I would be more concerned if any of these suggestions I have read, with nothing coming to fruition, that something amiss came out of the section 8 audits. If Adkins needs a job, council will make him city manager just so he has a job for doing their bidding on reducing section 8.
HUD vs MPHA is still an on going legal case therefore I can not obtained any records under the Freedom of Information Act until this case is completed.
MPHA has 1662 Section 8 Vouchers…period…Adkins has not reduced anything…he simply did not allow another tenant to move in when a unit became available.

When HUD moves all 1662 voucher to Warren and Butler counties they will once again open the voucher program and fill all 1662 vouchers…NOTHING HAS BEEN REDUCED…NOTHING HAS CHANGED…the only thing that will change is where the HUD checks will be sent the first of the month and that will be to Warren and Butler counties. The only other thing that has changed is the balance of the checkbook at City Hall where they had to pay out for all these attorney fees  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Although the damage to Middletown's reputation has already occurred, and the city is tarnished, even if they had 0 vouchers.

I suspect there are a lot of secrets council doesn't want out, hence, disqualifying Ms. Howington. The other two outsiders just are not adequately experienced. Finally, on Ms. Howington, she also was given an offer within the past month, she rejected. I disagree with your assertion she was not qualified. On the contrary, she is the only one whom is.

If Adkins gets it, it will because of what is stated above. 

An awful lot of talk about Adkins and the HUD review, but the fact he is in the final selection seem to demonstrate the city has a different recollection of events than what is stated about it being moved, and the final outcome.  I am starting to feel this is a Shakespeare play called "Much Ado About Nothing", as there is nothing to show section
8 has been moved, nor that Doug Adkins was negatively impacted by the audit.
HUD will not make a statement, if they even do it then, about what has occurred here in Middletown until this legal case is resolved. HUD does not want to have their name in the paper associated with all this negative press coverage that they have received from Middletown.
However we do know that the contract with Chase Construction, who conducted the inspection of the Section 8 units, has not had their contract renewed.
I would presume the final date of this massive transfer would be on or before June 30, 2014              

Over the Hill
I don't think when all those DISCRIMANATION LAW SUITS hit City Hall that Mr Adkins can use the defense of “the devil made me do it or Miss Judy demand that I do it”.

Yes  sir, City Hall said they only get about $150,000 for the Section 8 Program…
I can’t wait for you to see the tap dance they are going to do to cover up this big lie.
Keep your eye on the bouncing red ball folks….

Perplexed
You are sooo correct….Warren County will receive all Section 8 Vouchers that are located East of Dixie Hwy. That area would include the large Robin Spring complex.
Warren County is NOT HAPPY to say the least…

Unlike Middletown they do NOT want to be the Section 8 capital of Ohio

Wait, wait…do you hear that strange noise…That big sucking sound is all those HUD Funds leaving the City of Middletown coffer’s.
Yes. sir now you will see who has really benefited from all that HUD poor peoples money.

FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING IN "SLUMVILLE USA" AND GETTING WELFARE CHECKS EVERY SEVERAL MONTHS FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERMENTS TO KEEP THIS CITY OPERATING.   

JUST THINK.... IN 15 SHORT YEARS THESE IDIOTS HAVE COMPLETLY DESTROYED OUR HOME TOWN
THEY HAVE DONE SUCH A FINE JOB....HELL YES GIVE THEM MORE MONEY AND ANOTHER RAISE!

I am sorry....but I am totally confused.
Well Acclaro I will try to untangle this web for you one point at a time...

It was stated there is pending investigation and  an open audit by HUD which prevents any information from being available from the HUD audit, and yet there are statements made about an outcome, non published to date, about 1662 vouchers which will remain and transfer to the current program out of Middletown to two county programs. How was that decision determined? HUD or the city?
WORD ON THE STREET: HUD said turn over the program or we will take legal action against all those involved City Council, Miss Judy and Doug Adkins. I have heard that Adkins has filed an appeal with HUD.

Secondly, I have read Marty Kohler and Dr. Price worked in tandem to raise HUD Section 8 vouchers; the same vouchers Nancy Nix, Noah Powers, Tony Marconi, others, denies, or all sitting council a few years ago  but Marty Kohler still works for the city and the levy nearly passed, when many claim it was the vouchers that undermined MCSD performance.
The increase of HUD Section 8 Vouchers started with Neil (see MJ article under vouchers). and then Marty took over the program and approved all other increases in the voucher program to their current level of 1662. City Hall increased the program by about 900 vouchers…then multiply that number by 2 to 3 children per household and you now have the increase and need for all the new schools that were built with the last levy. For all these PHD’s, Collage Educated people to say that they did not realize what would happen to the school system…Is a flat out lie…A high school drop out could have predicted this out come…mercy
Why was Marty Kohler not fired?
…and as my granny would say..”Now that’s the $64,000 question”

Thirdly, I have not heard anyone on council state the voucher transfer was coming forth.
”This is a legal action and we are not allowed to talk about it” They are all up to their eye balls in this mess because COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE THE MPHA

Fourthly, if all is true, you would agree Doug Adkins will not be offered a position in either of the two counties in all probability, some they have county administration, so the  very fact Doug Adkins is a finalist for city manager shows that council doesn't think he did something wrong, or they are not aware these vouchers are being transferred for administration? And, as importantly, if they know, they think he needs a job.....isn't it true they will likely give him a job as city manager?
If city council admits that Dougie has done anything wrong…then they have to admit that they have done something wrong also because COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE THE MPHA

     

Perplexed
Thanks for reminding me about these projects.
Yes they were really good buds back in those days.
Perplexed please correct me if I give any incorrect information on any of these HUD programs.
My three little grey cells are about to OD on all this mess.

 “The city suffers from an overabundance of rental property, beyond what the existing market can support and a corresponding lack of home ownership in distressed neighborhoods,” Adkins said. “During the past 10 years, the city implemented a policy of increasing the number of Section 8 vouchers to assist low-income residents.”

    Before Dec. 1, 1999, the city had 774 Section 8 vouchers. But because the city wanted to reduce the vacancy rates of older and less-desirable homes, and to ensure that housing remained in compliance with city code,Middletown officials began to accept additional vouchers, Adkins said.

    The city added 888 over the next six years, with 56.9 percent of the vouchers having been added in 2000 and 2001. The last increase came on Oct. 1, 2005 when they accepted 108 vouchers.

• Departments:Department of the City Manager
• Title:City Manager
• Phone:(401) 845-5430
• Email:jhowington@cityofnewport.com

Ooops…Acclaro
I forgot another important point..
Nelson and Associates contract for the Section 8 Program expired in March 2014 and it has not been renewed.
It is now only a matter of them separating and transferring all the data to Warren and Butler counties.

Middletown Journal
Posted: 6:24 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013

Council weighs options for response to HUD

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/michael-d-pitman/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer

    MIDDLETOWN — The city is not at risk of losing federal funding or being sued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development if it proceeds with a plan to eliminate 1,008 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers over the next five years — at least not right now, said Community Revitalization Director Doug Adkins.

    “You’re at no risk right this minute,” Adkins told Middletown City Council at the board’s Tuesday meeting. “Zero.”

    Adkins presented council members with five options for responding to a Dec. 21 letter the city received from HUD about its plan to cut Section 8 vouchers. In the letter, HUD officials told city officials that they needed to either fill Middletown’s available vouchers, transfer the city’s voucher program to the Butler Metropolitan Housing Agency or face possible legal action.

    Adkins told council he disagreed with characterizations of HUD’s letter as being “strongly worded.” He said he thought the letter was “diplomatically written” given each side’s differing point of view on the matter.

    “No fair housing or civil rights threats were made, no regulatory violations were cited,” said Adkins, a former attorney with the U.S. Labor Department. “We have been politely asked if we would like to walk away and give our program to Butler Metro… As an attorney, I’m looking for, where’s the hammer?”

    Adkins said there is nothing in HUD’s regulations that says Middletown can’t cut vouchers. He said he’s “100 percent comfortable moving forward” with the city’s plan because HUD needs to cite the city before they can say any federal funding would be in jeopardy.

    Still, Adkins said city staff would research and make a detailed presentation to council in two weeks about five ways they could respond to HUD’s letter. The options include:

·                       Transferring the program to BMHA as requested. Adkins said while it gets the city out of the public housing business and attention can be redirected to other issues, the city would “lose all the controls and safeguards that we have built into the program over the last three years and the vouchers will continue to stay concentrated in Middletown.”

·                       Negotiating a transfer the program with conditions. BMHA would take over the program with the city’s standards, which includes honoring the city’s barred landlord list and adopting rent usefulness and payment standards to de-concentrate high poverty census tracts.

·                       Transferring just the 1,008 vouchers to BMHA and continuing MPHA operations with the proposed 654 vouchers.

·                       Keeping vouchers and negotiating to reduce other subsidized housing units, though Adkins said this option is the least likely HUD would consider.

·                       To “politely decline” and move forward with what the city has proposed.

    The city must respond to HUD’s letter by Jan. 31, however, Adkins told council he has asked for an extension until March so that the city could thoroughly review its options.

The proposal city leaders sent to HUD, which was approved by the Middletown Public Housing Agency on Oct. 16, reduces the city’s total subsidize housing to 10 percent of the city’s total housing stock. It also places the city in compliance for HUD regulations to have 95 percent of its vouchers filled. With more than 1,600 vouchers issued, the city only had about 82 percent of them filled.

    Staff proposed and the MPHA board, which consists of all seven members of city council, approved the plan to reduce the vouchers to 654 and transfer the remaining 1,008 vouchers to another housing authority or back to HUD.

    Jeff Faulkner, of Wilbraham Road and a Section 8 landlord, said he felt HUD’s letter was clear: comply by filling the available vouchers or risk losing the program and local control. Faulkner said he’s “fed up” with the process and the way the city is “beating up” Section 8 landlords with its strenuous property inspections.

    Faulkner has sued the city in small claims court on Dec. 28 for boarding up his rental property at 2108 Winona Drive four years ago, and alleges it cost him potential income and thousands of dollars in repairs. He is seeking $3,000 plus interest from the city.

“This program now is getting a bad reputation of not being landlord friendly,” Faulkner said. “It’s all about the landlords. We’re the vendors, we’re the ones that own the homes, we make them available for people who need them.”

    Councilman Joshua Laubach assured Faulkner that council wasn’t “unfairly going after or targeting landlords or Section 8 owners.” Laubach said the city’s plan is about maintaining local control of how Middletown looks demographically and not being governed by outside federal dollars.

    But other council members expressed concerns about challenging HUD.

    “My concern is the same as the vice mayor’s, that we run the risk of losing a lot of what we built over the last three years that I’ve been here,” Councilman A. J. Smith said.

If HUD comes back and says the city did violate some regulation, Adkins said City     Council will have time to regroup and reassess its position because “they have to cite us with something, they have to find that we have broken something.” Then they have to allow the city to have an action plan to regain compliance.

Acclaro
I have sent the following email to Doug Adkins and Kyle Fuchs just a few minutes ago. I will scan and post the information as soon as I receive it from City Hall. vcm

I watched Marty Kohler tell city council how rapid and how escalated the HUD section 8 vouchers were. I know as fact, he was asked, who approved the elevation. It is fact, he stated to them, "they did." It is a fact they denied ever knowing of the increase.
Yes sir them boys down at City Hall are sure they have been doing a fine job..if only they could remember what they have been doing

It is a fact, when new council was put in place, they wanted the vouchers reduced, to undo, what Mr. Kohler had done. That led to the battle with HUD and what has appeared to be an audit that has been quiet and not been mentioned by council, in nearly nine months.
Them boys know all the best hiding places at City Hall for all their dirty laundry

It is a fact Mr. Kohler was not reprimanded, and remains employed. Many ask a simple question. What does it take to be terminated by the city of Middletown?
In his report to HUD, Mr. Adkins stated that the Section 8 Program had DEVISTATED the City of Middletown. I attended a Meet your Council Person meeting at the home of Anita Scott Jones and Josh Laubach was also present. I believe Mike Presta was at this meeting also.
I stated that if one of my employees had DEVISTATED my business I would have fire him in a heart beat…I then asked …Why is Marty Kohler still on the city payroll? I thought the grass was going to catch on fire since they all jumped out of their chairs so fast…NO NO NO…because every body at City Hall knows that Crazy Vivian could never be correct.

Council denied knowing there was an increase, new council attempts to cut the unwanted vouchers back to a previous level. Call me wrong....but I surmise 9 out 10 residents would say something is wrong with this picture purely on these simple facts.
….and after all Acclaro that happened in the past and council members does not want to speak of the past. It is you sir that simply does not understand the situation..

Last question. Who handles the HUD appeal? HUD, or DOJ?
Hmmm…I’m not sure but I would presume the city appeal would go before HUD in Washington, D.C.  You might want to call Mr. Adkins to answer this question. 

The elevation in HUD section 8, for purposes no one on council can explain, nor Mr. Kohler, has done great harm to crime, property values, MCSD performance, and the city's reputation. And no one has been terminated. Has there been a conductor on this train in two generations....it appears not.
No…or an engineer either.
 

Middletown Journal
Posted: 12:00 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013

HUD to Middletown: Fill the vouchers, transfer the program or face legal action
By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/michael-d-pitman/" rel="nofollow -
Staff Writer

Posted: 12:00 a.m. Sunday, March 24, 2013

Housing expert says city is ‘playing with fire’

Section 8’s watershed moment with HUD will play a part in determining the city’s future

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/michael-d-pitman/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer

    MIDDLETOWN — Cutting 60 percent of Middletown’s existing Section 8 housing vouchers would be reckless and could cost the city millions of dollars in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, low-income and housing experts say.

    City officials plan to eliminate 1,008 Section 8 vouchers through attrition in the next five years. They say Middletown is over-saturated with subsidized housing that is taxing city services, generating crime and negatively impacting the city’s image. Middletown has the highest rate of subsidized housing in the state at 9.7 percent.

    The Middletown Public Housing Authority presented the plan to HUD back in October, but it has encountered some resistance from the federal housing agency. HUD has told Middletown officials to fill 95 percent of its available vouchers, or transfer its voucher program to Butler County Metropolitan Housing Authority, or face possible legal action.

    But city officials recently sent HUD a letter refusing to back down from their position.

    HUD spokeswoman Donna White confirmed the agency is reviewing the city’s letter, but would not indicate when or how it might respond.

    Elizabeth Brown, executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal, a Cincinnati-based housing rights organization, said Middletown officials are “playing with fire if they continue to thumb their noses at HUD.”

    Brown said for years Middletown has been “held up as a model for running the Section 8 program,” but now the city is “tumbling off the pedestal.”

    “They were serving their residents. They had a need in the community, and they had been meeting the need,” Brown said. “That’s not a negative thing to say they’re successful (serving low-income families).”

    Brown said HUD has the ability to cut off all of its Community Development Block Grant funds if the agency believes Middletown is not being fair with its voucher program. Middletown is slated to receive $1.4 million in CDBG funds this year, according to city records.

    She said she has talked with HUD after hearing about the city’s plans and that the agency is “extremely upset with Middletown.”

    “To me the simplest thing is, if the city does not want to be in the business, they should simply turn the program over to the BMHA, and let them run it for the entire county,” Brown said. “It would be a fair process throughout the county, and it gets the city out of the middle of it.”

    Phyllis Hitte, director of BMHA, said she would have no comment on Middletown’s vouchers until something happens with them involving her agency. Hitte said last week that BMHA would assume Middletown’s vouchers if HUD said so because there is a need for the vouchers.

    BMHA currently administers 1,111 Section 8 vouchers and about 300 portable vouchers, which are vouchers assigned to other public housing agencies. Hitte said BMHA has a 4,000-family waiting list based on applications filled out nearly three years ago.

    But Middletown officials don’t want to give up control of the Section 8 program. They say they just want to run it at a reduced level.

    Doug Adkins, the city’s community revitalization director, said because there is a significant poverty rate in Middletown, having no subsidized housing wouldn’t be beneficial.

    “Our poverty rate is over 20 percent, and we have a portion of our population that, due to age or personal circumstances, cannot fully provide for themselves,” Adkins said. “Two examples would be low, fixed-income seniors and disabled residents.”

    Ignoring the needs of those residents when federal funds and programs are available “would lower those residents quality of life and place additional burdens on city resources to fill those unmet needs.”

    “The harder part is finding the balance between helping the disadvantaged without hurting the remaining residents through loss of the income and property tax base and the ability to provide core city services,” Adkins said.’’

     Middletown had less than 800 Section 8 housing vouchers in December 1999, but that figure more than doubled by October 2005. City officials placed a moratorium on accepting additional subsidized housing vouchers in 2005 in an effort to stop single-family homes from being transformed into multi-family residences.

    A 2005 staff report on the moratorium stated: “A major concern expressed in the master plan is the trend towards higher renter occupancy in formerly owner-occupied neighborhoods. This trend has been coupled with disinvestment in the same neighborhoods.”

    Butler County Treasurer Nancy Nix, who served on Middletown City Council when the moratorium was introduced, said it’s “anybody’s guess” what will happen if Middletown is allowed to reduce the total number of vouchers to 654.

    “I hope that (HUD) would understand that we are out of balance and let us reduce it to a reasonable amount,” Nix said. “There is no reason that Middletown should be the Section 8 capital of the state. It’s a continued strain on our services, and it hinders our progress to be a more vibrant community.”

    But critics of the city’s plan say eliminating the vouchers could create more problems than it solves. Cutting the vouchers would pull an estimated $6 million out of the local economy in funds paid to the city’s 400 Section 8 landlords. It could potentially create more than 1,000 new residential vacancies and displace more than 1,000 low-income families.

    “The program participants, for the most part, are people who have lived in the city for generations and generations,” Brown said. “And why should people who have lived in Middletown for generations be kicked out of the city, or fell like that’s what’s happening?”

    Miami University Oxford professor Dennis Sullivan, whose expertise is in poverty, public and urban economics, said he has not heard of any public housing agency attempting to reduce vouchers. Typically, you hear of communities needing more, he said.

    Sullivan said Middletown’s attempt to cut 60 percent of its vouchers, or roughly 200 a year for the next five years, is a lot in a relatively short period of time. He questioned where program participants would go if the voucher assistance is cut, but also said he disagreed with concentrating Section 8 vouchers in one area of the county.

    “I think it’s a very telling thing that so much of Butler County’s Section 8 housing is sitting in the northeast corner in Middletown,” he said.

    John Spring, director for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, said the city’s proposed cuts would greatly affect those who need help the most.

    “Generally, cities are suffering, having hard times economically,” Spring said. “Often times, the people that get blamed are the people at the brunt of the issues, the ones in poverty. (Governments) say if those people just weren’t here, then we’d prosper.

    “The people who use Section 8 are likely people who’ve lived there for generations,” he continued. “It’s a question of whether Middletown will take care of its own people. The other question is: What happens when we get rid of affordable housing? It creates homelessness, and not homelessness of people coming into the city, but their own people.”

    Section 8 allows people to move out of blighted areas and gives them a hand up and a chance to become productive citizens, Sullivan said.

    “People are concerned that Section 8 will be a vector that carries blight like a disease,” Sullivan said. “That doesn’t mean that’s the case.”

    Brown said Middletown needs to concentrate on economic development, bringing in new businesses with new jobs, and the city’s 23 percent poverty rate will drop.

    “That’s where their time and energy should be,” she said.

    This is the third of a three-part series looking at the past, present and future of Section 8 in Middletown.

Continuing the coversation

How this program moves beyond this conflict with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding the future of the city’s Section 8 program will play a role in how the city is shaped in the future. The Journal will continue its in-depth coverage on this program.

Join the conversation

Visit us online at Facebook.com/MiddletownJournal and join our conversation about Section 8 housing in Middletown.

Subsidized housing

Middletown has highest percentage of subdizied units in the state. Here’s a list of neighboring public houisng agencies (number of Section 8 vouchers in parentheses):

·                       9.7 percent: Middletown (1,662 vouchers)

·                       5.1 percent: Cincinnati (11,266 vouchers)

·                       1.7 percent: Butler County (1,111 vouchers)

·                       1.5 percent: Clermont County (906 vouchers)

·                       0.8 percent: Warren County (448 vouchers)

·                       0.3 percent: Preble County (52 vouchers)

Here’s a list of the top five public houisng agencies in the state (number of Section 8 vouchers in parentheses):

·                       9.7 percent: Middletown (1,662 vouchers)

·                       8.5 percent: Chillicothe (515 vouchers)

·                       5.7 percent: Cambridge (743)

·                       5.2 percent: Akron (9,760 vouchers*)

·                       5.2 percent: Jefferson (818 vouchers)

·                       State average: 2.6 percent

*Includes cities of Barberton, Akron, Cuyahoga Falls and Summit County

Source: City of Middletown, October 2012 report

You couldn't be more wrong.  Based on the Bank One deal, I don't believe Adkins should be named city manager.  Nor do I think Landen should be either.  That doesn't mean others outside the city don't think he has the qualifications to be city manager.  
SWOH75
Well where was all your outrage several months ago when Mr. Adkins did the very same deal, the same way with the Masonic Temple that was donated to Art Central? A building owned by City Hall with a value of over $5,000, that was not appraised, nor was it put up for public bid…AS REQUIRED BY LAW. Maybe you need to do your research.

All that Vivian and Nelson (in all of his incarnations here) seem to do is post hearsay/gossips/rumors.  Until I see proof of wrong-doing in print, I'll reserve judgement on the HUD matter.  
HUD has stated that MPHA had missing records and was not in compliance….that means wrong doing has occurred. If you are looking for a transcript of the meetings those are private and we may never know what really happened…only the final outcome of the case. 
If you think I’m sooo wrong…jump on it SW…prove my research wrong…with your own hard facts.
 
I am fully in agreement that Howington is the best candidate of the five, from what I can tell based on what has publicly been made available.   Still, I think a more non-traditional candidate/turn-around expert would be a better fit. 
At least we agree on something 

Furthermore, no proof of illegal wrong-doing or misappropriation by Marty Koehler has ever been presented here,
SWOH 75
I have never stated on this blog that Marty Kohler did anything illegal…If your going to attach me you better be able to….PROVE IT

 just bitter feelings by Vivian that he wouldn't give her money for her little cemetery vault project.
No SW he promised me CDBG grant money for the vault and then lied about it…You need to get your facts straight. And this has nothing to do with his other actions.

Perhaps Marty is guilty of good intentions gone bad with the expansion of section 8/vouchers.
PLEEZEE…Not another city or county in the state of Ohio has every requested this additional number of Section 8 vouchers…PROVE ME WRONG

Perplexed; were any city council members aware the latest request for section 8 vouchers were made, and misled the public by stating they did not authorize them? If so, whom? 
Acclaro
All this information can be obtained by requesting copies of the MPHA meeting minutes for the dates that I have already provided on this blog. I would assume that council members had to vote on all these increases during those meetings if you need proof.

Neil Barielle sold his house on Windridge Court for $200,000. to a firm that rents out property. Over the years, it had tenants including one that was a child molester. For the past year, it has sat empty, with grass 3 feet tall, and a swimming pool cracked and filled with stagnant water. It hasn't been rented in nearly a year. So much for poetic justice and prophecy associated with an "economic director."
Need to call Doug’s office and give address of this home and demand that this property be cleaned up.

Laura Williams needs to bring down her dead ash trees before someone has a tree fall on them while driving on Rosedale.   
Need to call Doug’s office and give address of this home and request that the dead tree be removed.

City staff most responsible for the unwarranted escalation of HUD Housing Choice Vouchers are: Ron Olson (City Manager), Neil Barille (Planning Director and Angela Tucker (Community Development Coordinator). However, Marty Kohler did tell me on several occasions how the expanded Section 8 program was rejuvenating and stabilizing Ward 2. You may be surprised to hear me say this, but, it is the truth. Marty was on staff only when the last Housing Choice Vouchers were requested by the city and approved by HUD.

Thank you Perplexed
I believe this statement brings us full circle in our discussion of the Section 8 Program.

Has the Section 8 Program DEVISTATED the City of Middletown as Mr. Adkins has stated?

Or has the Section 8 Program rejuvenated and stabilized Ward 1 and Ward 2?

If City Hall had been frugal and used the HUD funds in the areas of greatest need would we even be discussing this program and these areas today?

Or has the Section 8 Program become the whipping post for City Hall because of their failed plans, wasteful spending and lack of leadership over the past 15 years?

When it comes to other plans and expenditures of CDBG and HOME funds prior to 2007, my sentiments are well known and documented.

SWOH75 - All that Vivian and Nelson (in all of his incarnations here) seem to do is post hearsay/gossips/rumors.  Until I see proof of wrong-doing in print, I'll reserve judgement on the HUD matter.  

Posted: 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, 2013

MIDDLETOWN

HUD finds ‘deficiencies’ in Middletown’s action plan

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/michael-d-pitman/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer

    MIDDLETOWN — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has rejected Middletown’s plan to eliminate more than 1,000 subsidized housing vouchers — also known as Section 8 — over the next five years because the proposal failed to meet the federal agency’s statutory or regulatory requirements, officials said.

    HUD informed the city of its decision in a June 13 letter that outlined five “substantive” deficiencies within the city’s five-year and annual plan. A recurring criticism of the plan from HUD was that the city had not done enough to consider the impact of the voucher reductions on low-income families with children, minorities and persons with disabilities or to fully justify their actions.

    The federal housing agency made several recommendations about how city officials could address the identified deficiencies and gave them until mid-August (roughly 60 days) to make corrections and respond back.

    The letter, which was presented to City Council members Tuesday, comes as HUD is preparing for a three-day visit to Middletown next week for a Civil Rights Compliance review of the city’s Section 8 program.

    City Council and administrators have argued that Middletown has more low-income, subsidized housing per capita than any city in Ohio, and that it is putting a strain on city services and negatively impacting Middletown’s image and economic development efforts. Section 8 housing accounts for 14.3 percent of Middletown’s total housing stock. City officials proposed cut of 1,008 vouchers would bring that number closer to 10 percent, which they maintain is ideal.

    Most council members interviewed Tuesday by The Journal said they weren’t surprised by HUD’s response and said they still support efforts to curb the number of Section 8 vouchers by 60 percent. But Councilman A.J. Smith, who has been a constant dissenting voice on the issue, said he still believes the city should stop the reduction attempt.

    “What I want to see is the (Middletown Public Housing Agency) is being run efficiently and effectively, and it’s serving those folks that it’s supposed to serve,” Smith said. “No more and no less; and that’s not what we are doing right now.”

    Smith said he would rather have the Butler Metropolitan Housing Authority take over the city’s Section 8 program so it can give voucher holders more piece of mind, and city staff can focus its time on other things. The city’s 1,662 Section 8 vouchers is nearly double the combined number of Section 8 vouchers in Butler County.

    In August 2012, HUD had a review of the city’s Section 8 program, and in September 2012, the agency asked the city for an action plan “given the extremely low leasing percentages and virtual absence of a waiting list.” The city only had 89.3 percent of its vouchers filled and the federal requirement was to have 95 percent of them filled.

    HUD also wanted an action plan to address the city’s late and undocumented housing inspections.

    The latter of the two plans requested was sent to HUD in December after it was approved by the Middletown Public Housing Agency, which consists of the seven-member City Council. HUD, which “disapproved” the five-year and annual plan, sent its response on June 13 citing the five deficiencies and suggested remedies to the city’s 6-page action plan.

    The former of the two plans was submitted to HUD in October after the MPHA voted 6-1 to support the plan authored by Community Revitalization Director Doug Adkins. The plan states the city needs to eliminate more than 60 percent of its vouchers over the next five years, which was reflected in the five-year and annual plan.

    HUD spokeswoman Donna White offered no comment beyond the June 13 letter saying, “At this point, the letter speaks for itself.”

    City Manager Judy Gilleland said staff is working on a response “and will provide it in a timely manner.” She offered no comment specific to the letter.

    The June 13 letter from HUD “shows that we have some work to do” in making the city’s case for its stance, said Mayor Larry Mulligan.

    “HUD has its mission to fulfill, which is certainly important, and we’re trying to focus on the needs of the Middletown community and all of our citizens and to strike that balance to support and sustain without crippling the entire city,” the mayor said. “It’s a careful balance and that’s a message we have to work with HUD to fully explain.”

    Vice Mayor Dan Picard said he is “concerned” about the letter, but doesn’t regret the city’s direction in eliminating 1,008 vouchers.

    “I am very concerned about what’s going on, the potential costs and it’s something we need to stay on top of,” he said. “I think we’re doing what we have to do, and I hope that we get to the point where we want to be, and I have confidence we can. I’m just concerned what it’s going to take to get there.”

    The city’s costs in attempting to essentially give back Section 8 vouchers to HUD, Picard said, will be significant. Outside counsel has been retained to prepare for the Civil Rights Compliance review by HUD next week, and staff has spent countless hours in responding to HUD’s correspondence.

    The city’s Section 8 program receives about $10 million from HUD, which is tied to the number of vouchers held by the city. Millions of dollars are paid to Section 8 landlords. Only a few hundred thousand dollars goes to the city, which is split with Nelson & Associates which manages the program.

UNMATCHED COVERAGE

The Middletown Journal has been the only consistent news agency covering the debate between the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and the city of Middletown about reducing 1,008 Section 8 vouchers.

PLAN DEFICIENCIES

The letter cities five “deficiencies” of the plan and have provided suggested remedies:

·                       MPHA must examine its actions and its impact on families with children, minorities and persons with disabilities. Of the 1,662 vouchers, 675 are designated for the non-elderly disabled population and only 417 of those are issued. HUD is requesting records that outline actions taken by the city to further fair housing and any impediments the city have experienced.

·                       The MPHA’s mission statement “does not adequately address” the mission for serving the needs of low income, very low income and extremely low income families for the next five years. Any mission statement must include how the city will service the needs of families that fall into these classifications during that time frame.

·                       The MPHA’s goals and objectives do not address serving low income, very low income and extremely low income families over the next five years. The city needs to include how it will service the needs of the families during that time frame.

·                       The city did not identify the housing needs of low income, very low income and extremely low income families, including the elderly, families with disabilities, households of various races and ethnic groups, and other families on the Section 8 waiting list. The city needs to provide that data.

·                       Because housing needs were not identified, stating the “MPHA does not anticipate opening the waiting list due to be over leased and over budget authority” is not accurate. The city needs to provide a strategy to service the housing needs of the city.

Council reactions

Middletown City Council members react to the HUD letter that spells out five deficiencies with its five-year and annual plan, which outlines its intent to reduce 1,008 Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers from the MPHA program.

Mayor Larry Mulligan: “The bottom line is, it shows that we have some work to do yet to explain our case and our rationale for it. HUD has its mission to fulfill which is certainly important, and we’re trying to focus on the needs of the Middletown community and all of our citizens and to strike that balance to support and sustain without crippling the entire city.”

Councilwoman Anita Scott Jones: “I’m not surprised by anything that was in there (the letter). HUD has its job to do and I trust that if there is something that we need to do that (Community Revitalization Director) Doug (Adkins) and all of those involved will do it.”

Councilwoman Ann Mort: “It’s another step in the process. We are trying to work our way down that process and I’m sure not too many folks have asked to go in the other direction.”

Councilman A.J. Smith: “I’m not surprised. This is exactly what I anticipated, which is why I didn’t support it (in October).”

Vice Mayor Dan Picard: “I m very concerned about what’s going on, the potential costs and it’s something we need to stay on top of. I have no regrets at all (in MPHA’s decision). I think we’re doing what we have to do and I hope that we get to the point we want to be, and I have confidence we can. I’m just concerned what it’s going to take to get there.”

Council members Josh Laubach and Joe Mulligan could not be reached for comment.