Homestead Housing Authority leaders say the troubled agency is on the right track.
By Christina Veiga
cveiga@MiamiHerald.com
This past year has been tough for the Homestead Housing Authority.
But at the agency’s annual meeting Tuesday, housing authority leaders said progress has been made, and more is on the way.
“It has been a rough year. And any of us could have quit. But we knew we were doing the right thing,” said outgoing board chairwoman Audelia Martinez.
Board members chose a new chair, David Berrones, and vice chair, Martha Torres, at the meeting.
The housing authority, which gets about $20 million from the federal government to provide affordable housing to farm workers and low-income renters, has come under fire from its funding sources, a board member, employees and tenants.
Executive Director Oscar Hentschel joined the agency in March 2011. In November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had released a harsh report detailing years of mismanagement at the authority. Hentschel, who had no previous housing authority experience, was left to clean up the mess.
“I want to congratulate you, Oscar, for doing a great job. Everything you’ve been through, I think I would have quit,” Berrones said.
Now, the housing authority has put into place an outside management company — which the USDA required the authority to do because the authority’s programs had been so poorly run.
With the help of the company, Nelson and Associates, the housing authority is moving toward making sure it follows the federal rules that govern its housing programs. Nelson and Associates President Ramona Nelson told board members Tuesday that the company is working on making use of unused rental assistance funds provided by the USDA.
Executive Director Oscar Hentschel said the Housing Authority’s 2012 budget was approved on first try by its funding sources — it wasn’t approved at first in 2011.
As part of the budget, a rent increase of about $100 a month has been incorporated to help pad the authority’s bare budget and provide more money to keep up the properties, according to a notice sent out to tenants. The rent increase kicks in July 1.
Hentschel also reiterated on Tuesday that the USDA has released millions of dollars in loans that had been put on hold as the agency’s finances and programs were probed. The funds are being used to build more housing for farm workers. On Tuesday, he circulated pictures of the construction, which is underway, with concrete slabs already poured.
Hentschel also said the authority was moving to install natural gas lines and tankless heaters to homes, which would take care of safety issues the authority has been cited for, for having tanks of gas outside the homes.
Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.
But at the agency’s annual meeting Tuesday, housing authority leaders said progress has been made, and more is on the way.
“It has been a rough year. And any of us could have quit. But we knew we were doing the right thing,” said outgoing board chairwoman Audelia Martinez.
Board members chose a new chair, David Berrones, and vice chair, Martha Torres, at the meeting.
The housing authority, which gets about $20 million from the federal government to provide affordable housing to farm workers and low-income renters, has come under fire from its funding sources, a board member, employees and tenants.
Executive Director Oscar Hentschel joined the agency in March 2011. In November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had released a harsh report detailing years of mismanagement at the authority. Hentschel, who had no previous housing authority experience, was left to clean up the mess.
“I want to congratulate you, Oscar, for doing a great job. Everything you’ve been through, I think I would have quit,” Berrones said.
Now, the housing authority has put into place an outside management company — which the USDA required the authority to do because the authority’s programs had been so poorly run.
With the help of the company, Nelson and Associates, the housing authority is moving toward making sure it follows the federal rules that govern its housing programs. Nelson and Associates President Ramona Nelson told board members Tuesday that the company is working on making use of unused rental assistance funds provided by the USDA.
Executive Director Oscar Hentschel said the Housing Authority’s 2012 budget was approved on first try by its funding sources — it wasn’t approved at first in 2011.
As part of the budget, a rent increase of about $100 a month has been incorporated to help pad the authority’s bare budget and provide more money to keep up the properties, according to a notice sent out to tenants. The rent increase kicks in July 1.
Hentschel also reiterated on Tuesday that the USDA has released millions of dollars in loans that had been put on hold as the agency’s finances and programs were probed. The funds are being used to build more housing for farm workers. On Tuesday, he circulated pictures of the construction, which is underway, with concrete slabs already poured.
Hentschel also said the authority was moving to install natural gas lines and tankless heaters to homes, which would take care of safety issues the authority has been cited for, for having tanks of gas outside the homes.
Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/28/2874765/homestead-housing-authority-were.html#storylink=cpy
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