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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006 - Housing Catalyst - Annual ReportYEAR IN REVIEW 2006 Just as a house is built upon a solid foundation, the Fort Collins Housing Authority is built upon its mission: To promote adequate and affordable housing, economic opportunity and a safe living environment free from discrimination. FCHA currently assists approximately 1,500 families (3,750 individuals) throughout Larimer County through various programs. These programs include federally subsidized Low Income Public Housing, Section 8 Rental Assistance, Tenant-based Rental Assistance and management of the Wellington Housing Authority. Management also includes the Fort Collins Housing Corporation's non-subsidized affordable housing properties, and the historic Northern Hotel low income housing tax credit development. FORT COLLINS PUBLIC HOUSING Fort Collins Housing Authority Public Housing Program consists of 154 units owned by the Authority. Operating subsidy allows the program to serve families earning virtually no income, but regulations authorize serving families earning up to 80% of area median income. Attachment A provides 2006 demographics. For 2006, Fort Collins Public Housing had an average vacancy rate of 3%. This program had an annual turnover rate of 32%; meaning 49 of the 154 units had a family move-out during the year. The federal regulations for waiting list selection are quite stringent and create a challenge. There are currently 630 applicants on the Fort Collins Public Housing waiting list. At this time, the anticipated length of wait can be over 24 months depending on bedroom size needed. WELLINGTON PUBLIC HOUSING The Fort Collins Housing Authority manages the Wellington Housing Authority through an intergovernmental agreement. There is a Board of Commissioners which meets on a monthly basis to review activities, set policy, and prepare and authorize budgets and capital improvement plans. The Wellington Housing Authority consists of 42 public housing units. As of December 2006, there were 196 applicants on the Wellington Public Housing waiting list. 1 2 HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM The Fort Collins Housing Authority administers approximately 844 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), also known as Section 8, for Fort Collins and Larimer County. The Larimer County allocation of 100 of these vouchers is administered through an intergovernmental agreement, 65 of which are targeted specifically to people with disabilities. Attachment A provides 2006 program demographics. The Fort Collins Housing Authority administered $5,530,890 in Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) to local landlords on behalf of participating families in 2006. FCHA values local landlords a great deal and continues to work on ways to improve their satisfaction with the program. HAP checks are sent in a timely manner, a landlord brochure and program information is readily available, and FCHA is an active member of the Fort Collins Apartment Owners Association where staff interacts with local landlords on a regular basis. Each year, FCHA staff set up a booth at the Association’s annual trade show at which over 200 local landlords and property owners attended. HUD grades this program through its Section 8 Management Assessment Program or SEMAP. We anticipate an A rating again for 2006 and utilized 99.5% of our HUD allocation. In our effort to effectively manage the budget and maximize assistance for our families we were $28,699 (.5%) under budget, which is good since any amount over budget has to be paid by the Housing Authority. As of December 2006, there were 156 applicants for the HCV program. This waiting list was closed on November 1, 2004. The anticipated wait is now four years or more from the date of application. A separate waiting list is administered for people interested in the project-based voucher program. Twenty percent of the vouchers are “project-based” or assigned to specific rental units. There are currently 517 applicants on that list with a wait of approximately seven months average depending on bedroom size. All units leased under the Housing Choice Voucher Program must pass a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection each year in order to receive subsidy. FCHA has one full time inspector on staff. This inspector is well trained in the inspection protocol and FCHA utilizes a hand-held computer which “syncs” to our housing management software to do these inspections. Staff works toward using the most current technology whenever feasible. FIRST STEP PROGRAM In December of 2006 the First Step program, a tenant-based rental assistance program, was renewed for another two years. It is financed by a partnership between the Colorado Division of Housing, the City of Fort Collins, the Fort Collins Housing Authority and the Housing Authority of the City of Loveland. It will provide 58 families with a transitional housing subsidy for up to two years. Tied to the subsidy is a case management component. Each family has agreed to work toward economic self-sufficiency goals through the help of a case manager who they see at least monthly. A few notable comments can be made about the program to date. Single parents (23) comprise the largest group being served by the program. Almost a quarter of the families served have a head of household who is disabled. About half of the “non-disabled” families are working. The remainder are on public assistance, school loans, or receiving child support payments. Twenty-seven children are being housed by the program and several of the families have three or more children. The numbers show a movement by participants toward a return to education since involvement in the program. They have also been able to secure student loans for living expenses beyond their tuition grants. The primary case management goals presented above show a familiar picture of primary needs among participants. Vocational assessment; job search and retention; training and education; financial planning and budgeting; and mental and physical health needs are the most common areas of focus. SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY: SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR HOMELESS On behalf of the Fort Collins Housing Corporation, the Fort Collins Housing Authority operates three sites with 42 total single rooms of permanent supportive housing for individuals who are homeless upon admission. Two of these projects known as The Homecoming (Myrtle House and First Street) receive direct HUD rental subsidy. The third project, Linden House, now has a total of 13 project-based vouchers at the site. Larimer Center for Mental Health provides case management for the residents at all three sites. In addition, Larimer County Health and Human Services has funded one full-time case manager to provide intensive case management at the Myrtle House site. This is a highly unstable population. There were 29 “move-outs” in 2006 for a turnover rate of 69%. As of December 2006, there were 81 applicants on this waiting list with an expected wait of approximately six months. VILLAGES AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM (FORT COLLINS HOUSING CORPORATION) The Fort Collins Housing Authority is the management agent for the Fort Collins Housing Corporation “Villages” affordable housing program. The Corporation owns 380 units of housing scattered throughout Fort Collins. This portfolio consists of many types of housing, from single family detached to the 95-unit Village on Plum apartment complex. The vacancy rate for this program as of December 2006 was 6%, which included the Village on Plum vacancy rate of 8%. Keeping these units fully occupied has been a challenge for several years. In 2006, a total of 230 units turned over for an annual turnover rate of 60%. Average household income for the Affordable Housing Program by family size is as follows: Family Size Average Annual Income 1 $10, 608 2 $13,125 3 $11,980 4 $12,743 Total Average $12,401 3 Outreach and marketing have continued to evolve. A formal outreach plan was created with the help of an outside firm. The Fort Collins Housing Authority donated money for this outreach effort, which has included professional brochures, signage, City bus panel advertising, and new website design and many other types of outreach. The new image is starting to become recognized and we are seeing results from these efforts! 2006 Partnership Success! In 2006, we continued our partnership with Crossroads Safehouse providing transitional housing for 8 families coming out of the safe-house. The City of Fort Collins RAD Van provided after-school and summer activities for youth. A new clubhouse was moved to the site to provide a location for provision of social services. The clubhouse was donated by Standard Pacific Homes and some of the moving expenses were covered by a $30,000 grant from the Bohemian Foundation. NORTHERN HOTEL The Fort Collins Housing Authority is the contracted management agent for the Northern Hotel Limited Partnership. As management agent, the Authority provides all leasing functions, which include eligibility and compliance work for all of the grant and funding sources. Documentation and reporting is required by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program/Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, the Colorado Division of Housing HOME program, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the owner group’s own annual audit. The Authority “project-based” 47 Housing Choice Vouchers to the Northern Hotel in 2001 due to severe vacancy problems. Since that time, the program has been full and is serving people earning well below 30% of area median income. Of the 47 total households in the Northern Hotel, the average annual income is $10,648. The average tenant rent is $229. As of December 2006, there were 46 applicants for this program with an approximate waiting time of six months. Maintenance management of the Northern Hotel remains challenging. The Fort Collins Housing Authority Facilities and Maintenance Manager spends a great deal of time working on systems that also affect the commercial space of the site. Any work provided above and beyond the scope of the management agreement is billed at a separate “owner’s representative” rate to cover this expense. FACILITIES AND MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT The Fort Collins Housing Authority Maintenance Department major accomplishments and projects for 2006 include:  Use of the work-order system and time-standards to account for time at each project 4 5  Recycling Program for all grant-related appliances and materials from rehabilitation  Participation in the Platte River Energy Efficiency Program for energy conservation – rebates so far totaling over $7K, more in progress  Participation in Long’s Peak Energy furnace efficiency program  Conversion of all units to low consumption, compact fluorescent lighting  Spring volunteer project with Hewlett Packard providing 100 local staff to construct a basketball court at the Village on Plum  Fall Make a Difference Day projects with 180 local Intel volunteers building a playground and upgrading landscaping for Public Housing and 105 Hewlett Packard staff building a playground at the Village on Swallow  384 volunteers from Week of Hope landscaping at 400 Impala Circle  First United Methodist Church volunteers upgrading landscaping at 811 E. Myrtle  38 Workender groups solicited for work in and around units  Staff training and use of Microsoft Project software  Donated 1200 sq. ft. clubhouse moved to Village on Plum  Reorganize operations to use contract labor on vacant units  Holiday blizzard response Work Orders Completed 2006:  Staff completed 284 emergency service calls within 24 hours  Staff completed 3537 routine resident-generated service calls with an average completion time of 5 days  Staff completed 369 vacancy turn-arounds  Staff completed 403 preventive maintenance work orders General contracting is ongoing for several substantial rehabilitation grants:  Village on Swallow, $300,000, 55% completed  Village on Plum, Fall 2004 CDBG Grant $342,000 and Spring 2005 CDBG Grant $272,000, completed, DOH Grant, $520,000, completed.  Village on Plum CDBG III Grant $304,000, in progress.  615 Cowan CDBG Grant $110,358, 90% completed.  615 Cowan DOH Grant $100,000, 90% completed.  100-106 S, Bryan, Spring 2005 CDBG Grant $138,850, 95% completed.  400 Impala Circle, Fort Collins Housing Corporation Rehabilitation $60,340 95% completed. RESIDENT SERVICES The Resident Services department consists of four specific programs: Public Housing Family Self Sufficiency – At the end of 2006, 50 families from our public housing programs were participating in formal case management. We were recently notified that we were awarded another year of funding and that we are one of just two housing authorities in the six-state region to receive this award! Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency – This program currently serves approximately 50 families at any given time. We successfully received an additional year of HUD funding for the coordinator position. 6 Homeownership Program – This program had a very busy productive year. Five families closed on new homes. Approximately 40 families are currently working on self-sufficiency goals toward homeownership including budgeting/personal finance and credit repair. FCHA staff continued to develop relationships with lenders in the community who will support the program. First Step – As earlier mentioned, the First Step resident services coordinator had a very busy year working with these families who were homeless or near-homeless upon admission. The 38 families from the first two-year pilot program were transitioned to permanent housing. The waiting list was opened and 48 new families were selected for the next two years. Other Highlights – The team worked on developing a Logic Model which includes key indicators for tracking program success. The next piece still underway is data collection utilizing our database and reporting writing software. In 2006, we began to successfully incorporate CSU social work interns in the self sufficiency programs. Two social work interns (one bachelor level and one masters level) began full-time work with the resident services team. Many members of the community began active participation in the Resident Services Committee, a group of citizens dedicated to fund raising for client assistance for the participating families. This committee was also able to provide much needed items at Christmas time for 100 families. FINANCE A new cost tracking system was refined. The initial data was very helpful and helped us identify problem areas. This year we are moving forward with tracking all labor costs by project to compare to our allocation method. Prior to 2004, the Fort Collins Housing Authority and the Fort Collins Housing Corporation had taken a portfolio approach to costing and budgeting. Other activities:  Banking services continued to be a high priority. We converted to sweep investing in October 2006, which added over $1,000 per month to our investment income.  The pay plan was again updated utilizing a consultant. This year we focused on individual equity in ranges and pay equity adjustments were approved for 2007.  Received an “A” rating for Finance under the Public Housing Assessment System.  The agency received another clean audit report for 2005. The 2006 audit is in progress and we anticipate another clean report.  We embarked on new tax-credit project on Elizabeth, with completion scheduled for 2007.  Completed the computer conversion for dwelling management processing, with the general ledger, payroll, and accounts payable scheduled for 2007.  Extremely successful receiving competitive grants! Competitive Grant Awards 2005-2006 Village on Cowan, State of Colorado 2005 120,000 Village on Cowan, City of Fort Collins Fall 2005 110,358 Village on Plum Rehab, City of Fort Collins Fall 2005 304,296 HCV FSS and Homeownership 2006 124,930 Housing Choice Voucher Program Family Self Sufficiency Coordinator Salary 2005 53,419 Homeownership Coordinator Salary 2005 55,875 Homeownership closing fees 2004-2006 16,000 Public Housing Family Self Sufficiency Coordinator Salary 2005 55,875 Public Housing Family Self Sufficiency Coordinator Salary 2006 56,434 Village on Swallow Rehab, City of Fort Collins 2006 300,000 Village on Plum Rehab, City of Fort Collins Spring 2005 300,000 Village on Plum Rehab, State of Colorado 2005 430,000 Village on Bryan Rehab, City of Fort Collins Spring 2005 152,735 First Step (Tenant-based rental assistance pilot program) State of Colorado 2006 747,130 First Step (Tenant-based rental assistance pilot program) City Contribution 2006 200,174 Total $3,027,226 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The Fort Collins Housing Authority strives to keep all information technology systems up-to-date to provide the best possible service to our customers. New computers have been purchased and configured to support the upgrade to Emphasys Computer Solutions windows based product (Elite). Emphasys Computer Systems is our Housing Authority software vendor for transmission of all data to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The conversion is underway and should be completed by March of 2006. The Network is connected to the City of Fort Collins Network. Services provided include; Novell Netware and Zen Works GroupWise and Internet access and McAfee virus scan. The City keeps all of these services up to date with the assistance of our IT person. FCHA continues to refine its website and develop ways for the community to access our programs electronically. 7 8 COMMUNITY COORDINATION AND ADVOCACY In 2006, FCHA partnered with the following entities through leadership, advocacy, coordination and support:  Fort Collins Apartment Owners Association  Neighborhood Task Force  Larimer County Affordable Housing Coalition  Larimer County Workforce Investment Board: Executive Committee and Youth Council  Neighbor to Neighbor  CARE Housing, Inc.  Project Self Sufficiency  Social Services Family Response Team  Northern Front Range Continuum of Care  Interfaith Council  Mental Health and Substance Abuse Partnership  CORE Center/Poudre Valley Mobile Home Park  Larimer County Community Corrections - Women’s Transition  Poudre School District  First United Methodist Church  Eastgate Homeowners Association  Stanford Homeowners Association  Northside Neighborhoods Plan Technical Advisory Committee  FirstCall ServiceNet  Housing Services Day Center Steering Committee and Building Committee  City Manager’s Executive Lead Team and Budgeting for Outcomes Team Chair  National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials: State, Regional and National  Housing NOW Conference  Colorado Coalition for the Homeless  Larimer County Home Improvement Program (LaHIP)  Larimer County Homeownership Program (LaHOP)  Larimer County Drug Task Force  Crossroads Safehouse  Housing Authority of the City of Loveland  Front Range Community College Advisory Board  Hewlett Packard  Intel - Fort Collins Design Center  City of Fort Collins Utilities  Platte River Power Authority Energy Efficiency Program  Larimer County Alternative Sentencing Unit  Community Mediation Program  Larimer County Sheriff’s Parole Board  Larimer County Sheriff’s oral board  CSUnity  Group Work Camps Foundation  Larimer County Weatherization 9 Attachment A Fort Collins Public Housing 2006 Demographics 2006 Fort Collins Public Housing Distribution by Average Annual Income (%) Extremely Low Income, Below 30% of Median or < $20,750 family of 4 Very Low Income, 50% of Median or $34,600 for family of 4 Low Income, 80% of Median or $55,350 for family of 4 88 11 1 2006 Fort Collins Public Housing Average Annual Income ($) Fort Collins Public Housing 9,113 Colorado Overall Average 10,868 2006 Fort Collins Public Housing Distribution by Source of Income (%) With any wages With any welfare With any SSI/SS/Pension With any other income 34 26 36 26 2006 Fort Collins Public Housing Distribution by Total Tenant Payment (%) $0 $1-$25 $26-$50 $51-$100 $101-$200 $201-$350 $351-$500 $501+ 0 0 17 14 32 21 11 5 2006 Fort Collins Public Housing Distribution by Family Type (%) Elderly, no children, non- disabled Elderly, with children, non- disabled Non- elderly, no children, non- disabled Non- elderly, with children, non- disabled Elderly, no children, disabled Elderly, with children, disabled Non- elderly, 10 2006 Fort Collins HCV Distribution by Family Type (%) Elderly, no children, non- disabled Elderly, with children, non- disabled Non- elderly, no children, non- disabled Non- elderly, with children, non- disabled Elderly, no children, disabled Elderly, with children, disabled Non- elderly, no children, disabled Non- elderly, with children, disabled All female headed househld with children 8 0 7 46 6 1 25 7 49 2006 Fort Collins HCV Average Tenant Payment by Family Type ($) Elderly, no children, non- disabled Elderly, with children, non- disabled Non- elderly, no children, non- disabled Non- elderly, with children, non- disabled Elderly, no children, disabled Elderly, with children, disabled Non- elderly, no children, disabled Non- elderly, with children, disabled All female headed househld with children 253 526 267 226 226 340 199 256 228 no children, disabled Non- elderly, with children, disabled All female headed househld with children 3 0 3 59 5 0 22 9 62 Housing Choice Voucher Program 2006 Demographics 2006 Fort Collins HCV Average Annual Income ($) Fort Collins HCV 10,198 Colorado Overall Average 10,635 2006 Fort Collins HCV Distribution by Source of Income (%) With any wages With any welfare With any SSI/SS/Pension With any other income 34 13 46 26 2006 Fort Collins HCV Distribution by Total Tenant Payment (%) $0 $1-$25 $26-$50 $51-$100 $101-$200 $201-$350 $351-$500 $501+ 1 0 11 13 32 25 12 7