Northwest Notes

Office of Public Housing

Region X - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
FY 2009, Quarter III

The Director's Corner
As we enter the final quarter of Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2009, be prepared for opportunities for which your PHA may qualify that are in the FFY 2009 Omnibus (P.L. 111-80), which includes incremental Housing Choice Vouchers under Family Unification Program (FUP), HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), non-elderly disabled families, HCV Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Coordinators, HOPE VI, public housing capital fund, ROSS, public housing operating fund, and HCV renewal and administrative fees and tenant protection vouchers. Read more.

Recovery Act opportunities may be accessed on our website.

On behalf of Office of Public Housing team members in the Seattle, Portland & Anchorage offices, we hope this newsletter is helpful to you. Let me know if there are items you would like to see in future newsletters.

Harlan Stewart
Director, Office of Public Housing
Region X, Northwest/Alaska Office

King County Housing Authority's Family Self-Sufficiency Program: A program that works
On March 31, 2009, a King County Housing Authority (KCHA) Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) graduate finished her long journey to home ownership. Susan (not her real name) started on the FSS program in April 2004, employed but making just over $7.00 per hour. Soon after enrolling in the FSS program she secured a data entry position which increased her salary and enabled her to begin receiving monthly deposits to her escrow account. Within 3 short years, she reached the top of the pay scale in her position, leaving ascension to management as her only way to further increase her income. Susan is a single parent with two boys ages 10 and 13. A management position meant working nights, weekends and travel. Although it offered increased pay and benefits, she felt that her boys were her priority. Right about the time Susan was facing this very difficult choice, the King County Housing Authority was advertising a position in its accounting department that matched Susan's skill list and personality. Susan wanted to be a part of "making a difference" while still having room for advancement. Susan applied for the position and was hired.

Soon she'll be celebrating her second anniversary at KCHA. Susan did not think she would ever be able to purchase a home but she and the KCHA FSS Coordinator worked together to find a combination of down payment assistance and low interest rates to make an offer on a property that was appealing to her, and in her desired living community. With the aid of a real estate listings and an agent, Susan decided on a 3 bedroom 2 ½ bath townhouse that had been completely remodeled with trendy upgrades. She was able to use the Federal Home Loan Bank HomeStart Plus down payment assistance as well as part of her FSS escrow account to get a 30 year fixed mortgage at an interest rate of 4½ percent. She was also able to purchase a new refrigerator and keep enough in an emergency house fund to pay her mortgage for six months and perform any emergency home repairs that may pop up. Within 5 years, Susan was able to find better paying employment, receive promotions within the company by raising her marketable skills level, raise her FICO score, and secure a job that not only met her expectations of "making a difference" but also has much more room for growth and development. Lastly, Susan was able to leave Section 8 and purchase a beautiful home; making room for another Section 8 participant to get involved and experience the same kind of growth to which Susan is now very familiar. The FSS program is a "win-win" for the KCHA and participant because KCHA was able to hire a skilled Section 8 resident and a person who has shown that she "has made a difference." 

Understanding the 2009 Voucher Funding
Notice PIH 2009-13 (Notice), issued May 6, 2009, explains the calculation of your Calendar Year (CY) 2009 Voucher funding. You can also view the webcast that was live on May 5. The webcast, titled "PIH: '09 Implementation" is available. The notes for the webcast are available on the Housing Choice Voucher web page.

The Notice discusses the methodology for HAP renewal funding that HUD began using for Calendar Year 2007. The 2009 Appropriations Act requires HUD to use re-benchmarking to determine funding allocations for each PHA. The funding you receive for 2009 is based on your actual leasing and HAP cost data in VMS for Federal Fiscal Year 2008. You received notification of your CY 2009 funding in Enclosure A. The calculation of Net Restricted Assets (NRA) is shown on Enclosure B, and you also received notes explaining each line item. 

Because 2009 funding amounts were not determined until May, PHAs were funded for January through April based on last year's funding. Any shortfall or overpayments for the first four months will be adjusted. In order to make available funds go further, HUD used a part of your NRA to make up what would otherwise be a shortfall. This is explained in Part 3 G of the Notice.  

Over-leasing is not allowed. PHAs are not allowed to lease up more unit months than are available under their baseline. HUD has no authority to provide funds to support unit months leased in excess of the PHA's baseline units under the ACC. If you are over-leasing, you need to identify other sources of funds to pay for it, and take immediate steps to eliminate any current over-leasing. See Part 7 of the Notice. PHAs who over-leased for CY 2008 had their 2009 funding reduced accordingly to offset funds used for over-leasing. If you have questions about Voucher funding you can contact your Financial Analyst at the FMC or Financial Analyst at the Field Office.

Monitoring Your HCV Dollars and Units
The May 5 webcast, PIH: '09 Implementation, discussed the need to closely monitor your leasing and HAP costs. This discussion is one and one quarter hours into the webcast, and you can fast forward to this part. The sample spreadsheet is posted on the Voucher webpage. Remember that HUD does not fund 100% of baseline units, but allocates funds based on the re-benchmarking period alone. PHAs should not assume that they can, or that they are required to, lease up to baseline. 

PHAs must monitor the number of units leased and HAP costs. You should ensure that you can continue to maintain current leasing levels with the funds available and with current attrition rates. Several PHAs have noticed that their attrition rates have declined significantly. Others have experienced significant increases in HAP. You should be looking at this every month, and projecting out every month. You should have reports that you are monitoring monthly, and reviewing with your finance, lease-up and other staff as needed. 

If you plan to use the sample spreadsheet, be sure to check which cells require formulas, and which cells require your input. Make sure that you enter the correct remaining months of the year, and that the calculations are using the correct number of months. The default now in the spreadsheet assumes 3 months remaining, because the data entered is through September. And you can change the dates to 2009. 

Be sure you are reporting correctly in VMS. There is an updated "guide" dated April 2009 available from the Voucher web page. Your funding is based on the data you enter in VMS, so it is important to be accurate. For example, if you make an initial rent payment that is for more than one month, the partial month amount should be recorded in that actual partial month, as HAP after the first of the month. The part of the payment that is for a whole month should show up in the field for HAP as of the first of the month. 

If you are looking at the possibility of having to terminate families, or if you think you might be in trouble, please talk to your Field Office and your Financial Analyst at the Financial Management Center. We would rather hear from you sooner than later.  

2005 and 2007 Capital Fund deadlines are fast approaching!
The 100% expenditure deadline for 2005 CFP is 08/17/09. Plan ahead to fully expend funding and update LOCCS prior to the deadline.

The 90% obligation deadline for 2007 CFP is 09/12/2009. Be sure to obligate on time and update LOCCS prior to the deadline. Don't let a missed deadline jeopardize future CFP availability to your PHA!

Washington State Davis-Bacon Residential Wage Rates Way Up!
The Department of Labor published substantial Davis-Bacon (DB) residential prevailing wage rate increases on 4/24/09 (for example, King County, Carpenter from $16.34 to over $43.00 per hour) in 16 Washington State counties. PHA's are liable for wage underpayments if they fail to correctly apply these new rates to DB covered work. The Counties impacted include:

Per US Department of Labor regulation modifications to rates for competitively bid projects published less than 10 days before the opening of bids shall be effective unless the agency finds that there is not a reasonable time available before bid opening to notify bidders of the modification and a report of the finding is inserted in the contract file. In addition, updated rates are effective and must be incorporated in requests for proposal (RFP) project contracts if new rates are published prior to contract award. Lastly, if a PHA uses force account (workers employed by the PHA) to perform DB covered work, these workers are subject to the wage updates published prior to the start of construction.

In accordance with Federal labor standards requirements, PHAs should review Davis-Bacon wage decisions in bids that did not lock in DB rates by a 4/24/09 or earlier bid openings, and issue addendums to revise the rates where bids are scheduled to be opened 10 days or more from the 4/24/09 date of the wage modification publication. Wage update addendums must also be issued within 10 days of bid openings unless the PHA includes a report in a project file confirming there was insufficient time to notify bidders of the change. Furthermore, the new wage modification must be applied to any contracts awaiting award more than 90 days after the bid opening. RFPs and force account work should also be examined and rates updated as required.

For additional information contact HUD Office of Labor Relations staff (http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_1/29CFR1.6.htm). Also, see website (http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_1/29CFR1.6.htm) for more information regarding rate lock in requirements.

Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Guidebook published
The 2009 Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Voucher Program Guidebook has been developed for your agency to provide assistance to PHAs that are thinking about starting a homeownership program, and also to PHAs that have taken the first tentative steps and are wondering what to do next. The guidebook provides a hands-on approach to program development, and provides resources that will be helpful to PHAs in identifying and resolving program issues. The Housing Choice Voucher Program Guidebook offers a detailed look at the program and can be found on the HUD website. Questions related to the guidebook can be directed to David Fleischman, National Coordinator for the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program.

Plan Ahead: Regional FSS Conference
FSS Coordinator Counterpart meetings provide an excellent forum for networking among the Coordinators and an opportunity to exchange information and ideas.

This year's FSS conference is scheduled for Friday, September 25, 2009 at the Vancouver Housing Authority. The conference will now include Homeownership. The Agenda has yet to be set. If you have any ideas or suggestions you would like to see included in the FSS/Homeownership Conference, please contact Rebecca Tuttle, Seattle Office of Public Housing at Rebecca.Tuttle@hud.gov or at (206) 220-6422. If there are changes to your PHA's FSS Coordinator, please advise Rebecca of those changes.

Section 8 Homeownership Closings as of 06/23/2009

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Please Note: All dates subject to change. Refer to program websites for complete list of forms due!!!

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