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DESCRIPTION:Tuesday June 23, is the last chance for the public to go before the 
 Berkeley City Council to convince it to fully fund the Berkeley Housing 
 Authoeirty, and save public housing and Berkeley's Section 8 housing 
 program! \n\nFor more information: Contact Patrick Kehoe \n\nQuestions?   
 Q7287425@yahoo.com   (510) 843-4266\n\nPatrick Kehoe,\nBerkeley resident; 
 Member, BHA Resident Advisory Board; Member, Save Section 
 8\n\n>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>\n\nCity Council Vote to Save the Berkeley Housing 
 Authority \n\n\nThis Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 7 PM Meeting\n\nReminder: 
 Section 8 tenants and other concerned community members need to be present 
 when the Berkeley City Council votes on the 2009-2010 City Budget subsidy 
 needed to maintain the BHA next year.\n\nPublic comment will be allowed at 
 the June 23, 2009 City Council meeting when the final City Budget is voted 
 on.\n\nEach speaker is allowed 2 minutes of public comment. \n\nThe City 
 Council meeting will commence at 7:00 PM, Tuesday, June 23, at 2134 Martin 
 Luther King, Jr. Way (corner Allston Way) in the Council Chambers (2nd 
 floor).\n\nIt is extremely important for low-income tenants to attend 
 meetings.  If we do not appear and show ourselves (even if you do not 
 speak), real estate developers and landlords who oppose “affordable 
 housing” in Berkeley will be the only people present when the City 
 Council votes on low-income housing concerns.\n\nFor background 
 information, see the updated analysis of the BHA subsidy matter 
 below.\n\n**********************************************************************************************\n\nLandlords 
 Opting Out of Section 8 Again…\nBerkeley Housing Authority Not 
 Answering/Returning Calls???…\nIn order to function, the BHA Needs a 
 $700,000 Subsidy from the City of Berkeley.\n\nAnalysis of the subsidy 
 problem follows below.\n\nBerkeley Housing Authority’s Section 8 tenants 
 and other concerned community members must demonstrate their support for a 
 Berkeley City Council vote to subsidize the Berkeley Housing Authority 
 (BHA).\n\nIf the BHA cuts back staff next year, customer service will be so 
 poor that landlords will opt out of the Section 8 program like they did in 
 the past because it was too much trouble.  Section 8 tenants—many of whom 
 are disabled and or aged—will pay 40% ++ of their income for rent because 
 the BHA will not be able to keep the payment standard (the amount the 
 landlord receives for rent) competitive with Berkeley rents.\n\nThe best 
 way to retain the BHA staff is to provide public comment supporting a 
 subsidy.  This should be done at meetings of the City Council. \n\nIt is 
 extremely important for low-income tenants to go to meetings.  If they do 
 not attend and show themselves (even if they do no speak), real estate 
 developers and landlords who oppose “affordable housing” in Berkeley 
 will be the only people present when the City Council votes on low-income 
 housing issues.\n\nPublic comment at the City Council meeting begins 
 promptly at 7:00 PM.  Each speaker is allowed 2 minutes.\n\nTuesday, June 
 23  7:00 PM City Council meeting  at  2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. at 
 Allston Way: Adoption of the City of Berkeley 2009-2010 Budget.\n\n\nThe 
 following provides an analysis of the subsidy matter.\n\n\n“The City 
 Manager’s $300,000 budget recommendation for City Council approval is not 
 sufficient to meet the BHA’s $700,000 need.”  [BHA director Tia Ingram. 
 April 2, 2009 Housing Advisory Commission (HAC) meeting.]\n\nLacking a 
 sufficient City of Berkeley subsidy, the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) 
 will be forced to cut back case managers and clerical support staff who 
 provide direct services, next year.  Any recent improvements in BHA 
 customer service for Section 8 tenants and landlords will be lost.  
 Landlords will opt out of the Section 8 program after expiration of the 
 first-year lease, as they have done in the past, simply because the BHA 
 became too difficult.  Landlords will no longer participate in the program 
 when phone calls are not returned and their rental leases, housing 
 inspection documents, and subsidy checks are not processed in timely 
 fashion.  BHA housing programs bring in 25 million dollars of revenue to 
 the City each year, and assist 1,900 families (in all programs) over 3,000 
 individuals, including disabled, seniors and children.\n\nTenants will 
 suffer\n\nPayment Standards (the maximum rent paid landlords) will not 
 compete with Berkeley rents because there will not be adequate BHA staff to 
 perform the required rent surveys.  The result will be that low-income, 
 elderly and disabled tenants will no longer be able to afford to live in 
 Berkeley, and the vouchers will be dispersed among other communities and 
 unincorporated areas of the county. \n\nSection 8 individuals and families 
 who choose to remain in Berkeley will be paying rents well over 40% of 
 their income.  When disabled tenants’ SSI incomes and other benefits are 
 reduced, they will nevertheless have to pay increased rents for months 
 because income adjustments (interim recertifications) won’t get 
 calculated. \n\nTenants able to find a landlord willing to accept their 
 Section 8 vouchers will lose their apartments because landlords won’t 
 wait months for the BHA to process the paperwork.\n\nThe main reason a 
 subsidy is needed to sustain the BHA at this time is salaries -- union 
 salaries and benefits comparable to those paid by the City of Berkeley, 
 stipulated by the City two years ago when the BHA became a mostly-separate 
 agency.  The City must act responsibly and provide a BHA subsidy in order 
 for it to function effectively.\n\nThe potential for the BHA to become a 
 self-supporting agency exists, if it can emerge from the Department of 
 Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Troubled Status in August of 2009.  
 Its HUD administrative reporting requirements would be substantially less, 
 and it would receive more funding for its programs.\n\nFurthermore: The BHA 
 serves both Section 8 and public housing tenants. The BHA is considering 
 partnering with a non-profit housing developer to take over its 61 public 
 housing units.  Two decades of deferred maintenance needs to be tackled by 
 a non-profit housing developer with the necessary resources to rehabilitate 
 and manage the units.  Rents would remain the same.  The BHA would qualify 
 for a higher subsidy from HUD and generate sufficient administrative 
 revenue from the public housing Section 8 fees to enable it to become a 
 self-supporting agency.\n\nFunding the BHA is consistent with the City of 
 Berkeley’s long standing commitment to “affordable 
 housing.”\n\n\nQuestions?   Q7287425@yahoo.com   (510) 
 843-4266\n\nPatrick Kehoe,\nBerkeley resident; Member, BHA Resident 
 Advisory Board; Member, Save Section 8\n\n\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/06/21/18603330.php
SUMMARY:Be There! Berkeley City Council Vote To Save Housing Authority
LOCATION:Berkeley City Council
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/06/21/18603330.php
DTSTART:20090624T020000Z
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