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HomeMy WebLinkAbout21.10.21 - Minutes, Housing Authority• A -C ; r: Housing Authority of Washington County, MD 319 East Antietam Street, 2nd Floor Hagerstown, MD 21740 P 301.791.3168 F 301.791.2755 www.hawcmd.org Members Present Nicholas V. Hill, Sr. Ayodeji Badaki (via ZOOM) Ronnie Brezler Bill Beard Amanda Gregg David Pool Tasha Walls (via ZOOM) Comm. Charlie Burkett Board Meeting Minutes October 21, 2021 Chairman — Nicholas V. Hill, Sr. Members Absent Staff Present Corinne Guglielmini Keith McMunn Marlene N Benson 1. The Regular meeting was called to order by Chair Nicholas V. Hill, Sr. at 12:07 pm. 2. There were no public comments noted. 3. There was one change to the October 21, 2021, agenda; add Item 13 Executive Director discussion. 4. A motion to approve the September 16, 2021, minutes with one change; correcting that Mr. Badaki attended via ZOOM. Motion was made by Mr. Beard, and it was seconded by Mr. Pool. Motion passed. 5. Resolution 2021-08 — Closing the Housing Choice Voucher Waitlist. Motion to approve Resolution 2021-08 was made by Mr. Pool and it was seconded by Mr. Beard. Motion passed. 6. Resolution 2021-09 — Changes to the By -Laws for HAWC. Motion to approve Resolution 2021-09 was made by Mr. Pool and it was seconded by Mr. Brezler. Motion passed. 7. Resolution 2021-10 — Utility allowances. A motion to approve Resolution 2021-10 with one change to correct a spelling error. Motion was made by Mr. Pool, and it was seconded by Mr. Beard. Motion passed. 8. Resolution 2021-11— Short -Term Disability — Revised. Motion to approve Resolution 2021-11 was made by Mr. Beard and it was seconded by Mr. Pool. Motion passed. 9. Resolution 2021-12 — Payment Standards. Motion to approve Resolution 2021-12 was made by Mr. Beard and it was seconded by Mr. Pool. Motion passed. R:Administrative/Board Meeting Minutes/2021 10. Washington County Housing Solutions (WCHS) —The Blue Mountain Estates MEE-HA Grant is nearly complete. The hot water heater installation for all 28 units will be complete in the next few weeks. After completion HAWC can expect to receive a 10% retainage plus administrative fees. This grant is to help reduce the energy utility costs for the low-income tenants and for our operating costs. 11. Financial Report — • For the month of September 30, 2021, net revenue for the month and year to date was over budget driven by HUD revenue being more than the HCV payments. This variance will be mitigated via HUD reduction in future month's revenue once VMS is reconciled to the HUD disbursements. Last year this adjustment occurred in March, and we anticipate the same for this year. We also anticipate a partial offset to this reduction over the next year as the HUD payment standards increased. Monthly expenditures were near budgeted levels. The year-to-date bottom line is favorable to budget through the first quarter. • After three months on Yardi, there is confidence with the new system from a financial perspective in reports and information in preparation of audit responses and submissions with no issues to date. • The money market account funds will be used to pursue additional development • Francis Murphy's revenue for the month is again at budgeted levels. Year to date revenue is over budget through three quarters of the operation this year. Total costs are right at budget levels with total year to date expenditures under budgeted. Maintenance subcontracting costs account for much of this favorable variance. August loss is at budgeted levels with year-to-date expenditures under budget. It is anticipated this trend will continue through year end and net an excess cash payment needed on the DHCD debt in March of next year. • A motion was made by Mr. Beard to accept the financial report with a second by Mr. Pool. Motion passed. 12. Executive Director's Report — • Grants Management — HAWC has applied for the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) in the amount of $72,000, as our agency does annually. FSS can change lives. A participant on the program must be on the Housing Choice Voucher program to be eligible. As the participant's rent increases an amount like the additional rent that they pay is put into an escrow account. Upon graduation within 5-7 years, they get the funds from the escrow account. • HAWC received a Washington County grant to support the FSS program in the amount of $5,000. • The Finance department and the Executive Director are finalizing the Francis Murphy (FM) budget for 2022. The management fee will be increased by 10% and consideration is being made due to hyperinflation. There are estimates for remediation for the newly reopened sink hole at FM in the budget. • The Director of Housing for HAWC is retiring at the end of the year. This position will be adjusted and eliminated. The new position will be for a Property Manager and the Executive Director (ED) will manage the Housing Choice Voucher program. HAWC has hired a new Maintenance Manager and a Maintenance Tech. HAWC's Accounting Clerk accepted a promotion to the Office Manager position. The agency will be hiring a Staff Accountant to replace the Accounting Clerk position in the near future. • There is an easement issue on a HAWC scattered site single family property in Maugansville. The neighbor's driveway is approximately 14 feet onto HAWC property. This issue was discovered by HAWC in 1992 and the agency notified the homeowner. HAWC did not believe that entering an easement to resolve the encroachment onto HAWC's property was good for all parties. The title company was insistent that HAWC "just sign the easement". The adjacent property is for sale. HAWC notified the homeowner who is selling the property that they would need to move the driveway so that it is on their property. HAWC is not requiring the neighbor to remove the existing asphalt. • Current court case — One of our participants accused two of our staff members of burglary and destruction of property and breaking and entering. The case was dropped by the state's attorney due to no probable cause and because it appeared to be a landlord tenant issue. This was an unsuccessful effort on the part of the former tenant to claim that the damages to the unit were not done by the family. HAWC has filed a lawsuit against the former participant and is seeking to regain the legal fees incurred because of her filing a dishonest lawsuit. • At School House Manor in Boonsboro, Comcast was doing construction work on HAWC's property without prior approval. They were asked to leave. Since then, the ED and maintenance manager met with Comcast and agreed to allow them back onsite to finish their underground work if they properly follow safety procedures and return the site to the condition that they found it. • Since most of HAWC's properties are age restricted and typically 55 and older (some are 62 and older), tenants can't add their children (usually adult children) to their lease. This creates scenarios wherefore the offspring are staying on the property for some length of time in violation of the lease and the voucher regulations. HAWC will issue a property ban notices for the offspring of seniors as a tool, so they didn't have to tell their children not to stay on our property. This allows the tenant to tell their family members that it isn't their fault and that the landlord won't allow it. • Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, around April 2020, HUD advised agencies such as HAWC, there was no need to do verifications for terminations or income reductions of voucher holders. HAWC staff now are required to perform those verifications and as a result staff are finding a lot of fraud from participants. There are two large fraud cases now more than $18,000 in repayment agreements. There are many fraud cases in the amount of $1,500 to $5,000. These cases involve the ED doing forensic accounting and research as well as a lot of time from staff. Making false statements to our agency is considered a felony and carries a $10,000 and jail time if convicted in court. Most participants that commit fraud the first time and are caught by HAWC resolve the issue by entering into a repayment agreement. The terms of which are: there must be a 20% down payment, the full amount must be paid back within 36 months, the payments must be made via automatic withdrawal, there is no interest accrued, and failure to make one payment can result in HAWC "calling" the full amount of the loan and program termination. • A motion was made by Mr. Pool to adjourn the Board meeting with a second by Mr. Beard. Motion passed. 13. The reg;:lar =I—Ung aujv.r lied at caiNr'' oximately 1:13 pili. 14. Next meeting on Thursday, November 18, 2021, at 12:00 pm.