EDW IN M. LEE, MAYOR REV. AMOS C BROW N, CHAIRMAN
SAN FRANCISCO HOUSING AUTHORITY
MINUTES SAN FRANCISCO HOUSING AUTHORITY HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER RESIDENT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING March 20, 2012 SCHEDULED: 12:30 p.m. at 1290 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115 Resident Advisory Board Present:
Stanley Abramson Marla Allen Thomas Battipaglia Socrates Demetrius Gerri Hayes Rosa Martinez Carl Noe Gary Schlotterbeck Alex Si Mary Smith Cheryl Taylor Lyudmila Trikuzova Judith Viar Linda Warren Linda Martin-Mason, Ombudsman, the San Francisco Housing Authority, welcomed everyone. Mrs. Martin-Mason explained the purpose of the meeting and stated that all questions should be asked and the answers prepared for the following meeting. Yoshiko Kennedy, Program Manager of the Eligibility Department at the San Francisco Housing Authority, provided an overview about the SFHA’s current waitlist and the eligibility process. Mrs. Kennedy provided an overview of how an individual would obtain a project based voucher as well as a traditional tenant based voucher. Cheryl Taylor, RAB, asked how a person can move when they have a project base voucher. Mrs. Kennedy answered that a person can move but will no longer be subsidized because the voucher is tied to the unit. Thomas Battipaglia, RAB, asked how can you find out your number on the waiting list.
1815 EGBERT AVENUE, 3RD FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94124 TELEPHONE: (415) 715-3951 TTY: 415.467.6754 WWW .SFHA.ORG
Mrs. Kennedy replied that there is a waiting list status line number that you can dial and provided the phone number. Gerri Hayes, RAB, asked if in order to port the SFHA needs to sign an agreement with the county or state that the resident is porting to. Mrs. Kennedy answered that as a Housing Choice Voucher holder, you have the right to port and all the resident needs to do is contact their eligibility worker and voice that they want to port out. Mrs. Kennedy also stated that there is no denying a person who wants to port. Mr. Battipaglia, RAB, asked why HOPWA can’t port out of the City and County of San Francisco. Marla Allen, RAB, asked what happened to HOPWA. Carl Noe, 2012 Housing Choice Voucher RAB participant, asked how grants become available for SFHA. Mrs. Martin-Mason answered that once the SFHA comes out of the trouble status list, the SFHA will be eligible to compete for more grants. Mr. Noe, RAB, asked how the SFHA can get out of the trouble status. Mrs. Martin-Mason replied that there are lists of things that the SFHA needs to do and they are in the process of correcting any HUD findings. Mrs. Martin-Mason initiated discussion on Chapter 1 Mr. Battipaglia, RAB, asked what actions the SFHA takes if the owners do not fulfill their responsibility. Ms. Taylor, RAB, asked why there are restrictions. Ms. Taylor referred to page 13, 4th paragraph from the bottom of the page in the Administrative Plan. Ms. Hayes, RAB, asked why there are limitations to how much rent you can pay. Ms. Hayes referred to page 4 in the Administrative Plan. Stanley Abramson, RAB, asked who you turn to, if you have a crooked landlord. Mr. Battipaglia, RAB, asked what “CFR” and “ACC” stand for. Mrs. Martin-Mason clarified that CFR stands for Code of Federal Regulations. Mrs. Kennedy interjected that ACC stands for Annual Contribution Contract Mr. Battipaglia, RAB, mentioned that on page 17, he does not see anything that states the SFHA will not discriminate on the basis of gender identity. 2
Ms. Hayes, RAB, asked if on page 30 when referring to elderly/disabled, does that means an elderly disabled person or elderly and disabled. Ms. Hayes, RAB, asked if a client has several deductions, do clients get all deductions they are eligible for or just one. Ms. Hayes referred to page 35. Mrs. Kennedy answered that your deductions come off at your annual recertification and you get whatever applies to you. Mr. Abramson, RAB, asked how you find out who your worker is. Mr. Abramson, RAB, asked if anyone can go back to school to get the tax credit. Ms. Taylor, RAB, asked how the SFHA determines a near elderly person. Ms. Taylor asked when you have kids, how is being “nearly elderly” affected. Gary Schlotterbeck, RAB, referred to page 83 and asked if once you are given a 30 day notice and then a 15 day notice, does that mean 45 days in total. Mr. Schlotterbeck, RAB, asked if a family is in a SRO and are called out of town, how can they keep track of what is going on with their housing. Mr. Schlotterbeck also asked whether there were advocate groups that could speak on a client’s behalf. Mr. Abramson, RAB, asked if a person does not accept a Project Base Voucher, what happens. Ms. Hayes, RAB, asked if the SFHA notifies applicants when they are going to purge the waiting list. Rosa Martinez, RAB, asked what happens if you never get the letter and what can an applicant do. Ms. Hayes and Mr. Battipaglia both suggested that SFHA should put in there policy that applicants should check their status every 6 months. Ms. Hayes asked how far HUD lets SFHA modify the Federal law. Mr. Battipaglia asked how SFHA determines utility allowances. Ms. Smith asked how much the utility allowance is. Ms. Smith asked how much can a person get deducted for prescription drugs and how is it deducted.
3
Preferences Suggested: Person age 71 and Up People disabled with children Single parents and children Severe Allergy documented Disabled veterans Anyone with severe health problems and are at risk of becoming homeless and homeless might cause death. Homeless Meeting Adjourned.
4