Physical Assessment Activities $10
Section 8 Tenant-Based Housing Choice Voucher HAP Renewal $19,390
Section 8 Ongoing Administrative Fees $2,284
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance $11,400
Consolidated Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program $95
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative $200

The “Emergency Capital Needs,” “Resident Opportunities and Supportive Services (ROSS),” “Jobs Plus,” and “Public Housing Financial and Physical Assessment Activities” accounts are in addition to the amount requested for the Capital Fund and are not sub-accounts.

The entire document with the FY 2018 budget recommendations–which contains additional information about each of the accounts–can be found here.

HOTMA Implementation e-Briefing on April 11

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

NEXT WEEK!
HOTMA Implementation
A NAHRO Professional Development e-Briefing
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
1:30 – 3:00 pm EDT

On July 29, 2016 President Barack Obama signed into law the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA), legislation that received unanimous, bipartisan support from Congress.

As HUD has begun the process of implementing the provisions in HOTMA, many local agencies are wondering how they will be impacted. Join National NAHRO’s in-house policy experts as they review the key provisions included in HOTMA, discuss HUD’s implementation notices and timeline, and explain what NAHRO is doing to help HUD move forward with implementation of this critically important reform legislation.

Reminder: Whether you’re watching alone or with an audience of 100, only one registration per connected device is required, making NAHRO Professional Development’s e-Briefings an outstanding value!

Online registration closes Monday, April 10, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Information for Volunteering PHA Properties for UPCS Inspector Field Training

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

During one of the panels at NAHRO’s 2017 Washington Conference, a panelist mentioned a program where PHAs could volunteer their properties to participate in a program to train UPCS Phase II inspector candidates. In return for volunteering properties, the PHA would receive a free “Pre-REAC” non-scored inspection.

NAHRO staff agreed to post information on how PHAs could volunteer for the program. To volunteer, PHAs are required to complete a spreadsheet and submit it to reac_quality_assurance@hud.gov. After gathering information on each property from owners, REAC will create a database of all properties to be used for the inspector candidate training process.

Finally, additional questions to REAC on any of the initiatives they are working on (e.g., UPCS-V, PIC-NG, PHAS, or SEMAP) can be emailed to PHAInfoSessions@hud.gov.

A more detailed description of the program can be found here.

The spreadsheet to be filled out with information on particular properties can be found here.

Revised FY 2017 FMRs Posted

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On March 30, HUD published a notice titled “Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program and Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program Fiscal Year 2017; Revised.” The notice revises the Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for Portland, ME and Vallejo-Fairfield, CA. Additionally, the notice also responds to comments that were submitted by NAHRO and other interested stakeholders on how FMRs are calculated and what constitutes a “material change” in FMR estimation. While summarizing all the stakeholder comments and HUD’s responses is outside the scope of this blog post, listed below is one comment NAHRO articulated in its comment letter and HUD’s response.

The original notice publishing FY 2017 FMRs noted that The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) required that HUD seek comment on “any proposed ‘material changes’ in methodology.” HUD sought comment on what should be considered “material changes.”

In its comment letter, NAHRO wrote the following:

HUD should take an expansive view of what constitutes a “material change” in FMR estimation methods . . . NAHRO’s rationale behind this recommendation stems from NAHRO’s belief in open, transparent government that clearly explains its reasoning behind changes and allows feedback, which NAHRO believes is in the best interest of program participants and all other interested stakeholders. (Page 3 and 4.)

HUD responded by writing:

HUD appreciates this comment and HUD is taking an expansive view on what constitutes a “material change” and intends to provide an opportunity for public comment on all FMR methodological changes in forthcoming proposed notices of material changes in FMR calculations.

This is welcome news because it ensures that HUD will not change the methodology for calculating FMRs without allowing NAHRO and other interested stakeholders to offer input.

The rest of HUD’s responses to NAHRO’s comments and the comments of other stakeholder can be found in the notice (along with the revised FMRs) here.

Senators Reed and Collins Introduce Bill to Strengthen the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On March 28, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced bipartisan legislation (S.743)  to strengthen the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (the Council). Created by Congress in 1987, the Council is the only federal level agency specifically tasked with coordinating the federal response to homelessness. Since its creation, the body has grown to include 19 Cabinet secretaries and agency heads.

Unfortunately, the Council was last authorized by Public Law 113-325 and sunsets at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. The Council would have to close its doors on October 1, 2017 and the Reed-Collins bill would eliminate the sunset date so that this agency can continue to build on its success in helping to prevent and end homelessness across the nation.

“The Council works with government, public housing agencies, homeless service providers, and local partners to better align their resources, efforts, goals, and measures of success. The progress we are making is encouraging, but it is not irreversible and now is not the time to end this effective, evidenced-based program that has helped leverage federal investments and measurably reduced homelessness in America,” said Senator Reed. “In our current budgetary environment…[t]he Council is proof that the government can work and save money in the process”

“As the Chairman of the THUD Appropriations Subcommittee, I will continue working to ensure that homeless programs have the data and the resources to reduce and prevent homelessness,” said Senator Collins.

In 2010 the Council unveiled Opening Doors, a federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, through set goals, best practices, and policy priorities. Since then, HUD has reported a 14 percent decrease in overall homelessness in the nation, including a 47 percent decline in veterans’ homelessness.

NAHRO believes that the Council has been instrumental in bringing down homelessness rates and joins a strong and diverse coalition of non-profit and housing organizations in support of the Reed-Collins bill.

 

 

HUD Publishes Cash Management Notice for HCV Program

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, March 23, HUD published PIH-2017-06, a notice titled “Cash Management Requirements for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.” This notice replaces the previous cash management notice (PIH 2011-67) and “revises the cash reconciliation timeframes and provides additional guidance to MTW PHAs.”

While NAHRO will provide additional coverage of the notice in its the next issue of its newsletter, the Monitor, here are few points from the notice.

  • Monthly disbursements are based on the most recent validated Voucher Management System (VMS) Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) costs. Disbursements may be scheduled for one or multiple months at a time. Disbursements will be made on the first business day of the month. The notice provides an example document showing how PHAs will be notified of disbursements.
  • HUD assesses national program cost trends and may include small increases or decreases to disbursement amounts to account for increases or decreases in national leasing or other costs.
  • PHAs whose monthly costs exceed the scheduled disbursements may submit a request for additional advance to their Financial Analyst at the Financial Management Center (FMC).
  • Disbursements will be scheduled for deposit in a PHA’s bank on the first business day of the month.
  • At least twice a year HUD will compare a PHA’s actual costs to funds disbursed plus other program revenues (e.g., fraud recoveries). Future disbursements will be adjusted accordingly. HUD will address disbursement shortfalls at a reconciliation at the end of the calendar year. In the end-of-the-year reconciliation, if HAP expenses were less than total HAP disbursement combined with other program revenue and Restricted Net Position (RNP), there will be an offset.
  • HUD will process prior period adjustments once in the next year.
  • The notice provides a sample document HUD will use following each interim and year-end cash reconciliation.
  • Incremental vouchers (i.e., first time vouchers) such as HUD-VASH or tenant protection vouchers will have their funding disbursed in equal monthly amounts according to the effective date and expiration dates of their contracts.
  • Excess HAP and RNP are to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and at least once a year, PHAs are required to remit that interest to the Treasury.
  • PHAs are still able to access their program reserves for eligible HAP needs whenever necessary by contacting their Financial Analyst at FMC.

MTW Agencies

MTW agencies are subject to cash management requirements. Non-HAP expenses funded from HAP are not considered for the monthly HAP disbursement calculations. Any MTW PHA that needs more than the calculated amount should contact their Financial Analyst at the FMC for additional disbursement, which may include eligible MTW non-HAP expenses.

Additional coverage on the notice will be forthcoming for members. The notice can be read here.