Merrell Looking for input on Section 8

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   "On the topic of section 8 housing. I'm writing a column and after gathering as much info as I can from the usual city and county suspects....I'm wondering if anyone out there has something that's not official propaganda that might help. Thanks."

This from another section on MiddletownUSA.  Merrell Wood is writing a column on Section 8 and is looking for input.  I am not sure what he means by "Official Propaganda".

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Pacman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pacman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Merrell Looking for input on Section 8 Posted: Feb 18 2010 at 7:22am
	"On the topic of section 8 housing. I'm writing a column and after gathering as much info as I can from the usual city and county suspects....I'm wondering if anyone out there has something that's not official propaganda that might help. Thanks." This from another section on MiddletownUSA. Merrell Wood is writing a column on Section 8 and is looking for input. I am not sure what he means by "Official Propaganda".

Pacman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pacman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 18 2010 at 7:27pm
	Middletown has 1 voucher for every 29 residents 48500/1662 Population figures from U.S. Census ACS. I could find no city that I looked at with a ration this low. Not even in Dayton which has a population of 143974 and 3504 Section 8 vouchers and a Poverty rate of 30%. This means Dayton has 1 voucher for every 41 residents. When you take into account Public Housing and Section 8 Middletown has 1 for every 13 residents, 48500/3600. It came out at the past Tuesday MPHA meeting that the Section 8 waiting list has 315 people on it and 225 don't even live in Middletown.. Middletown has become a magnet for low income residents because it has so much more than the rest of Butler County. The average income for a Section 8 voucher is $10841.00 almost 80% below the average household income in Middletown $49100.00. This I can understand for the disabled and elderly. But for people that can work minimum wage is $7.30 which even at that a person should be making $15000.00+. Far more is affected by excesive Poverty and Section 8 than is usually covered by the City MPHA meetings, Inspections and crime. You have economic development, Schools, Business viability, Cities image, Crime, do people want to move here. etc. You are basically concentrating poverty into an area that at the current time is not able to provide jobs for almost anyone. Low income residnts become trapped in a city which has no living wage jobs to speak of.

Pacman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pacman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 18 2010 at 7:36pm
	On another note concerning HUD grants. Middletown has become addicted to HUD Funds unfortunately. The city is to receive in 2010 about $685,000.00 in HUD Funds. Of that $150,000.00 is going to basically admin fees and another $10,000.00 to a Legal Fund. This leaves the city $525,000.00 which is about 90 CENTS per resident in Middletown per month. So if every resident paid 90 Cents a month to the city we could do away with HUD Funds and all of the admin fees and strings that go with it. Then maybe the City workers could spend the time they Spend doing HUD paperwork and jumping through HUD hoops working to improve the city instead. Someone tell me where to send my $32.40 for my family for the year and maybe we can get going.

MMF rules! Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Outsider Joined: Nov 04 2009 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote MMF rules! Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 18 2010 at 9:31pm
	Send your money to Moving Middletown Forward One Donham Plaza c/o Bark Park Will Save Us fund

Nelson R. Self Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Citizen Joined: Oct 03 2009 Status: Offline Points: 279	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nelson R. Self Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 19 2010 at 12:00am
	Pacman - Besides the $685,000 in CDBG funds the City receives for PY 2010, there's also $400,000 in HOME funds for the same period. Then, there's over $500,000 in the HUD Housing Rehabilitation Revolving Loan Fund that's also available! The PY 2010 budget calls for another staggering percentage of the CDBG funding to be spent for staff salaries-fringe benefits, out-of town travel, vehicle mileage-maintenance fees, office supplies, telephone, postage-mailing, etc. According to Doug, $130,000+ is for Program Administration, $221,000 is for Housing Code Enforcement program delivery (mostly salaries-fringe benefits), plus $17,000 for Housing Rehabiliation program delivery (mostly salary-fringe benefits). Once again, more than 50% of the CDBG funding from HUD will be spent on staffing and related operational expenses. Should we be satisfied with this strategy? And, I didn't mention HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program - Round One or the Section 8 Administrative Fees that are utilized!

MerrellWood Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Immigrant Joined: May 14 2009 Status: Offline Points: 36	Post Options Post Reply Quote MerrellWood Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 21 2010 at 4:19pm
	Thank you Pacman and Nelson. I will follow up on you information and do my best to write an accurate column about the dilemma of Section 8 housing.....Merrell Wood

Nelson R. Self Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Citizen Joined: Oct 03 2009 Status: Offline Points: 279	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nelson R. Self Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 21 2010 at 6:17pm
	Merrell - I failed to mention in my previous post that at least 10% ($40,000) of the aforementioned HUD Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program grant of $400,000 is also utilized by the City for Program Administration. Good luck to you in the preparation of your Section 8 column.