2000 Best Practice Awards

Best Practice: North Bend, Oregon Confederated Tribes Cooperative Agreement

Confederated Tribes Enter into One of A Kind Agreement with City

North Bend. The Cooperative Agreement between the Confederated Tribes and the city of North Bend, Oregon is one of the only agreements of this type in the Nation between a tribe and a municipality. The Confederated Tribes sought for over a year to develop affordable housing for low income Native Americans on trust land in the city of North Bend. The Confederated Tribes took the lead in developing the Cooperative Agreement with the city of North Bend, requiring months of painstaking negotiations with the city to facilitate providing municipal services to the housing site. As such, it represents an innovative solution to the problems presented by the development of Indian Trust Land within the jurisdictional boundaries of a municipality. When the city was reluctant to proceed, the Confederated Tribes felt compelled to file a Fair Housing complaint to move the Agreement forward. The Tribes worked in partnership with HUD to develop an instrument that would enable the monitoring of the Cooperative Agreement. While negotiations are still underway with the city of North Bend to finalize a Voluntary Compliance Agreement providing for this monitoring, the Confederated Tribes has provided assistance in resolving some of the remaining areas of concern.

Contact: Bill Orme, Phone: (541) 888-9577
Tracking Number: 1029
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportuntiy)

Best Practice: Housing Authority of Portland’s GOALS Program

Portland’s Low-Income Residents Become Self-sufficient through GOALS

Portland. The Housing Authority of Portland’s GOALS Program offers greater opportunities to advance, learn and succeed through job training, education, counseling, homeownership and family resources to help low-income people become self-sufficient. The program uses grants, operating funds and matching funds to provide a Family Self-sufficiency Program with Escrow, an apprenticeship, entrepreneurship and homeownership program open to public housing and Section 8 residents. The program has 28 private, nonprofit and public-sector partners. It has graduated 85 participants who are employed and no longer receive public assistance. Of these graduates, 61 now own their own homes. Eighty percent of the 290 participants are employed.

Contact: Jim Trapp, Phone: (503) 802-8300
Tracking number: 2817
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)

Best Practice: Portland, Oregon Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Latino Home Buying Fair

First Latino Homeownership Fair Attracts Over 75 Families

Portland. In an effort to increase the number of Latino homeowners, the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce held a homeownership fair, which included various home buying seminars presented in Spanish, Spanish language pamphlets and brochures, a raffle drawing for items donated by various sponsors and activities for children. The 19 exhibitors at the fair consisted of realtors, lenders, FHA/HUD representatives, and others in the local real estate community. This first effort attracted over 75 Hispanic families. A second fair is expected to have 30 exhibitors and attract the same or greater number of Hispanic families as the first successful homeowner fair.

Contact: Shelli Romero, Phone: (503) 282-7455
Tracking Number: 1055
Winning Category: Geographic

Best Practice: Family Self-Sufficiency ABC’s of Homebuying Club

The ABC’s of Homebuying Educates Potential Homebuyers

Salem. The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program provides encouragement, support, information and training to Housing Authority residents interested in homeownership. All inquiries to the Housing Authority regarding home buying are referred to self-sufficiency case managers who provide information about general requirements of lenders and local training classes for first time home buyers. Basic information about government homeownership programs is mailed to every caller making a request. Housing Authority residents making inquiries are encouraged to join the program and work specifically towards their homeownership goal. FSS Program Coordinators organize Homebuyers' Clubs, and lead workshops in the Homeowner Education Collaborative of Oregon's curriculum "The ABC's of Homebuying." In addition they promote special programs with lenders for FSS homebuyers, and work intensively with prospective homebuyers, as well as make referrals to community agencies to help participants prepare to meet the various homebuying requirements.

Contact: Barbara Kauss, Phone: (503) 588-6368
Tracking Number: 2742
Winning Category: Geographic

Best Practice: Affordable Housing Association of Certified Public Accountants (AHACPA)

AHACPA Provides Means of Entering Financial Data into HUD Database

Oregon (Statewide). The Affordable Housing Association of Certified Public Accountants was formed to provide education services to CPA's who audit Multifamily and Public and Indian Housing programs. The organization conducts seminars, provides their members with updated training materials and answers technical questions. The association also provides data input services. AHACPA inputs financial information in HUD's Multifamily Financial Assessment Subsystem (FASS) or the Public Housing FASS. HUD uses the FASS system to collect audit and financial data for HUD-insured and HUD-assisted multifamily housing complexes. FASS also collects information on public housing authorities. HUD uses this financial data to assess risks and monitor compliance with federal laws and regulations. AHACPA enters financial data into FASS for those owners and Public Housing Authorities that do not have the capability or expertise to enter the data themselves. AHACPA has 200 members. It is continually helping them to comply with HUD laws and regulations.

Contact: David Bybee, Phone: (800) 532-0809
Tracking Number: 1035
Winning Category: Program (Real Estate Assessment Center)

Best Practice: Metro Portland and Vancouver Bi-State Regional Housing and Community Development Partnership

Bi-State Forum Targets $100+ Million in Affordable Housing

Portland. A voluntary forum of Metro Portland Entitlement communities, Public Housing Authorities, State of Oregon Housing and Community Services, Metro government, and HUD program Managers and Community Builders is emerging as an important metropolitan area housing and community development partnership. Through this forum, partners have identified an agenda of common regional interests and commitments. Accomplishments include a 1-Year Action agenda; a regional analysis of impediments to fair housing, and a standard process for project based vouchers that could produce $100+ million in housing that is affordable and available for very low-income renters. The forum has provided for a sharing of standard documents for local consideration for a $20 million Enterprise Foundation land acquisition fund as well.

A working group is actively exploring ways to increase the supply of affordable housing. By establishing a concrete regional work plan despite the existence of state boundaries, the Portland partnership demonstrates to others that regional housing and community development cooperation is possible.

Contact: Tom Cusack, Phone: (503) 326-2561
Tracking Number: 1261
Winning Category: Program (Community Builders)

Content Archived: April 20, 2011