The Affordable Housing Bulletin
May 14, 2004

In this issue:
In Delaware
Internship Opportunity at DHC
Thanks to DHC Conference Participants
Support Needed for House Bill 327
Senate Bill 22: Delaware Minimum Wage Increase
Manufactured Housing Rent Cap Bill

Elsewhere
Section 8 Voucher Crisis Threatens Current Year
House Co-Signers Needed to Voucher Letter
May 26 Voucher Demonstrations Planned
New Issue of Shelterforce
June Conference on Housing for People with Disabilities



Internship Opportunity at DHC
The Delaware Housing Coalition (DHC) has a summer position available working with the Executive Director on its work with manufactured housing cooperatives. The research will help DHC in its work of developing and preserving affordable manufactured housing communities in Delaware. DHC is looking for a person with the ability to organize and develop information and to work independently at times. The position is a 12-week internship. For more information, contact Ken Smith, 302/678-2286, dhc@housingforall.org


Thanks to DHC Conference Participants
Many thanks to all the conference leaders, resource people, and conferees who helped to make our May 5 Annual Conference a great event. Information on the conference and the action points developed by the final panel will be available in the summer issue of /The Housing Journal/.


Support Needed for House Bill 327
Each year the Food Bank of Delaware spends over $36,000 in “Tipping Fees” for the disposal of donated products that cannot be used to feed people (i.e. spoiled produce, canned products past code date). House Bill 327 would exempt the Food Bank from paying these tipping fees and redirect these funds to its feeding programs. Just imagine how $36,000 could impact hunger and benefit more low to moderate-income households in Delaware.

The Food Bank needs people to call, email, or send a letter to legislators and the leadership in the House and Senate, and encourage them to support House Bill 327.


Senate Bill 22: Delaware Minimum Wage Increase
Each year the "Housing Wage" moves a little farther ahead of the state minimum wage. Without the two-tiered minimum wage increase successfully introduced late in the 1990s, housing costs would have jumped ahead of the minimum wage. The Housing Wage in Delware is now $14.06, the hourly amount a full-time worker needs in order to afford the fair market two-bedroom unit in Delaware.

SB22 was introduced by Senator Marshall and co-sponsored by Senator Peterson. This Act would increase the minimum wage from $6.15 per hour to $6.65 per hour effective January 1, 2005, and from $6.65 per hour to $7.15 per hour effective January 1, 2006. This Act also restores Delaware’s tip credit allowance to 50% of the applicable minimum wage effective January 1, 2005. Co-Sponsors: Rep. Viola; Sens. Henry, McBride, McDowell & Blevins; Reps. Oberle, B. Ennis, George, Gilligan, Hall-Long, Houghton, Keeley, Mulrooney, Plant, Schwartzkopf, Van Sant & Williams.

This bill is out of committee and due for consideration by the Senate. A list of State Senators is available on the DHC website.

Manufactured Housing Rent Cap Bill
Trends in land use and recent legal decisions emphasize the tenuous nature of owning manufactured housing on leased land, especially in Sussex County. This affordable housing of choice for many retirees and working poor families may face eventual extinction without a number of efforts aimed at helping tenants gain greater control over their communities.

At present, Delaware law provides for written notices by the landlord of any intended rent increase; and also provides that where only the lot is rented, there can be only one rental increase for any twelve-month period. This Bill provides, among other things, that where only the lot is rented, the rent increase shall not exceed the cost-of-living increase granted to Social Security beneficiaries for the same year in which the rent increase is to be effective, plus one percentage point. This bill was introduced by Senator Bunting on March 17 and passed the next day by the Senate. Senators Venables and Schwartzkopf are co-sponsors.

It was introduced in the House on March 25 and assigned to the Housing and Community Affairs Committee, where it may remain without public effort on its behalf. Representative Valihura chairs this committee.

Section 8 Voucher Crisis Threatens Current Year
"The effects of the April 22 HUD notice that alters the renewal formula for vouchers in FY04 continue to reverberate in Washington and across the country. Under the new formula, PHAs will no longer be paid based on the actual costs of the vouchers they administer, but rather payment would be based on vouchers under lease as of August 1, 2003, adjusted for an inflation factor. The notice is retroactive to January 1, 2004. This will leave many PHAs without sufficient funds to honor all voucher contracts. Already, some housing authorities have begun issuing plans for the termination of vouchers. Those hit hardest are those that no longer have reserves.

"HUD’s Response.* HUD continues to blame public housing authorities for their problems with the April 22 notice. In an /AP/ article of May 6, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said that the PHAs that are having problems are those that are over budget and only have themselves to blame. Mr. Jackson asserted that about 90% of the 2,500 local housing authorities are not having a problem with the renewal formula, and that he is “not going to permit housing agencies to put the blame at the foot of HUD.” “What they are asking us to do—those who ovelease and have no reserves—is to make whole their agency,” he said.

"However, analysis by PHAs and advocates continues to indicate that adverse effects from the notice are much more widespread, and there is growing concern about the reliability of data provided by HUD. One indication of the seriousness of the problem is that Governors Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and Mitt Romney (R-MA), whose state housing agencies face serious shortfalls, traveled to Washington to meet with Secretary Jackson this week. Preliminary reports are that the meeting did not produce satisfactory solutions to the problems for these two governors.

"Frank Introduces Bill. In response, Members of Congress are taking steps to reverse the effects of the April 22 HUD notice. On May 3, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, introduced H.R. 4263 to undo cuts imposed by the new HUD notice and mandate that HUD return to the practice of renewing vouchers based on the housing authorities’ actual per-unit costs in the previous quarter, adjusted for inflation. The bill was introduced with 24 Democratic cosponsors. In a letter to his colleagues seeking co-sponsors, Mr. Frank urged them to join him to protect the longstanding policy of fully funding all existing housing vouchers.

"On the same day, Mr. Frank and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also held a press conference to protest HUD’s actions. Mr. Frank pointed out that the Administration has consistently proposed cuts to the program and that its plan to turn the program into a block grant in FY05 is a way to hide these cuts. He added that the voucher funding language in the FY04 Appropriations bill that HUD says allows these changes was inserted at HUD’s behest by the conference committee without hearings or open discussion on the impact of such a proposal. Mr. Frank said, “Now, HUD says, ‘Oh, poor us, we can't help it, we have to abide by that language,’ Of course, HUD wrote the language, slipped it in the conference, wrote it in a deliberately obscure way.”

"Hearing Scheduled in House. The Financial Services Committee in the House has scheduled a hearing on the HUD budget for Thursday, May 20. Secretary of HUD Alphonso Jackson is scheduled to testify, and it is expected that the 2004 voucher funding crisis will be a major part of the discussion. The Administration’s proposed FY05 budget, which underfunds the Section 8 program and plans to impose a Flexible Voucher Program, will also be discussed.

"Senate Actions. In a letter that advocates consider to be very useful,* *Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), Chair of the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, wrote to HUD Secretary Jackson on April 29, urging him to clear up the “substantial confusion” about the notice and expressing concern about the information HUD provided when the 2004 bill was considered. Senator Bond said he supports using the August 1, 2003, baseline for payment costs (as HUD’s new policy does), but he pointed out that HUD has several options that it may use to ease the transition. The letter said that “the statute provides that renewals be based on the ‘total number of unit months which were under lease as reported on the most recent end-of-year financial statement submitted by the public housing agency to the Department, or as adjusted by such additional information submitted by the public housing agency as of August 1, 2003 and by applying an inflation factor based on local or regional factors to the actual per unit cost.’ ” He stated that this means that HUD should be able to use the most recent, reliable rental data for a PHA and, to the extent that a PHA’s end-of-year financial report is submitted to HUD subsequent to August 1, 2003, the rental information in that report should be available as the baseline for the per unit cost.

"Senator Bond also pointed out that increases were not to be limited to an annual adjustment factor, but HUD should be able to apply a factor based on rent increases that are consistent with the rent increases of comparable, unsubsidized housing an area or region. Senator Bond went on to say that while HUD needs to control costs of vouchers, the costs should reflect the realities of the marketplace, both increases and decreases, by using the best available data. He also addressed cases in which PHAs are facing shortfalls because reductions in tenants’ incomes are requiring the voucher to cover a higher portion of the rent. “The central fund should not cover increases in the rent charged; it should cover shortfalls where the tenant’s contribution decreases as a result of lost income,” he wrote. He also expressed concern over “HUD’s treatment of PHAs that have overleased beyond their authorized voucher levels.” [NLIHC Memo to Members, May 7, 2004]


House Co-Signers Needed to FY2205 Voucher Letter
A bipartisian letter is being circulated by Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and five of her colleagues that requests signatures on a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee in opposition to the Administration’s proposal for FY05 to cut housing vouchers and turn the program into a block grant. The letter, also signed by Democratic Representatives Jerrold Nadler (NY) and Robert Menendez (NJ), and Republican Representatives Christopher Shays (CT), John McHugh (NY), and Patrick Tiberi (OH), urges full funding for the voucher program in FY05 and expresses alarm that significant programmatic changes are being proposed without first being vetted through the authorizing committees. Advocates are working to encourage their Members of Congress to join the letter.

Signaling his view of the Administration’s FY05 voucher proposal, Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) said in his letter to Secretary Jackson on the FY04 voucher issue that he “remain(s) very concerned that HUD has not developed the necessary data or conducted a comprehensive analysis to justify its FY05 proposal to block grant section 8 assistance to PHAs.” He wrote, “Not only is the HUD FY05 voucher block grant grossly underfunded, it would result in denying the availability of housing vouchers to extremely low income families, possibly creating a greater dependency on homeless services, and likely turning back the clock on federal and local efforts to deconcentrate low income families away from poor and distressed neighborhoods.”

May 26 Voucher Demonstrations Planned
Disability rights groups are planning coordinated actions at HUD Regional Offices on May 26 in response to the proposed voucher cuts. Below is a part of the information we received today on the planned events.

The Section 8 Program is Under Attack!
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program provides safe, affordable, integrated housing to more than two million American families. These vouchers are often the only resource available to low-income families facing our nation’s affordable housing crisis.

On April 22, 2004, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), issued PIH 2004-7 (HA). This administrative memorandum will have the following devastating impacts:

* The number of Section 8 vouchers available to the very lowest income citizens will be cut!
* Rents will increase for tenants who are allowed to retain Section 8 vouchers!
* The number of homes available under the program will decrease as HUD refuses to honor funding commitments!

Congress added funding to the Section 8 voucher program in 2004 specifically so HUD could fully fund all vouchers currently in use. “It is clear that the intent of Congress was to ensure that the voucher program was sufficiently funded so that no family would lose assistance,” Senators Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME) wrote to HUD.

PIH 2004-7 (HA) clearly signals HUD’s abandonment of the Section 8 program.

HUD’s issuance of PIH 2004-7 (HA) comes on top of the Administration’s FY 2005 budget plan to eliminate 250,000 existing vouchers.

WE DEMAND THAT HUD CEASE ITS ATTACK AGAINST SECTION 8!
Show Your Support for Affordable, Fair Housing!

May 26th, 2004 will be Housing Justice Memorial Day. Events are being planned all across the country. If you are interested in participating or assisting with organizing in your area please contact the organizers in your area.

To evaluate the impact of recent Section 8 policy changes on your state, go to the CBPP website: http://www.centeronbudget.org/3-17-04hous-states.htm

CONTACTS:
HUD Region III -- Philadelphia, PA
Region III states: Delaware, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia
Contact: Jimmy or Nancy diaofpa@voicenet.com  215-627-7255
Cassie James cassiejames@libertyresources.org  215-634-2000 XT. 309


New Issue of Shelterforce
*The March/April issue of Shelterforce magazine begins with Nancy Biberman, founder and president of Women's Housing and Economic Development Corp., telling how her organization fought to incorporate beauty in the design of low-income housing for families in the Bronx. Also, this issue continues Shelterforce's examination of community development in Newark, NJ by looking at how community development leaders are making sure the city's new master plan makes room for schools and open space. In another article, Tiffany Meier and Brad Hunt tell the story of how the development of the heavily subsidized private community -- which had no apartments reserved for low-income residents -- galvanized the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, which worked tirelessly, and creatively, to increase the visibility of the poor and homeless. Alan Mallach discusses whether NJ Gov. James McGreevey can (or will) stay true to the vision of Mount Laurel, the historic ruling that was supposed to ensure that the suburbs developed their fair share of affordable housing. Development Corp., telling how her organization fought to incorporate beauty in the design of low-income housing for families in the Bronx. [View Shelterforce at www.nhi.org/onlline/issues/sf134.html ]


June Conference on Housing for People with Disabilities
The National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems is having its annual conference from June 9 - 11 in Washington D.C. They are offering some terrific workshops that focus on the housing issues faced by people with disabilities. (See below). Conference and registration information is on their website at www.napas.org 

Financing Community Housing
Ann O'Hara, Director of Housing, Technical Assistance Center

Living in the Community: The Basics of Fair Housing Law
Michael Allen, J.D., Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Martha M. Lafferty, J.D., Tennessee Protection and Advocacy, Inc.

Living in the Community: Stopping Evictions through Reasonable Accommodations
Rhonda Dahlman, Legal Counsel for the Elderly, American Assn. of Retired Persons
David Popiel, J.D., Community Health Law Project
Edie Zukauskas, J.D., Disability Law Center of Alaska

Living in the Community: Challenging "Independent Living" Requirements
Robert G. Schwemm, J.D., Professor of Law, University of Kentucky
Susan Silverstein, J.D., American Assn. of Retired Persons

Living in the Community: Homeowners' Associations and the Fair Housing Act
Amy Robertson, J.D., Fox and Robertson, P.C.
Marilyn Mahusky, J.D., Disability Law Project of Vermont Legal Aid, Inc.

Living in the Community: Group Homes - Desirability, Size and Bundling of Services
Michael Allen, J.D., Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Living in the Community: Group Homes, Land Use and NIMBY-ism
Joan Magana, J.D., Deputy Executive Director of Legal Services, NAPAS
Beth Pepper, J.D.,
Steven Polin, J.D.,
Edie Zukauskas, Disability Law Center of Alaska

Living in the Community: Housing for Ex-Offenders
Sharon Maes Jackson, CSOSA
Heather Barr, Urban Justice Institute
Susan Galbraith, OurPlaceDC