10/28/2010

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO Minutes of Commission Meeting Thursday, October 28, 2010

440 Turk Street San Francisco, California

A Regular meeting of the Housing Authority Commission of the City and County of San Francisco met at 440 Turk Street, San Francisco, California, on Thursday, October 28, 2010, at 4:00 p.m.

Vice President Gans called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.

There was a technical error during the recording of this meeting.

1.

ROLL CALL PRESENT:

Rev. Amos Brown, President Neola Gans,Vice President Jane Hsu, Commissioner Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt, Commissioner Ahsha Safai, (arrived at 4:15pm) Matthew Schwartz, Commissioner

NOT PRESENT:

Dwayne Jones, Commissioner

A quorum was present.

ALSO PRESENT:

2.

Tim Larsen, General Counsel Mr. Roger Crawford, Special Assistant to the Executive Director

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Before approval of the agenda, Roger Crawford, Special Assistant to the Executive Director, informed the Commission Action Item #B2 will be taken off and taken into consideration on the November 10 Meeting.

Commissioner Schwartz also informed the Commission that he had questions on Consent Item #A1 and would like it moved to the Action Agenda.

Commissioner Schwartz motioned to approve the agenda. Commissioner Hunnicutt seconded the motion. The agenda was approved unanimously.

3.

GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS/ REPORT OF SECRETARY

Commission Meeting Minutes October 28, 2010 Page 2 There was no General Communications/Report of Secretary. Henry Alvarez, Secretary was attending the CLPHA Conference in Washington DC.

4.

COMMITTEE REPORTS There were no Committee Reports.

5.

REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL Mr. Tim Larsen, General Counsel informed the Commission that there would be no closed session

6.

TENANT REPRESENTATIVE REPORT Dorothy Ramey, President of City-Wide Council Senior Disabled (“CCSD”) reported on several issues including finalizing the MOU and credit card update.

No one was present from Public Housing Tenants Association.

7.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS Public Comments were heard by the following: There were no public comments

8.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business.

9.

NEW BUSINESS A. CONSENT AGENDA NOTE: All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Agenda, are considered to be routine by the San Francisco Housing Authority Board and will be acted upon by a single vote of the Authority Board. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Authority Board so request, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item.

B. ACTION ITEMS 1. [Authorization for the Executive Director to Establish The Voucher Payment Standard Schedule for 2010/2011

Commission Meeting Minutes October 28, 2010 Page 3 Nicole McCray –Dickerson, Acting Director of Section 8 presented this Resolution.

The SFHA uses the Payment Standard as the maximum subsidy the SFHA can provide toward the gross rent (rent plus a utility allowance for utilities, stove or refrigerator paid or provided by the tenant). If the gross rent (rent plus utility allowance) is more that the Payment Standard, the family must make up the difference out of its personal finances.

By approving this Resolution, the SFHA will be able to calculate participant rent in accordance with HUD rules and regulations; and satisfy our SEMAP indicator #8, Payment Standard.

Commissioner Schwartz wanted clarification on whether the amount the SFHA recommends for payment standards are set by a different formula then used in prior years. Ms. McCray informed him that this is approx. 98 % of the fair market rate across the board and it is the same formula that was used last year.

Commissioner Schwartz motioned to approve this Resolution. Commissioner Hunnicutt seconded the motion. This Resolution was approved unanimously.

2. [Certification that the SFHA Board of Commissioners has approved the Operating Budget for FY 2010-2011] Herb Lum, Budget Manager, Finance Department presented this Resolution. This resolution will satisfy HUD’s requirement to submit HUD Form 52574 – PHA Board Resolution indicating that the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2011 budget had been approved by the Board of Commissioners.

The programs that the budget covers are the Public Housing Operations, Hope IV, Section 8 Program , Local Programs and the COCC. The proposed budget is balanced.

Commissioner Schwartz questioned the changes to line items regarding collection losses. Mr. Lum informed the commission that these losses reflect the write-off of tenant account receivables for prior years.

Commissioner Schwartz also wanted information on if the SFHA anticipated a decrease in collection losses for future years. Vir Chua, Budget Manager informed the Commission that we expect the same collection loss for 2011 and we received in 2010. Commissioner Schwartz then went on to advise staff and fellow Commissioners to look into ways to improve collection losses in future years.

President Brown asked what matters mitigate or prevent the agency from improving the collection losses. Anthony Ihejeto, Director of Public Housing, informed the Commission that the agency has established new procedures for rent collections including proper reporting of income, entering residents into payment agreements and outreach to outside agencies.

Commission Meeting Minutes October 28, 2010 Page 4 Commissioner Hunnicutt wanted information on what specific mechanisms were put in place to ensure our residents are paying rent. Vice President Gans asked if accurate balances in addition to payment agreement amounts are showed on the rent statements. Mr. Ihejeto informed her that they were.

Commissioner Schwartz suggested that the Collections Write-Off, Item #B4 be moved to another meeting, with the addition of more information. Mr. Chua informed the Commission that Item #B4 can be moved until the November 10 Meeting.

Vice President Gans motioned to approve the agenda. Commissioner Hunnicutt seconded the motion. The budget was approved unanimously.

3. [Two-Year Contract With CSG Advisors to Provide Financial Advisory Services On An As-Needed, Task Assignment Basis, for Selected Developments In an Amount Not-To-Exceed $150,000 Barbara Smith, Administrator of Housing Development and Modernization presented this Resolution. The San Francisco Housing Authority (“SFHA”) is in need of a Financial Advisor for consideration of the redevelopment and/or rehabilitation of a number of its properties. Solicitation No: 10-620-RFP-036 was issued on August 18, 2010. Proposals were received from three firms by the September 14, 2010 due date.

By their scoring and ranking, the Evaluation Panel determined that “CSG Advisors” was the top-rated firm.

The firm is highly regarded nationally and has extensive experience preparing complex financial projections for HUD’s CFFP, ESCO, and HOPE VI programs as well as for LIHTC development projects and similar transactions for affordable housing developments as well as for public agencies and institutions. Their experience reference checks on the firm produced no negative comments and the firm is not on the Federal Excluded Parties List. Selection of a firm under this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) shall in no way commit the SFHA to proceed with the any of the aforementioned transactions.

Commissioner Schwartz questioned why a break-down and/or comparison between the selected firm and the other firms that were ranked were not included. The information was not included in the Resolution. With that, Commissioner Schwartz motioned to defer the Resolution until the commission received more information on this Resolution.

Commissioner Schwartz motioned to defer this Resolution. Commissioner Safai seconded the motion. This Resolution was deferred unanimously.

4. [Write-Off Of Uncollectible Tenant Accounts Receivable in the Amount Of $1,031,954 for the Fiscal Year that concluded on September 30, 2010] Anthony Ihejeto, Director of Public Housing, presented this Resolution. The SFHA Board of Commissioners is requested to authorize the write-off of TAR’s totaling $1,031,954 for the fiscal year period commencing on October 1, 2009 and ending on September 30, 2010 (Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2010).

Commission Meeting Minutes October 28, 2010 Page 5 Pursuant to and in compliance with The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) Handbook 7511.1, Chapter 11, Section 1, every year the San Francisco Housing Authority (“SFHA”) writes off the Tenant Accounts Receivable (“TAR”) from vacated tenants with no collection activity or account balances that are not legally collectible. These TARs are balances owed to the SFHA for non-payment of rent and/or other charges by tenants that no longer reside in their housing unit.

Commissioner Safai requested more information on the TARs specifically, how rents are collected, technology and tools used to improve rent collections, if this issue has been a trend over the last five years. Commissioner Schwartz requested information on the agencies goals and direction in relation to rent collection. Commissioner Hunnicutt requested information on what other agencies are doing to get a handle on rent collection procedures.

This Item was previously tabled.

10.

PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Public Comments were heard by the following: There were no public comments.

11.

COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS AND REPORTS President Brown invited the public to attend an event on November 13, at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

12.

CLOSED SESSION There Was No Closed Sessions

13.

ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Hunnicutt motioned to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Schwartz seconded the motion. President Brown adjourned the Commission Meeting of October 28, 2010, at 5:40 p.m.

Henry A. Alvarez, Secretary/ Executive Director

Rev. Amos Brown, President