Table of Content
Vision ............................................................................................................... Mission ............................................................................................................. Message from the Mayor .............................................................................. Message from the Executive Director ......................................................... The history of Edinburg Housing Authority ................................................... Current Management Hierarchy ................................................................. EHA Programs and Properties ....................................................................... Goals & Objectives for 2015-2016 ................................................................ Financial Reports 2014-2015 .......................................................................... Awards and Recognitions 2014-2015 ........................................................... Community Events and Initiatives 2014-2015 ..............................................
2 3 4 5 6 8 12 17 25 29 40
VISION
To ensure affordable, equal opportunity housing and provide a safe, suitable living environment for every resident of the city of Edinburg.
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MISSION
At the Edinburg Housing Authority, we take great pride in serving the needs of low-income families and do our best to: • increase the availability of satisfactory, safe and affordable housing; • ensure equal opportunity in housing; • promote self-sufficiency and asset development; • Improve community quality of life and economic viability.
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MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
Photo credit: The Monitor
Richard Garcia
City of Edinburg Mayor
For more than 65 years the Edinburg Housing Authority has consistently done an outstanding job serving low-income families in the Rio Grande Valley. As one of the largest public housing authorities in South Texas, its work has provided affordable housing for thousands of residents in our city. In light of the Edinburg Housing Authority’s relentless efforts and commitment to the city, this 2014 Annual Report offers a glimpse into the agency’s operations, personnel and their events held throughout the year. Within its pages, I trust you will find information indicating the spirit of a hard-working agency dedicated to not only provide housing assistance to low-income residents, but becoming a helping hand that facilitates their development of necessary skills to succeed on their own and ultimately guides them towards self sufficiency. Like I have, I believe you will discover that the Edinburg Housing Authority is a vital component and generous contributor to our community due to its infusion of construction related dollars to the economy and its incredible service to those who need it most. With this said, I would like to give special thanks to the Edinburg City Council and various city departments for their constant support to the Edinburg Housing Authority and the people of the Rio Grande Valley. Thanks to your help, the agency is able to continue offering Edinburg families and seniors the chance to live in a safe and affordable home where they can pursue educational opportunities and employment. Page 4
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The end of another great year has come and as a result the time to reflect on the accomplishments of the Edinburg Housing Authority is upon us. As I reflect on our achievements during 2015, I look forward to a new year with great optimism. As the Executive Director of the Edinburg Housing Authority, I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by an excellent staff and caring professionals. Working together to achieve our yearround goals, we strived to revolutionize and redefine public housing in ways never done before in our region and through our dedication we have made our agency one of the best in Texas.
Rodolfo “Rudy� Ramirez Executive Director
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THE HISTORY OF EDINBURG HOUSING AUTHORITY The Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA) was established in 1949 through the Affordable Housing Act of 1939. Since its inception, EHA has been directly supervised and funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
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CURRENT MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY
MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY Board of Commissioners
Executive Director Administrative Assistant
Section 8 Director
Public Housing Director
Maintenance Supervisor
Finance Director
Case Manager
Receptionist
Application-Intake Clerk
Maintenance Assistant
Accounting Clerk
Inspector
La Posada / Lantana Manager
Office Clerk
Maintenance Crew
Procurement Officer
Ramirez / El Jardin Manager
Support Staff
Janitor
Albores/ Towers / Preidot Manger
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BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Eduardo "Ed" Gonzalez Chairman
Joe Rodriguez Commissioner
Armando Barrera Vice-Chairman
Cris Torres Commissioner
Juan Guzman Resident Commissioner Note: As of October 31, 2015
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Rich Christian
Finance Director
Rodolfo “Rudy” Ramirez Executive Director
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Administrative Assistant
Liz Hernandez
Public Housing Director
Olga L. Regalado Section 8 Director
Page 10 Note: As of October 31, 2015
EHA PROGRAMS AND PROPERTIES
HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER (SECTION 8) Administer rental vouchers to 970 Edinburg families
TAX CREDIT PROPERTY
The Edinburg Towers house 100 elderly/disabled families with 25 apartments under the Public Housing program and 75 apartments under the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8).
PUBLIC HOUSING Owns and manages 373 Public Housing units in six properties: Albores Courts, Viviendas M. Ramirez, El JardĂn, Peridot, Lantana and La Posada.
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PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAM, 2014-2015 Statistics for 2014-2015 • Total Move-in: 106 • Total Move-outs: 108
Major Achievements • Designated High Performer of the Year by Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS), HUD. • Increased public housing inventory by acquiring a new property based on six apartments, referred as Peridot. Other Highlights of the Year • Establishment of a new garden in Lantana • Re-pavement of parking lots at El Jardin, Ramirez, La Posada and Lantana. • New door installation at Albores Courts, El Jardin, Ramirez, La Posada and Lantana.
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SECTION 8 PROGRAM, 2014-2015 Statistics for 2014-2015 • Total Move-ins: 341 • Total Move-outs: 149 Major Achievements • Designated High Performer of the Year by Section 8 Management Program (SEMAP), HUD.
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TAX CREDIT PROPERTY The Edinburg Towers house a total of 100 elderly/disabled families with 25 apartments under the Public Housing program and 75 apartments under the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8).
Statistics For 2014-2015 • Total Move-ins: 07 • Total Move-outs: 07
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GOALS & OBJECTIVES FOR 2015-2016
STRATEGIC GOALS FOR 2015-16 Opening more Doors to Education • Developing a pre-GED course plan for adult residents • Applying for more educational grants • Collaborating with different regional educational institutions
Applying for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit • Acquiring funds to construct new housing projects that are aligned with modern housing standards
Partnering with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley • Inviting students from various majors and departments to finish final projects at EHA • Offering specialized internships to graduate students Page 17
STRATEGIC GOALS FOR 2015-16 Staff Development Initiatives • Implementing a staff development workshop series • Setting new criteria for employee evaluation • Devising and implementing a Mentorship Plan
Focusing on Grant Development Process • Reaching out and applying for maximum number of grants offered by HUD and other Public & Private Sector organizations
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PROMOTING EDUCATION
Objective: Opening more doors to education for residents. Why: Education improves the quality of life by providing an opportunity to explore better income opportunities. This ultimately helps residents to move out of public housing so that another person/family in need could be served next. How: The target population consists of children and teenagers. They will be encouraged to seek better education through different Youth Leadership Association initiatives. The school district and other educational institutions in the region will also be brought on board to create different education opportunities for the community residents. Devising a pre-GED course is also part of the process. This will help the transition of less educated adult residents to draw a path towards their GED diploma.
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LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT
Objective: Applying for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit for new development construction. Why: The Low Income Housing Tax Credit is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. It helps acquire funds that can be used for building new housing developments. This is necessary due to the constantly rising maintenance cost of the older EHA developments. The demand of housing units is also increasing with time. Additionally, the public housing trends are rapidly changing. • How: HUD has a Tax Credit application process for the Public Housing agencies to follow. EHA intends to initiate the application process soon. Services from third party consultants and/or the attorney on board may also be requested.
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PARTNERING WITH UTRGV
Objective: Partnering with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for fresh-minded yet cost-effective human recourse utilization. Why: To utilize human resources on a no-or-low-cost basis. Like other public housings, EHA is also limited on hiring budgets. The students come with a fresh mind and are full of ideas. The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley is an emerging school based in Edinburg and Brownsville. Some students have already pursued their final practicums and internships at EHA. Major areas of input required are the Strategic Planning, Staff Training, Youth Leadership Association (YLA) initiatives and several summer camp activities.
How: Inviting students from various departments and majors to do their final projects at EHA, as well as offering specialized paid and unpaid Internships to the graduate students. Priority will be given to the Public Affairs, Social Service and Communication departments’ students.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Objective: Starting and implementing new staff development initiatives.
Why: To offer a prime opportunity to expand the knowledge base of employees. The employee trainings are proven to help in addressing and overcoming weaknesses, acquiring certain skills and also improve performance and job satisfaction. How: A series of staff training workshops have been initiated in the first quarter of 2015. EHA plans to expand on the scope of these trainings to benefit employees. Several department-driven trainings are also part of the strategic plan for the year. Moreover, implementation of a professional Mentorship Plan is in process, along with a revised and more effective employee evaluation procedure.
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APPLYING FOR MORE GRANTS
Objective: Applying for more grants for different community initiatives. Why: To receive more findings to run additional community development programs and enterprises. These additional financial resources along with the HUD ’ s issued limited funds are helpful in achieving EHA’s goals for their residents. Several public and private sector grants help public housing agencies launch and run additional programs of their choice based on the target population needs. How: Specific staff members are charged to do an outreach for the available grants. For an additional support, an experienced part-time grant writer has also hired in early 2015. As a part of EHA-UTPA/UTRGV partnerships, EHA was chosen as an agency for grant writing for a grant development course. These kinds of efforts are aimed to be taken to the next level. EHA might also hire a fulltime grant developer or request services of a consultant in the future. Page 23
FINANCIAL REPORT 2014-2015
Condensed Statement of Revenues and Expenses for the year ending March 31, 2015 (Unaudited) Operating Revenues Tenant Revenue Grants Other Revenue Total Operating Revenue Operating Expenses Administrative Expenses Ordinary Maintenance & Operations Housing Assistance Payments Protective Services Tenant Services Utilities Utilities General Expenses Total Operating Expenses Operating income (Loss) Interest Expense Depreciation Expense (non-Cash) Extraordinary items Excess (DeďŹ ciency) of Operating Revenue
$
$686,867 $5,052,844 $107,481 5,847,192
$
$1,286,345 $831,257 $3,218,632 $74,403 $131,742 $119,189 $153,823 5,815,391
$
31,801
$
$0 $335,583 $0 (303,782) Page 25
Condensed Statement of Net Assets for the year ending March 31, 2015 (Unaudited) Assets Current Assets Capital Assets (net) Other Assets Total Assets Liabilities and Net Assets Current Liabilities Noncurrent Liabilities Total Liabilities
$
$1,576,438 $5,442,900 $0 7,019,338
$
$201,807 $62,117 263,924
Net Assets Invested in Capital Assets, Net of Related debt Restricted Net Assets Unrestricted Net Assets Total Net assets
$
$5,442,905 $32,280 $1,280,229 6,755,414
Total Liabilities and Net Assets
$
7,019,338
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EHA’S CONTRIBUTION IN 2014-2015 IN THE ECONOMY OF
• Public housing Annual Spending Amount (est): $1,681,000 • Section 8 Annual Spending HAP: $3,600,000 Admin Fees: $400,000 • Capital Fund Property Improvements Spent with various Contractors: $400,000
Total Estimated Spending: $ 6,081,000
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AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT OFFICIALS
AWARDS 2014
(Presented in February 2015)
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT OFFICIALS AWARDS 2014
Martin Martinez Director, Parks and Recreation
City of Edinburg (Nominated by EHA)
NAHRO
Community Service Member of the Year 2014
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT OFFICIALS AWARDS 2014
Armando Barrera Vice-Chairman
Edinburg Housing Authority
NAHRO
Commissioner of the Year 2014
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National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Awards 2014
Rodolfo “Rudy” Ramirez, Executive Director
Edinburg Housing Authority
NAHRO
Executive Director of the Year 2014
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT OFFICIALS AWARDS 2014 Armando Barrera Vice-Chairman
Rodolfo “Rudy” Ramirez , Executive Director; Cris Torres, Commissioner; Martin Martinez, Director Parks and Recreation (City of Edinburg); Armando Barrera, Vice-Chairman; Eduardo "Ed" Gonzalez, Chairman; and Juan Guzman, Resident Commissioner Page 33
EHA RESIDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENTS Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley 2015 National Youth of the Year La Posada (public housing) resident, Janice Montemayor, made EHA proud as she was awarded as the 2015 National Youth of the Year by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley. This recognition had Montemayor recognized by the City of Edinburg, Hidalgo County and State Representative Terry Canales as well.
Janice Montemayor recognized by State Representative Terry Canales
Janice Montemayor being recognized at the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court Meeting Page 34
EHA RESIDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENTS Gladys Sanchez participates in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s R2L NextGen Program Yet another proud moment for EHA. Gladys Sanchez, a 17-year-old resident of El Jardin, was selected to participate in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s R2L NextGen program this summer. The R2L NextGen Program provides Latino high school students with the opportunity to spend a week exploring the city of Washington, D.C. and learning about its incredible role in our nation.
Gladys Sanchez along with her 2015 R2L Next Gen participants.
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& Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) program
Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP)
Recognitions 2014-2015
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT RECOGNITIONS – PUBLIC HOUSING DEPARTMENT
The EHA Public Housing department was designated a highperformer for the fourth consecutive time in 2014-15 in HUD’s Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS).
High-performer
2014-2015 Page 37
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT RECOGNITIONS – SECTION 8 DEPARTMENT
Section 8 was also a designated high-performer again in HUD’s Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) for the fourth consecutive time in 2014-2015.
High-performer
2014-2015 Page 38
COMMUNITY EVENTS AND INITIATIVES
 The public housing programs at EHA offer social services and partners with local service agencies to help meet the needs of the program families.  Work to help families become self-sufficient and improve their financial situation.  With the services they promote annual activities and encourages residents to participate in the events the EHA holds.
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UTRGV SOCIAL WORK INTERNS, 2015 The Edinburg Housing Authority has partnered with the UTRGV Department of Social Work for a new internship initiative. Over the past two semesters, 13 students participated in a semester-long internship practicum at the EHA. This also gave them a great opportunity to help their community and to get practical, hands-on experience in their chosen field solving problems in the real world.
Summer Interns
Fabian Grimaldo
Laura Esquivel
Daniella Jazquez
Laura Pequeno
Jennifer Ledesma
Sulema Razo
Stephanie Ramirez
Fall Interns
Amy Martinez
Joanna Martinez
Rosalinda Gonzalez
Maria Lopez
Aracely Medina
Rosaena Trevino
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EDINBURG
RD 33
ANNUAL ALL-AMERICAN 10K RUN/WALK
The staff, residents and YLA members participated in the Edinburg 33rd Annual 10K Run/Walk. The fulfilled marathon was held on February 07, 2015, and was organized by the Parks & Recreation Department, City of Edinburg. The purpose of participating in this event was to motivate staff and resident families to exercise in order to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.
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HEALTHY COOKING ON A SHOE-STRING BUDGET Thanks to Chef Rafael Zuniga, a resident from El Jardin, residents learned to cook healthy, gourmet meals on a shoestring budget. The cooking classes were held weekly at the El Jardin Community Center. Chef Zuniga taught residents about healthy eating habits and how to cook low-calorie and basic meals on a limited budget.
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INSPIRATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION – A TRIP TO UTPA (NOW UTRGV) A large group of young residents toured the University of Texas Pan-American (UTPA) on March 23, 2015. This trip was organized and led by the YLA for middle and elementary school students to gain inspiration for higher education. The young students visited several departments on campus, as well as attended a presentation on the university.
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AMERICA FERRERA The EHA Youth Leadership Association members and staff attended the Distinguished Speaker seminar at UTPA (now UTRGV) on April 13, 2015, featuring Emmy Award-winning actress and activist America Ferrera. The seminar was held at UTPA (now UTRGV) on April 13, 2015.
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Mother’s Day & Father’s Day Celebrations
In order to honor both our mothers and fathers EHA staff and Interns put together celebrations for Mother’s Day (May 10, 2015) and Father’s Day (June 24, 2015) for EHA residents in the Los Albores gymnasium
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EHA SUMMER CAMP 2015 Art and Fine Arts workshops  EHA youth at summer camp were offered an opportunity to hone their creative skills through local professionals, who conducted workshops in painting and performing arts.
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EHA SUMMER CAMP 2015 STEM classes (Computer & Robotics)  Summer camp participants were also offered computer and robotics classes at La Posada and Lantana community centers. This was made possible through a grant issued by LEGO.
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EHA SUMMER CAMP 2015 Closing Art Performance by Summer Camp Youth  On, August 6, 2015, fine arts participants put together a performance for EHA staff and residents for their final camp day. The robotic program participants also got a chance showcase the robots they built through their paces.
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EHA SUMMER CAMP 2015 Summer Youth Field Trip  On August 11, 2015, EHA summer youth participants wrapped up the summer with a field trip on a party bus to Red Lobster. They were awarded certificates of participation.
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BACK-TO-SCHOOL BASH A back-to-school bash was held at Oscar Diaz Gym at Albores Court on August 12, 2015. This event was made possible by the collaborative efforts the Parks & Recreation Department, the City of Edinburg, and 21 local business community partners. Future students received haircuts, school supplies and other perks as they prepared to go back to school.
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EDINBURG TOWERS HEALTH FAIR
In order to reach an oftenneglected demographic, we have made it our commitment to organize and cater to our elderly. One of our first projects was a health fair at the Towers. Page 52
2ND ANNUAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS WALK
Edinburg Housing Authority hosted its second Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk on October 14, 2015. The walk took place at La Posada walking trail, an EHA development. Nearly 100 people came out in support, including residents, staff and agency representatives. other attendees. All wore pink in support. Thirteen agencies participated. The event was covered by Entravision and Fox News.
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HALLOWEEN 2015
This year, EHA celebrated Halloween with events at three different developments – Lantana, Albores and La Posada. Participants enjoyed music, refreshments and a haunted house put together by the social work interns and EHA staff.
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Thank You
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