Minutes Housing Comm. 9 26 06
MINUTES OF HOUSING COMMISSION MEETING
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:
26 September 2006
4 p.m.
Housing and Community Development Department
Commissioner Holz called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m. following staff assurance of
compliance with Iowa Open Meeting Law.
Commissioners Present:
Angie Mozena
Char Eddy
John Plein
Dorothy Culbertson
Bill Helling
Jim Holz
Harry Neustadt
Rachel Savage
Commissioners Absent:
Dave Kapler
Dorothy Schwendinger, OSF
Staff Present:
David Harris
Cpl. Chris Gorrell
Col. Jeremy Jensen
Janet Walker
Cpl. Pablo Ramirez
Cpt. Mark Dalsing
Tusdee Blus
Cpl. Scott Baxter
Public Present:
Michelle Mihalakis
Cpl. Chris Gorrell was asked to introduce the new members to the COP team and explain the
changes in the program.
Review and Certification of Minutes of 22 Auaust 2006 Commission Meetina
Commissioner Plein asked for an update with regard to Ms. Catherine Barrner-Parish's status.
She had appealed to the Commission for a hearing at the 22 August 2006 meeting. At this time,
staff was unable to verify the required information through Mercy Hospital and received no
documentation from Ms. Barner. She has subsequently been terminated from the program.
Commissioner Plein motioned to approve the 22 August 2006 meeting minutes as submitted.
Commissioner Culbertson seconded. Roll call. Commissioners Mozena, Helling and Savage -
abstain. All others present in favor. Motion passed.
Commissioner Eddy arrived at 4:09 pm.
Welcome New Commissioner: Rachel Savaae
David Harris introduced and welcomed Commissioner Rachel Savage to the group and the group
introduced themselves to her.
Old Business
Project-Based Vouchers: Regulations/Salvia House Proposal/RFP Approval
David spoke regarding the regulation requirements as they are related to the PHA (Public
Housing Authority) plan. Also enclosed was the RFP (Request for Proposal). David explained
this, noting it is tailored to Michelle Mihalakis' project but is open to all. Also enclosed was a letter
Ms. Mihalakis had provided to IFA (Iowa Finance Authority). David stated that the Commission's
action would be to approve the RFP for publication with any changes they would like to have
made in the document itself. They must also set a timeframe for proposals to be received. Ms.
Mihalakis stated that her application would need to be approved by the October Housing
Commission meeting in order for it to comply with her project deadlines.
Per Ms. Mihalakis, she will serve low - medium income and homeless women. Many types of
situations will create the need for this type of community living. After receiving input from Ms.
Mihalakis, the Commission asked for changes in the following areas:
#1. The target clientele is "individual adult low income women...at or below 50%..."
#2. "Priority would be established for individuals who have completed primary
treatment.. . "
The date of Friday, September 29,2006 was set for publication. The deadline of 18 October at
4:00 p.m. was set for receipt of proposals, and the Trust Fund Committee meeting will be held
October 19, 2006 at 8:30 a.m. to discuss proposals received.
Commissioner Eddy motioned to approve the publication of the RFP for Project-Based Vouchers.
Commissioner Mozena seconded. Roll call. All present in favor. Motion passed.
Housing Element - Comprehensive Plan; Revisions
David explained the Comprehensive Plan changes. The Long-Range Planning Commission
made changes to staff recommendations, which were noted as underlined and strike-outs in the
document. David noted the specific changes to #1.8 (second page) - Education and Workshops.
Also noted were the changes to section #1.13 (second page) - the COP program. Per David, this
recommendation had been transferred to the Public Safety Element, a change which the
Commission and David disagree with. They would like to have it put back into both elements to
show the relationship between the Housing Department and the COP program.
Commissioner Eddy motioned to approve the Housing Goals with the exception of #1.13 changes,
asking that it remain as is. Commissioner Mozena seconded. Roll call. All present in favor.
Motion passed.
FY2006 Section 8 Close-Out and FY-2006 Section 8 Budget Revisions
David reviewed the memo, noting the differences in losses ($36,000 projected operating loss vs.
$52,000 actual operating loss). He also noted the $71,000 allotted for relocation to the federal
building, to be used primarily for furnishings. The Commission asked if there would be any other
sources for financing for this purpose and to retain the funds within the Section 8 budget intact.
It was recommended that a proposal letter be drafted to the City Manager to ask for funding
possibilities from other sources instead of Section 8 based on current funding shortfalls.
Additional funding has been withdrawn from the program by HUD. Funds that we had received in
the past were eliminated, including Hard to House fees and lead-based paint testing in Section 8
units for a total of $22,000. David also noted that HUD has restored HAP (Housing Assistance
Payment) funds; however, the Administrative Fee funding is low due to the "snap shot" allocation
formula, which continues to hurt us. . He also stated that based upon clarification Janet Walker
has received regarding portability, we can no longer refuse to port the voucher to the HA which
does not absorb it unless we can document that we don't have enough HAP funds. We must also
give the receiving HA our administrative fees for handling the administrating the port, which will
drain our administrative funds. Janet and David will examine our FY2006 expenses and present a
set of recommendations to balance the FY2008 budget, as well as monitor HUD's actions with
regard to the budget.
New Business
Section 8 Administrative Plan Revisions
Janet reviewed the proposed changes:
a. Definition of family Household is policy change. The first part addressed the fact
that some participants are claiming that ineligible spouses are not living with them.
The second part addresses the situation of an 18 year old high school student
being eligible although have been claimed on their parent's taxes. They can no
longer be supported by their parents if they are to receive assistance.
b. Application process.
c. Removed section 3, page 2 regarding the word "faxed". We will no longer allow
faxed applications.
d. Section 3, page 3 we've added project-based vouchers.
e. Section 3, page 4 regarding cost savings measure - background checks will not be
done until after the briefing.
f. Section 3, page 5 regarding displacement - must be within the City of Dubuque
with a timeframe of 60 days.
g. Section 3, page 6 regarding elderly households - they will now receive preference
points.
h. Section 3, page 7 address when any preference points may be claimed (HUD
regulation).
i. Section 4, page 1 is the same as above, but because the way the Plan is written
it's addressed in more than one place.
j. Section 5, page 1 - added "federally mandated prohibitions" and clarified
language.
k. Section 5, page 2 - rewrite of how it was previously written in the Plan to prevent
misinterpretation of our intent.
I. #3 - because we have discovered that on some of the applications persons do not
report correctly, omit or misrepresent information, we are proposing a policy that
the omission/misrepresentation would not affect the amount of benefits for the
determination of eligibility, it would be a one-year denial; if it is something that will
affect their eligibility (ie. household members or criminal activity) we may deny for 3
years.
m. Section 5, page 3 - adding project-based vouchers.
n. Section 5, page 4 - regarding criminal background process
o. Section 5, page 5, 6 & 7 - removed section
p. Section 5, page 7 - 10 - above section re-written.
q. Section 5, page 11 - clean up of language and how verifications are obtained.
Also noted is the prohibition on falling asleep in briefing meetings and arriving late
for these meetings.
r. Section 5, page 12 - allows for self-certification if third-party verification is not
possible.
s. Section 11, page 1 addresses when the voucher is issued - changes it from being
at the time they attend the briefing to after the briefing is attended and verifications
are received. Also states the voucher will be mailed to them.
t. Section 11, page 2 - deletion due to repetition.
u. Section 11, page 4 - mailing vouchers to address only.
v. Section 12, page 1 - clean up reference.
w. Section 12, page 2 - HUD regulation removing Hard to House payments. Also,
addresses the new portability rules - can't deny it for reasons of lack of Housing
Assistance Payments. Can deny based on subsidy standards if the receiving PHA
will issue a unit larger than we would issue. As long as we have HAP dollars, we
have no grounds for denial. Furthermore, we cannot terminate a contract for
ported participants as we are not a party to the contract.
x. Section 12, page 4 regarding incoming families - there are two regulations that
cover it. If they are current participant coming into our program, we may have to
terminate if they do not meet our guidelines. Staff is directed to advise anyone
coming into our program of this.
y. Section 12, page 9 states that their assisted unit address is the only address that
the participant can use.
z. Section 12, page 14 - clean up language (HUD requirement).
aa. Section 13, page 4 regarding abatement, suggesting no more than 2 months
timeframe before the contract is terminated.
bb. Section 13, page 5 (received as an insert at meeting) is continuation of the same
language.
cc. Section 14, page 1 - clean up of language of an old regulation not in use any
longer.
dd. Section 14, page 2 - clean up language regarding reporting changes in family
composition to clarify that it does include addition of minors to household.
ee. Section 14, page 5 - took out the word "may" because that is something that is
misinterpreted.
ff. Section 14, page 9 - clean up of language regarding "re-briefing" of a tenant.
gg. Section 14, page 10 - addresses the tenant's address being their only address
hh. Section 14, page 11 - regarding absence from residence due to a medical reason.
ii. Section 15, page 3 - 9 - cleaning up language "has engaged in" with regard to
intent; and removal of duplicated information. Also removal of signing/consent.
jj. Section 15, page 10 adds HUD regulations that we must terminate for.
kk. Section 15, page 12 & 13 (insert handed out at meeting) - VAWA (Violence
Against Women Act) is new HUD regulation; documentation must be provided
within 30 days; no action will be taken until it is received.
Janet explained VAWA, noting that it speaks to the victim in domestic abuse situations. Currently
in our policy, if any family member commits violent criminal activity within those time limits, we will
terminate the whole family. This protects that victim as long as the perpetrator is no longer in the
household. If the family decides to keep that person in the household, we will still terminate them
from the program. Also, if someone moves out of the unit and then calls us and notifies us
they've moved (which is currently prohibited - proper notice must be given) due to a domestic
violence situation, and provides sufficient documentation, we will allow them to take their voucher
somewhere else, including portability.
II. Section 9, page 1 regarding project-based voucher program. This is a blanket
policy and may need to be fine-tuned.
Commissioner Culbertson motioned to approve and adopt the change to the Section 8
Administrative Plan. Commissioner Neustadt seconded. Roll call. All present in favor. Motion
passed. Janet was commended for her extensive work on the re-write.
Information Sharing
CAPER Report
David noted that Aggie Tauke put this report together. It is an account of Block Grant dollars
spent during the fiscal year, including an assessment of effectiveness.
Adiournment
There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Eddy motioned
to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Helling seconded. Motion passed by acclamation.
Meeting was adjourned at 5:19 p.m.
Minutes taken by:
Zuk 8k
Tusdee Blus
Assisted Housing Secretary
Respectfully submitted by:
David Harris
Department Director