Proposal to Greatly Expand “Moving To Work” Initiative Risks Deep Cuts in Housing Assistance Over Time — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Proposal to Greatly Expand “Moving To Work” Initiative Risks Deep Cuts in Housing Assistance Over Time — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities


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TenantTalk2-4.pdf (application/pdf Object)

TenantTalk2-4.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Large Majority of Housing Voucher Recipients Work, are Elderly, or Have Disabilities — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Large Majority of Housing Voucher Recipients Work, are Elderly, or Have Disabilities — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

And we wonder why public housing and afforable housing is in trouble.

Furious Gov. Patrick begins state takeover of Chelsea Housing Authority

·         E-mail

By Scott Allen and Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

The administration of Governor Deval Patrick has asked Attorney General Martha Coakley to begin a state takeover of the troubled Chelsea Housing Authority, whose chief executive resigned earlier this month amid an uproar over his $360,000 annual compensation.

The Department of Housing and Community Development, which has already frozen state funding to the authority, requested that the attorney general place it in state receivership, allowing the state to oversee the day-to-day operations of the agency.

·         11/12/11: Harshbarger goes
to bat for McLaughlin

·         11/11/11: Contracts show
McLaughlin's seduction of authority

·         11/7/11: Pay at top
riles Chelsea tenants

·         11/5/11: On way out,
housing chief cashed in

·         11/5/11: Housing chief pay
uproar recalls corruption

·         11/4/11: HUD examines
Chelsea agency

·         11/3/11: High-pay
housing director resigns

·         10/30/11: Chelsea housing
chief’s pay draws fire

Coakley will now petition the Supreme Judicial Court for permission to appoint an independent receiver who will monitor the uthority and ensure that staff cooperate with various state investigations that have begun since former director Michael E. McLaughlin abruptly resigned after his full salary was revealed by the Boston Globe.

“A court-appointed receiver can ensure that public funds are being spent responsibly, leadership is performing their duties in an above-board, transparent manner and the residents of Chelsea who depend on the services the Chelsea Housing Authority provides are protected,” Patrick said in a statement. “This will help restore the public’s confidence, and my own, and will put the housing authority on a better path.”

Patrick has said he is “boiling” over the high pay to McLaughlin -- perhaps the highest among housing directors in the United states - and he demanded the resignation of McLaughlin as well as the five-member board of directors who approved his contract.

McLaughlin stepped down Nov. 3, but not before co-signing checks to himself for more than $200,000 that he said the authority owed him for unused vacation, sick, and personal time. The five-member board also resigned, but not before making one of McLaughlin’s assistants, Albert Ewing, the new director and offering him a five-year contract.

Now, the FBI and numerous other agencies are investigating the authority amid allegations that McLaughlin’s staff shredded records in the hours before he left, while McLaughlin himself took numerous boxes out of the Locke Street administrative offices on his last night as executive director.

A state takeover of a housing authority is exceedingly rare, but Coakley and Patrick say it’s justified in Chelsea, where the entire city was once in state receivership. State housing officials say the resignation of McLaughlin and the board has left a leadership vacuum at an agency that manages housing for 1,400 low-income families, receiving millions in funding from the state and federal governments.

“As our office moves forward with its own investigations, we hope this strong action today will help prevent the further abuse of taxpayer money,” said Coakley in a statement. 

If approved, the receiver would report back to the SJC within 90 days. By that time, Patrick administration officials say, a new board of directors -- one named by Patrick, four by Chelsea city manager Jay Ash -- should be ready to resume normal oversight.

Scott Allen can be reached at allen@globe.com. Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com

·        

Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training

Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training

Check this site out for help with your movement.

MOUSE PARTICIPATES IN FUNDRAISER FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES

I am sorry that I have not posted much this month.  I have been busy building a cardboard house.  I started my house long before Oct 14, as I sit on two national phone calls of different subsidized tenant groups who have been working to change the way HUD does business.

Personally I am not sure how much good we are doing with HUD, as I hear there is still some portions of HUD that are still under the impression that the Elderly, poor, and disabled are locked into their apartments, don't know how to read and really don't care about the policies, procedures, or laws surrounding low income housing.

I can say though, some of the language that appears in some of the housing bills, and laws that our voted collective voice (Politicians) have been discussing, voting on and trying to protect from the current scourge  of ever challenging budget cuts has been constructed by and with some of the people from the Resident Engagement Group, National Alliance of HUD Tenants, and good people like Catherine Bishop, from the National Housing Law Project , and Barbra Sard, from the Center of Budget, Policy, and Procedure, and former HUD appointed Senior Adviser for Rental Assistance. 

I may be a mouse in the weeds, but at least I am willing to put my (experience) two cents in, regardless of the outcome.

I wish more Montana Low-Income, Senior, Disabled Residential Rental Tenants would come and learn with me.

HELP MONTANA HOME OWNERS

Administered by: Rural Housing Service Program Name: Housing Repair & Rehabilitation Grant Type of Assistance: Grant Maximum Assistance Amount: $7,500 Purpose: Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: These loans are available to very low-income rural residents who own and occupy a dwelling in need of repairs. Funds are available for repairs to improve or modernize a home, or to remove health and safety hazards. General Property Requirements: Property must be in rural area. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: 1) 62 years old or older. 2) Homeowner-occupants must be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere and must have very low incomes, defined as below 50 percent of the area median income. To qualify or for more information, contact: Deborah Chorlton, Program Director Telephone: (406) 585-2551 Email: Deborah.Chorlton@mt.usda.gov Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: HUD-Insured Loans for Condominiums Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: Contact agency for amount. Purpose: Purchase / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: HUD insures loans to buy to buy or refinance a principal residence in a condominium development. Down payments can be as low as 3 percent, and closing costs can be wrapped into the mortgage. General Property Requirements: Contact agency for amount. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: To get a HUD-insured loan, you need to apply to a HUD-approved bank, mortgage company, or savings and loan association for your mortgage. You may also visit http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llplcrit.html to search for local lenders in your area. Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: HUD-Insured Energy Efficient Loans Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: $8,000 Purpose: Purchase / Refinancing / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: If you are buying or refinancing a home and you'd like to roll the cost of improvements to make the home more energy efficient into your mortgage, HUD's Energy Efficient Mortgage Insurance Program may be for you. General Property Requirements: Contact agency for amount. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: To get a HUD-insured loan, you need to apply to a HUD-approved bank, mortgage company, or savings and loan association for your mortgage. You may also visit http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llplcrit.html to search for local lenders in your area. Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: HUD-Insured Loans for Rehabs Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: $25,000 Purpose: Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: HUD insures loans to rehab and make improvements that have been completed for at least one year. You may be eligible if you are an owner. There is no upfront mortgage insurance premium. General Property Requirements: One- to four- unit properties. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: To get a HUD-insured loan, you need to apply to a HUD-approved bank, mortgage company, or savings and loan association for your mortgage. You may also visit http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llplcrit.html to search for local lenders in your area. Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Rural Housing Service Program Name: Housing Repair & Rehabilitation Loan Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: $20,000 Purpose: Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: These loans are available to very low-income rural residents who own and occupy a dwelling in need of repairs. Funds are available for repairs to improve or modernize a home, or to remove health and safety hazards. General Property Requirements: Property must be in rural area. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Homeowner-occupants must be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere and must have very low incomes, defined as below 50 percent of the area median income. To qualify or for more information, contact: Deborah Chorlton, Program Director Telephone: (406) 585-2551 Email: Deborah.Chorlton@mt.usda.gov Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Rural Housing Service Program Name: Rural Housing Guaranteed Loan Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: Contact agency for amount. Purpose: Purchase / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: Used to help low-income individuals or households purchase homes in rural areas. Funds can be used to build, repair, renovate or relocate a home, or to purchase and prepare sites, including providing water and sewage facilities. General Property Requirements: Property must be in rural area. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: Deborah Chorlton, Program Director Telephone: (406) 585-2551 Email: Deborah.Chorlton@mt.usda.gov Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: FHA HUD 203(k) Home Rehabilitation Loan Program Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: Please visit https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm for amount. Purpose: Purchase / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: Whereas HUD desires to see current housing stock rehabilitated, this program provides owner occupants of existing homes, or intended owner occupants who are looking to purchase a home, readily available mortgage money to refinance/rehabilitate or purchase/rehabilitate their homes, respectively. General Property Requirements: 1) Property must be from 1 to 4 units at completion (e.g.-may bring a 5 unit down to a 3 unit, or expand a 2 unit to a 4 unit). 2) Property must need at least $5,000 worth of basic repairs according to HUD guidelines and the planned use of the owner-occupant. Additions, remodeling, updating, energy improvements, etc. all OK. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Applicant must meet standard FHA qualification guidelines of good or reparable credit (or alternative credit in cases where no credit history exists) & work history. To qualify or for more information, contact: Locate an Approved FHA HUD 203(k) Home Onwer Consultants at web site: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/f17cnsltdata.cfm Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Bozeman Program Name: N/A Type of Assistance: N/A Maximum Assistance Amount: N/A Purpose: N/A Brief Program Description: N/A General Property Requirements: N/A Area Served: Bozeman General Applicant Requirements: N/A To qualify or for more information, contact: N/A Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Gallatin County Program Name: None found. Contact agency for any available housing programs. Type of Assistance: N/A Maximum Assistance Amount: N/A Purpose: N/A Brief Program Description: N/A General Property Requirements: N/A Area Served: Gallatin County General Applicant Requirements: N/A To qualify or for more information, contact: N/A Telephone: (406) 582-3000 Email: N/A