By Christina Veiga
cveiga@MiamiHerald.com
The Homestead Housing Authority wants to take back control of its largest housing center for low-income farmers after federal officials yanked that control away due to financial mismanagement and violations of federal rules.
If successful, the move would allow Homestead to rent units to farm workers who aren’t permanent U.S. residents, even if they are undocumented. The move also would free the authority from federal standards for upkeep of the rental units, according to authority executive director Oscar Hentschel.
Homestead officials have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release the South Dade center from the federal program that funds it and governs who can live there.
The USDA in November 2011 found that the authority was so poorly run, that it required Homestead to hire an independent management company to run about 600 units of housing. Releasing the South Dade center from USDA guidelines would mean Homestead could manage those units itself.
The majority of the issues cited by USDA predated the tenure of the current housing authority administration.
According to documents sent to the USDA, Homestead plans to keep the units as low-income housing. South Dade is the largest of the authority’s centers, with 270 housing units, Hentschel told board members at a recent meeting.
Hentschel told board members that dropping out of the USDA program will give the authority more discretion in deciding whom it can rent homes to.
“We could keep it for farm workers, but we would be putting the conditions,” Hentschel said. “The farm workers who do not qualify for USDA assistance, for example, we can qualify them over there. If they don’t have papers, they don’t have a problem. If they don’t have work permits, they don’t have a problem.”
In December 2011, authority officials were left with little choice but to crack down on people who were given housing in the centers, even though they didn’t qualify under federal rules. In a scathing report, the USDA had blasted Homestead for renting homes to people who were not in the country legally.
But others fell in a gray area: they had permission to work in the United States, but they still didn’t qualify for the housing because the USDA requires renters to be permanent U.S. residents or citizens. Still others were told they didn’t qualify because their employers, usually small nursery owners, only provided 1099 tax forms, which are usually for self-employed people. The self-employed don’t qualify under USDA rules to live in its housing centers.
Hentschel at the March 29 board meeting suggested the USDA would support releasing the South Dade center because the units there are so old that it’s hard to keep them up to date with the USDA guidelines.
“Even though the camp is habitable and it’s in decent shape, it’s not necessarily up to USDA standards,” Hentschel said. “But we can still have it there and work on it and keep it livable, and make it a little bit better, and we won’t have their constantly reviewing and failing us.”
USDA spokeswoman Ellen Boukari did not respond to an email and phone call for comment.
Another issue with the South Dade camp: 56 homes there lay in the flight paths of the Homestead Air Reserve Base. The area has been identified as having a high potential for crashes.
“The latest on the talks to the military is we are awaiting for their approval to release some land on the other side of the base for us to start developing a new housing community with hopefully USDA funding,” Hentschel told board members.
Through an air base spokesman, Larry Ventura, an air base official who deals with these safety issues, said the Homestead Housing Authority has not been in contact with the base.
Hentschel was not immediately available for comment.
If successful, the move would allow Homestead to rent units to farm workers who aren’t permanent U.S. residents, even if they are undocumented. The move also would free the authority from federal standards for upkeep of the rental units, according to authority executive director Oscar Hentschel.
Homestead officials have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release the South Dade center from the federal program that funds it and governs who can live there.
The USDA in November 2011 found that the authority was so poorly run, that it required Homestead to hire an independent management company to run about 600 units of housing. Releasing the South Dade center from USDA guidelines would mean Homestead could manage those units itself.
The majority of the issues cited by USDA predated the tenure of the current housing authority administration.
According to documents sent to the USDA, Homestead plans to keep the units as low-income housing. South Dade is the largest of the authority’s centers, with 270 housing units, Hentschel told board members at a recent meeting.
Hentschel told board members that dropping out of the USDA program will give the authority more discretion in deciding whom it can rent homes to.
“We could keep it for farm workers, but we would be putting the conditions,” Hentschel said. “The farm workers who do not qualify for USDA assistance, for example, we can qualify them over there. If they don’t have papers, they don’t have a problem. If they don’t have work permits, they don’t have a problem.”
In December 2011, authority officials were left with little choice but to crack down on people who were given housing in the centers, even though they didn’t qualify under federal rules. In a scathing report, the USDA had blasted Homestead for renting homes to people who were not in the country legally.
But others fell in a gray area: they had permission to work in the United States, but they still didn’t qualify for the housing because the USDA requires renters to be permanent U.S. residents or citizens. Still others were told they didn’t qualify because their employers, usually small nursery owners, only provided 1099 tax forms, which are usually for self-employed people. The self-employed don’t qualify under USDA rules to live in its housing centers.
Hentschel at the March 29 board meeting suggested the USDA would support releasing the South Dade center because the units there are so old that it’s hard to keep them up to date with the USDA guidelines.
“Even though the camp is habitable and it’s in decent shape, it’s not necessarily up to USDA standards,” Hentschel said. “But we can still have it there and work on it and keep it livable, and make it a little bit better, and we won’t have their constantly reviewing and failing us.”
USDA spokeswoman Ellen Boukari did not respond to an email and phone call for comment.
Another issue with the South Dade camp: 56 homes there lay in the flight paths of the Homestead Air Reserve Base. The area has been identified as having a high potential for crashes.
“The latest on the talks to the military is we are awaiting for their approval to release some land on the other side of the base for us to start developing a new housing community with hopefully USDA funding,” Hentschel told board members.
Through an air base spokesman, Larry Ventura, an air base official who deals with these safety issues, said the Homestead Housing Authority has not been in contact with the base.
Hentschel was not immediately available for comment.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/11/2845871/homestead-wants-to-take-back-one.html#storylink=cpy
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