HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT SERVICES, OPERATIONS & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE AGENDA

Transcription

1 HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO Leroy Lindo, Chairman Ted Yamasaki, Co-Chairman Joaquin Torres, Committee Member RESIDENT SERVICES, OPERATIONS & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE AGENDA Tuesday, April 14, :00 pm City Hall 1 Dr. Goodlett Place, Room 408 San Francisco, California (415) Barbara T. Smith Acting Executive Director The Mission of the San Francisco Housing Authority is to deliver safe and decent housing for low income households and integrate economic opportunity for residents. 1

2 S A N F R A N C I S C O H O U S I N G A U T H O R I T Y J O A Q U I N T O R R E S, P R E S I D E N T HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO Leroy Lindo, Chairman Ted Yamasaki, Co-Chair Joaquin Torres, Committee Member Barbara T. Smith, Acting Executive Director CITY HALL 1 Dr. Goodlett Place Room 408 SAN FRANCISCO, California RESIDENT SERVICES, OPERATIONS and PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE Tuesday, April 14, :00 p.m. 1. The Resident Services, Operations and Personnel Committee of the San Francisco Housing Authority ( Committee or Authority ) holds its meetings in City Hall room 408, San Francisco, California Disability Access: Room 408 is wheelchair accessible. The closest accessible BART Station is Civic Center, three blocks from City Hall. Accessible MUNI lines serving this location are: #42 Downtown Loop, the #71 Haight/Noriega, the F Line to Market and Van Ness, and the Metro stations at Van Ness and Market and at Civic Center. For more information about MUNI accessible services, call (415) There is accessible parking at the following locations: two (2) designated blue curb spaces on the southwest corner of McAllister Street at Van Ness Avenue; the Performing Arts Garage (entrance on Grove Street between Franklin and Gough Streets), and at Civic Center Plaza Garage. 4. Agenda, minutes and attachments are available at as well as the Authority s Administrative Office located at 1815 Egbert Avenue, San Francisco, California If any materials related to an item on this agenda have been distributed to the Committee after distribution of the agenda packet, those materials are available for public inspection during normal business hours at the Authority s Administrative Offices. 5. In order to assist the Authority s efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illness, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the Authority accommodate these individuals. 6. The use of electronic sound-producing devices at/during public meetings is prohibited. Please be advised that the meeting President may remove any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of cell phones, pagers and similar sound-producing electronic devices from the meeting room. 7. Requests for public comment may be heard after staff presentation on any Regular Agenda Item. Speakers at Committee meetings are requested, but not required, to identify themselves and fill out cards placed on the table at the entrance door. The public may address the Committee for up to two minutes or four minutes for speakers who require an interpreter, or unless otherwise approved by the Committee. The Chair of the Committee may limit the total testimony to 30 minutes. A speaker may not yield his or her time to another speaker. Committee procedures do not allow for dialogue between the Committee and the public. The Committee may not take action on a new proposal, which is not on the agenda. 2

3 AGENDA ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Call to order and roll call 2. Approval of minutes: a. Regular Meeting: March 10, General Public Comment on subject matters related to the Residents Services, Operations and Personnel Committee 4. Report(s): a. Crime statistics from the San Francisco Police Department b. Monthly Report: Client Placement update c. Monthly Report: Attrition Report d. Monthly Report : Leased Housing Programs (HCV/Section 8) e. Monthly Report: Public Housing Operations Public comment(s) 5. Adjournment 3

4 HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT SERVICES, OPERATIONS & PERSONNEL COMMITEE MINUTES MINUTES March 10, 2015 SCHEDULED: 4:00 p.m. City Hall, Room 408, 1. Dr. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Leroy Lindo, Chairman Joaquin Torres, Commissioner COMMISSIONERS EXCUSED: Ted Yamasaki, Co- Chair Item 1: Meeting Called to Order Chairman Lindo called the meeting to order at 4:22 PM Item 2: Approval of Minutes: a. Regular Meeting: February 10, 2015 Public Comment None Item 3: General Public Comment on subject matters related to the Resident, Services, Operations and Personnel Committee None Item 3: Report(s): a. Crime statistics from the San Francisco Police Department Commissioner Lindo reported that he has spoken with Commander Garret Tom of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). He explained that there would not be a crime statics report because the employee in charge of generating the statistics was undergoing a background investigation. 4

5 c. Monthly Report: Client Placement Update Presented by: Nicole McCray-Dickerson, Director of Client Placement Nicole McCray-Dickerson, Director of Client Placement, provided a status update on the opening of the Authority s waitlist in January She explained that staff had originally proposed to randomly select 7500 of the 10,401 applicants to place on the waitlist. Ms. McCray-Dickerson reported that staff had altered the decision and intended to place all 10,000 applicants on the waitlist. Commissioner Lindo asked why staff had decided to place all 10,401 applicants on the waitlist. Ms. McCray- Dickerson responded that the City of San Francisco had provided the Authority with extra funds for the construction of additional public housing units. She explained that adding all 10,401 applicants to the waitlist would provide staff with a larger pool of individuals to select for the new units. Ms. McCray-Dickerson reported that staff had received a new fingerprinting machine that enabled the Authority to conduct faster criminal background checks for applicants. Commissioner Lindo asked how long it took to receive the results from the fingerprinting machine. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that staff generally received the results of the fingerprinting machine within two days. Commissioner Torres asked when staff would begin screening the 10,401 waitlist applicants for eligibility. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that the waitlist applicant screening process would begin on March 27, Commissioner Torres asked if the staff screening would potentially reduce the number of applicants that were placed on the waitlist. Ms. McCray-Dickerson explained that staff would regularly pull 200 applicants from the list and invite them to lease-up fairs. She stated that staff would only begin removing applicants from the waitlist if the applicant did not show up to a lease-up fair or did not pass a criminal background check. Commissioner Lindo asked how staff determined which applicants were invited to lease-up fairs. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that lease-up fair invitees were based partially on an applicant s housing preference (or the amount of bedrooms they preferred) and partially on random selection. Commissioner Torres asked for the number of tenants that had been on the waitlist prior to the waitlist opening in January Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that there had been over 7000 applicants on the waitlist prior to the opening in January. She stated that the total number of applicants on the waitlist had now been increased to 18,000. Commissioner Torres asked if the Authority had ever had a waitlist number as high as 18,000. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that the waitlist total had been 38,000 prior to the closure of the waitlist five years before. 5

6 Public Comment None d. Monthly Report: Attrition Report Presented by: Phyllis Moore-Lewis, Acting Human Resources Director Phyllis Moore-Lewis, Acting Human Resources Director, reported that the Authority had seven permanent staff separations to date since January She reported that staff had met with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to discuss various employment issues. Ms. Moore-Lewis stated that staff held regular meetings with SEIU every month to discuss the potential job impact of the Authority s pending Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion. Ms. Moore-Lewis reported that staff was recruiting for various positions in the Finance, Section 8 and, Administrative departments. Commissioner Lindo asked what SEUI s main concern had been during meetings with staff. Ms. Moore-Lewis stated that SEUI had expressed the most concern regarding the number of SEUI employees that could potentially be laid off due to the pending RAD conversion. Public Comment None e. Monthly Report: Leased Housing Programs (HCV/Section 8) Presented by: Steven Rosario, Director of Leased Housing Steven Rosario, Director of Leased Housing, reported that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had calculated that the Authority had 1782 late inspections. He explained that staff s calculations indicated the Authority had only 31 inspections over 24 months late. Mr. Rosario stated that staff calculated the inspection reporting rate to PIC at 99.5 percent. Commissioner Torres asked why there had been a large discrepancy between the late inspections reported by HUD and the late inspections reported by the Authority. Mr. Rosario explained that HUD s recent calculation of late inspections had reverted back to calculating on a 12-month rather than a 24-month cycle. He stated that HUD had been alternating between calculating on a 12-month and 24-month cycle. Commissioner Torres asked if Mr. Rosario knew why HUD was alternating between a 12-month and 24-month cycle. Mr. Rosario stated that he did not know and that HUD had not provided an explanation. He explained that PIC was an old system and that the alteration between cycles might have been caused by system issues. 6

7 Commissioner Torres asked if Mr. Rosario predicted an increase in the number of veterans utilizing the Section 8 vouchers in the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program. Mr. Rosario responded that the Authority s goal was to be at 95 percent VASH utilization by the end of the 2015 fiscal year, which would be on September Commissioner Torres asked if the Authority would reach their goal. Mr. Rosario stated that staff was currently in discussion with the City and County of San Francisco and HUD regarding the possibility of building additional housing units for veterans. He explained that the Authority would be required to reserve a portion of the vouchers for the newly constructed units. Mr. Rosario stated that reserving a portion of the vouchers for the new units would prevent these vouchers from being used until construction was completed, which would make it more difficult for the Authority to reach their goal of 95 percent VASH utilization. Mr. Rosario stated that he had suggested that the Authority use a portion of the VASH vouchers for existing housing and a portion of the vouchers for new construction. He stated that dividing the vouchers between new and existing housing would enable staff to meet their goal more easily. Commissioner Lindo asked if the VASH vouchers had an expiration date. Mr. Rosario explained that a voucher assigned to an individual veteran did have an expiration date, while the vouchers that HUD assigned to the Authority did not have an expiration date. He stated that veterans were provided up to 180 days to find a place to live once they had been issued a voucher. Mr. Rosario explained that the Authority was allowed to grant voucher extensions that went beyond 180 days, depending on the veteran s circumstances. Mr. Rosario reported that the Authority s current Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) score was 41.4 percent, which had been an improvement compared to the Authority s previous score of 34.5 percent. Commissioner Torres asked how staff had successfully increased the SEMAP score. Mr. Rosario explained that the Authority had converted to a new software system that enabled staff to monitor departmental operations more accurately. He stated that the additional monitoring allowed staff to improve performance and thus to improve the Authority s overall performance score under SEMAP. Commissioner Torres asked for clarification on the importance of the SEMAP score. Mr. Rosario explained that the SEMAP score was managed by HUD. He explained that the score measured a housing authority s overall performance in executing their Section Eight program. Mr. Rosario stated that the score was based on a number of factors, and that any housing authority with a score below 60 was considered troubled. He stated that a score between 60 and 90 was considered standard and that a score above 90 was considered high. Mr. Rosario stated that HUD expected all housing authorities to fall within the standard category. 7

8 He stated that the Authority s recent contract with Nan McKay & Associates would assist the Authority with reaching a standard performer SEMAP score. Mr. Rosario explained that Nan McKay would act as a quality assurance consultant that would help monitor all factors that contribute to the Section Eight department s SEMAP score. Commissioner Torres asked how improvements in the SEMAP score affected the Authority s pending RAD conversion. Mr. Rosario explained that the RAD program would convert several of the current public housing developments into Section 8 housing. He stated that obtaining a standard performer SEMAP score enabled staff to lay the ground work for the future success of the Section 8 program under RAD management. Commissioner Torres asked if it was possible for the Authority to obtain a standard SEMAP score without the assistance of Nan McKay. Mr. Rosario stated that it would take longer for the Authority to reach a standard SEMAP score without the assistance of Nan McKay. He explained that the Authority s goal was to increase the score quickly, prior to the RAD conversion in October Commissioner Torres asked which areas of the SEMAP score staff would be improving over the next several months. Mr. Rosario stated that staff would be working to improve the waitlist selection process, rent reasonableness, adjusted income, Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspections, and expanding housing opportunities. He stated that staff would report to the Commission on the progress of each area. Commissioner Torres requested that Mr. Rosario send him an listing each area, as well as a timeline indicating which dates Mr. Rosario expected to see improvements in each area. Mr. Rosario affirmed that he would send the . Public Comment None f. Monthly Report: Public Housing Operations Presented by: Twima Earley, Director of Public Housing, and Linda Martin-Mason, Director of Government Affairs and Policy Linda Martin-Mason, Director of Government Affairs and Policy, reported that the Authority had reached 97 percent overall rent collection in February 2015, which was an increase of four percent from January She indicated that 97 percent was the highest percentage of collected rent in fiscal year 2015, which had begun October 1, Ms. Martin-Mason stated that rent collection had fluctuated between 90 and 97 percent over the past fiscal year. 8

9 Twima Earley, Director of Public Housing, provided a report on work orders and inspections. She stated that staff had had difficulties catching up with work orders and inspections at the Sunnydale property due to the large number of work orders and the lack of a property manager at the site. Ms. Earley stated that staff had hired a new property manager who would begin training within the next week. Commissioner Lindo asked where the new property manager would be assigned. Ms. Earley stated that the new property manager would be assigned to 666 Ellis and that staff would be moving a more experienced manager to Sunnydale. Commissioner Torres asked why Sunnydale had significant work orders. Ms. Earley explained that there had been difficulties maintaining a property manager at Sunnydale. She stated that there had been four or five managers at Sunnydale since Ms. Earley stated that Sunnydale was the Authority s largest and most difficult property to manage. Commissioner Lindo asked if the Sunnydale property managers were also Sunnydale residents. Ms. Earley stated that they were not. Commissioner Lindo asked if the property managers that had left Sunnydale had provided a reason for their resignation. Ms. Earley stated that they had left due to stress. She stated that the Sunnydale site had had problems with criminal activity within the past several years. Commissioner Lindo asked if any threats had been made to on-site management staff. Mr. Earley confirmed that there had been incidents of Sunnydale residents threatening or abusing the managing staff. She stated that the Authority had hired a full-time security guard to handle the issues, and that there had not been as many complaints since the security guard had been hired. Acting Executive Director, Barbara Smith, explained that the Sunnydale area manager, Kendra Crawford, had been working to ensure that staff continued to inspect Sunnydale s units. Ms. Smith explained that an increase in the numbers of inspections often resulted in an increase in work orders, which was the reason Sunnydale had such a large number of work orders. Commissioner Lindo asked how many staff members the Authority had assigned to complete inspections at each site. Ms. Earley explained that the inspections were completed by the area and property managers, and occasionally by the maintenance mechanic foreman. She stated that there were three people who performed inspections at the Sunnydale site. Ms. Earley stated that most housing sites had two employees assigned to carry out inspections. 9

10 Twima Earley, Director of Public Housing, provided a report on Occupancy. Commissioner Lindo asked why the occupancy percentages were low at the Lundy property. Ms. Earley explained that the Lundy site had two units, and that only one unit was occupied. She stated that Authority intended to sell the property and would relocate the family currently in residence to another site. Public Comment None Item 4: Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 6:11 PM 10

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78 Adjournment 78