HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO Leroy Lindo, Chairman Ted Yamasaki, Co-Chairman Joaquin Torres, Committee Member RESIDENT SERVICES, OPERATIONS & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE AGENDA Tuesday, February 10, 2015 4:00 pm City Hall 1 Dr. Goodlett Place, Room 408 San Francisco, California 94102 (415) 715-3954 Barbara T. Smith Acting Executive Director 1 “The Mission of the San Francisco Housing Authority is to deliver safe and decent housing for low income households and integrate economic opportunity for residents.” SAN FRANCISCO HOUSING AUTHORITY JOAQUIN TORRES, PRESIDENT SAN FRANCISCO HOUSING AUTHORITY Leroy Lindo, Chairman Ted Yamasaki, Co-Chair Joaquin Torres, Committee Member Barbara T. Smith, Acting Executive Director CITY HALL 1 Dr. Goodlett Place Room 408 SAN FRANCISCO, California 94102 www.sfha.org RESIDENT SERVICES, OPERATIONS and PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE Tuesday, February 10, 2015·4:00 p.m. 1. The Resident Services, Operations and Personnel Committee of the San Francisco Housing Authority (“Committee” or “Authority”) holds its meetings in City Hall room 408, San Francisco, California 94102. 2. Disability Access: Room 408 is wheelchair accessible. The closest accessible BART Station is Civic Center, three blocks from City Hall. Accessible MUNI lines serving this location are: #42 Downtown Loop, the #71 Haight/Noriega, the F Line to Market and Van Ness, and the Metro stations at Van Ness and Market and at Civic Center. For more information about MUNI accessible services, call (415) 923-6142. 3. There is accessible parking at the following locations: two (2) designated blue curb spaces on the southwest corner of McAllister Street at Van Ness Avenue; the Performing Arts Garage (entrance on Grove Street between Franklin and Gough Streets), and at Civic Center Plaza Garage. 4. Agenda, minutes and attachments are available at www.sfha.org as well as the Authority’s Administrative Office located at 1815 Egbert Avenue, San Francisco, California 94124. If any materials related to an item on this agenda have been distributed to the Committee after distribution of the agenda packet, those materials are available for public inspection during normal business hours at the Authority’s Administrative Offices. 5. In order to assist the Authority’s efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illness, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the Authority accommodate these individuals. 6. The use of electronic sound-producing devices at/during public meetings is prohibited. Please be advised that the meeting President may remove any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of cell phones, pagers and similar sound-producing electronic devices from the meeting room. 7. Requests for public comment may be heard after staff presentation on any Regular Agenda Item. Speakers at Committee meetings are requested, but not required, to identify themselves and fill out cards placed on the table at the entrance door. The public may address the Committee for up to two minutes or four minutes for speakers who require an interpreter, or unless otherwise approved by the Committee. The Chair of the Committee may limit the total testimony to 30 minutes. A speaker may not yield his or her time to another speaker. Committee procedures do not allow for dialogue between the Committee and the public. The Committee may not take action on a new proposal, which is not on the agenda. 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AGENDA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Call to order and roll call 2. Approval of minutes: a. Regular Meeting: January 13, 2015 3. General Public Comment on subject matters related to the Residents Services, Operations and Personnel Committee 4. Report(s): a. b. c. d. e. Crime statistics from the San Francisco Police Department Monthly Report: Client Placement update Monthly Report: Attrition Report Monthly Report : Leased Housing Programs (HCV/Section 8) Monthly Report: Public Housing Operations Public comment(s) 5. Adjournment 3 HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT SERVICES, OPERATIONS & PERSONNEL COMMITEE MINUTES MINUTES January 13, 2015 SCHEDULED: 4:00 p.m. City Hall, Room 408, 1. Dr. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Leroy Lindo, Chairman Ted Yamasaki, Co- Chair Joaquin Torres, Commissioner Item 1: COMMISSIONERS EXCUSED: Meeting Called to Order Chairman Yamasaki called the meeting to order at 4:18 PM Item 2: Approval of Minutes: a. Special Meeting: December 9, 2014 Public Comment None Motion: Item 3: First: Commissioner Torres moved to approve Second: Commissioner Yamasaki Vote: Ayes: Commissioners Torres and Yamasaki Nays: None Motion passed General public comment on subject matters related to the Resident Services, Operations and Personnel Committee None 4 Item 4: Report(s): a. Crime statistics from the San Francisco Police Department Presented by: Commander Garret Tom, San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Commissioner Torres asked if the crime statistics for Hunter’s View, Hunter’s Point, and Westbrook could be separated. He requested that the crimes occurring in the newly developed units of Hunter’s View be compared to the older units that had not yet been renovated. Commander Garret Tom of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) stated that he would speak to the crime analysis unit to determine if a separation of Hunter’s View, Hunter’s Point and Westbrook statistics was possible. Commissioner Torres asked if there had been any increase in crime reporting from the residents at the Ping Yuen developments. Commander Tom stated that Captain Lazar from Central Station was actively encouraging Ping Yuen residents to report crime. Commander Tom stated that crime reporting had increased due to the SFPD’s outreach to residents, but that crime was still underreported. Commissioner Torres asked if any additional security measures had been taken to secure the Ping Yuen developments. Commander Tom responded that Malcom Young of the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) had spoken with the Mayor of San Francisco to propose that two full-time police officers be hired to patrol the Ping Yun area. Commissioner Torres asked how close in proximity a crime had to be to an Authority property to be considered a housing development crime. Commander Tom explained that a crime had to occur inside or in front of a housing development to be considered a housing development crime. Commissioner Torres asked if crime committed across the street from a development would be considered a housing development crime. Commander Tom stated that it would not. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if the increase in theft from locked vehicles was a city-wide trend. Commander Tom stated that it was. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if there was anything the authority could do to educate residents about crime prevention. Commander Tom recommended that the Authority send individual letters or post signs in the housing developments reminding residents not to leave items in their cars in plain sight. Public Comment None 5 b. Monthly Report: Client Placement Update Presented by: Nicole McCray-Dickerson, Director of Client Placement Commissioner Torres asked if staff could provide a report at the next Resident, Services, Operations and Personnel (RSOP) Committee Meeting, as well as at the next full Commission Meeting, detailing the potential impact of new clients being placed into the Senior/Disabled community. Nicole McCray-Dickerson, Director of Client Placement, stated that staff would provide the information to the Commission at the next RSOP meeting. Velma Navarro, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO), reported that the Authority had opened their waitlist to homeless families on January 13, 2015, and would remain open until January 18, 2015. She stated that the first day had gone smoothly and that none of the overcrowding problems anticipated by staff had occurred. Ms. Navarro reported that the Authority had already received 2800 housing applications. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if the statistic represented the number of applications that had been started, or the number of applications that had been completed. Ms. Navarro stated that 2800 represented the number of applications that had been completed. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if staff had provided any computer kiosks at their office at 1815 Egbert Ave. for applicants to use. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that staff had provided a total of six computers for applicants to use at Egbert. She stated that ten additional (10) computers and printers had been set up at 440 Turk Street. Commissioner Torres asked for staff input on an article in the Examiner regarding the opening of the Authority’s waitlist. He stated that Jennifer Friedenbach, Executive Director of the Coalition on Homelessness, had expressed the hope that homeless individuals would take advantage of the opening of the waitlist. Commissioner Torres stated that the Authority had been very proactive in ensuring that the opening of the waitlist had been advertised as widely as possible. He stated that the Examiner article had mentioned past resistance from the public and some community partners to the opening of the waitlist. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that the Authority was sensitive to all issue relating to the opening of the waitlist. She explained that the waitlist currently had 7000 individuals waiting for housing and that the opening of the waitlist would increase this number significantly. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that staff had made it clear to all applicants that applying for the waitlist did not guarantee housing. Acting Executive Director Barbara Smith explained that staff had monitored the waitlist prior to opening it up for applications. Ms. Smith explained that staff had calculated to ensure there were enough applicants in the highest housing preference category to cover all the newly vacant units. She stated that the opening of the waitlist would add to the number of applicants in the highest preference category. Ms. Smith stated that the 6 opening of the waitlist had been carefully planned, following multiple meetings with the Authority’s community partners. Ms. McCray-Dickerson provided the Commission with a demonstration of the online waitlist application process. Commissioner Lindo asked how applicants who spoke a language other than English would be able to understand the application questions. Ms. McCray-Dickerson explained that the application had been translated into many languages and that a language option was provided at the beginning of the application process. Commissioner Torres asked if there was a limit on the number of applicants allowed to apply. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that there was no limit. She explained that the Authority would be selecting which applicants to place on the waitlist based on a random selection. Commissioner Torres asked what the selection process was, and how a successful applicant would be notified. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that plans were underway to launch a web application that would notify applicants of their waitlist status. She stated that staff could also send letters to successful applicants. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that the random selection process would begin once data was scrubbed to ensure there were no duplicate applications. Commissioner Torres asked how many people would be added to the waitlist after the random selection had been made. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that 3,000 to 5,000 people would be added to the list. Commissioner Torres asked how staff planned to determine whether the number would be 3,000 or 5,000. Ms. McCray-Dickerson explained that staff would analyze vacant unit data to determine how many applicants the Authority could potentially accommodate. Commissioner Torres asked if the Authority’s community partners fully understood and were satisfied with the waitlist selection process. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that they were. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if staff could ensure that all applicants were aware that the waitlist selection process was random. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that the Authority had provided information regarding the random selection process during the initial announcement of the waitlist opening, and that staff would continue to spread the information to applicants. Commissioner Torres asked if staff would determine the number of available waitlist spots (3,000 to 5,000) before the applicant selection process began. Ms. McCrayDickerson assured the Commission that the calculation would be complete before the selection process began. Commissioner Torres asked if the application deadline would close at 11:59 PM on January 18, 2015. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that the application would close electronically at exactly 11:59 PM on January 18, 2015. Commissioner Yamasaki asked what would happen if an applicant was in the middle of an application when the deadline closed. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that 7 applicants in the middle of an application were given an extra 30 to 45 minutes past the deadline to complete the application before it closed. Commissioner Torres asked when the waitlist had last been open to the public. Ms. Navarro stated that the waitlist had not been open for new applicants since 2010. Commissioner Yamasaki asked what the waitlist process had been like in 2010. Ms. McCray-Dickerson stated that the 2010 waitlist application process had required the use of paper applications, which had been a much slower, less efficient process. Commissioner Yamasaki commended staff for the efficiency of the new waitlist process. Public Comment None c. Monthly Report: Attrition Report Presented by: Phyllis Moore-Lewis, Acting Human Resources Director Phyllis Moore-Lewis, Acting Human Resources Director, reported that 18 candidates had initially begun maintenance mechanic training, and that 15 candidates had successfully completed the training. Commissioner Lindo asked why three of the 18 candidates had not completed the training. Ms. Moore-Lewis explained that the three candidates had voluntarily quit. Ms. Moore-Lewis reported that that Authority had 15 voluntary retirements in 2014. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if 15 retirements indicated an unusually high number of retirements. Ms. Moore-Lewis stated that staff would analyze the data and provide more detailed information regarding the retirements at the next RSOP meeting. Commissioner Torres asked if any of the retirees had taken advantage of the voluntary layoffs offered by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Ms. Moore-Lewis responded that all voluntary layoffs offered by the SEIU had already been utilized by former Authority employees. Commissioner Lindo asked if staff was planning to hire new employees to fill the positions that had been vacated. Ms. Moore-Lewis stated that the positions left vacant by voluntary layoffs were being filled with temporary hires. Public Comment None 8 d. Monthly Report: Leased Housing Programs (HCV/Section 8) Presented by: Steven Rosario, Director of Leased Housing. Steven Rosario, Director of Leased Housing, reported that the utilization of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program was at 98 percent. Mr. Rosario also reported that the utilization for the Family Unification Program (FUP) and the Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) were 75 percent and 83 percent respectively. Mr. Rosario stated that the Authority had achieved 100 percent PIC reporting, which was the highest percentage in the Authority’s history. He reported that staff was 96 percent current on annual recertifications and inspections. Mr. Rosario reported that staff was projecting a 41 point Section 8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) score for January 2015. Mr. Rosario indicated that the HCV department would be engaging in extensive staff training sessions in 2015 to ensure that staff was up to date on all changes to company policies and computer systems. Public Comment None e. Monthly Report: Public Housing Operations Presented by: Twima Earley, Director of Public Housing, and Linda Martin-Mason, Director of Government Affairs and Policy Commissioner Torres asked Twima Earley, Director of Public Housing Operations, if the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco had recently made a financial contribution to aid in the Authority’s rehabilitation of public housing units. Ms. Earley replied that the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco had made provided the Authority with a financial contribution. Commissioner Torres asked how much the Mayor’s Office had contributed. Ms. Earley stated that the Mayor’s Office had contributed 2.6 million dollars to assist the Authority with rehabilitation public housing units. Acting Executive Director Barbara Smith explained that the City funding had been provided to assist homeless and involuntarily displaced families. Commissioner Torres asked how many homeless and involuntarily displaced families the Authority could house with the 2.6 million dollar grant. Ms. Smith stated that the Authority was expecting to house 150 to 170 families. Commissioner Torres requested that staff provide a regular update on the number of families that were benefiting from the grant. Ms. Smith stated that staff was tracking the data. 9 Commissioner Torres asked if staff would be able to increase the number of families successfully housed in February 2015. Ms. Earley stated that staff would work to fill more vacant units. Ms. Smith explained that unit vacancies at Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) properties had been increased and had contributed to the overall number of vacant units. Commissioner Torres asked if the vacant units at the RAD properties would be used for on-site resident relocation. Ms. Smith stated that this was correct. She explained that the number of vacant units had increased at the RAD properties to provide room for residents of the properties to relocate within the same building. Ms. Smith stated that the RAD Phase I properties would begin the conversion in October 2015. Ms. Earley reported that staff had closed all work orders that were more than 30 days old by December 31, 2014. She stated that the Authority had 1,372 works orders that remained open, all of which were less than 30 days old. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if staff had tracked the exact number of days each work order had been open. Ms. Earley stated that staff had calculated the average number of days each work was open, which amounted to 12 days. Commissioner Torres asked if staff had noticed any patterns for repeated work orders at specific sites. Ms. Earley explained that staff primarily analyzed work order data to eliminate duplicate work orders. She stated that she would consult with the Information Technology (IT) department to discuss if monitoring repetitious work orders was possible. Commissioner Lindo asked if residents were satisfied with the work order process. Ms. Earley stated that most residents were satisfied and that resident complaints and decreased. Linda Martin-Mason, Director of Government Affairs and Policy, reported that the majority of tenants were paying their rent between the 8th and the 14th of the month, after 14-day notices had been served. Commissioner Torres asked how staff planned to implement new strategies to handle residents that were not paying their rent. Ms. Martin-Mason stated that staff was working on requiring modified payment plans in the stipulated agreements. She stated that staff was also working to implement an electronic payment system. Ms. Martin-Mason indicated that staff would be meeting with their community partners to create a resident outreach plan. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if the Authority engaged with their community partners to create strategies that would help change the rent payment culture amongst residents. Ms. Martin-Mason explained that staff made rent collection reports to their community partners every month. She stated that staff had made it clear to their community partners that the Authority was losing money due to uncollected rent. 10 Acting Executive Director Barbara Smith explained that staff was working to educate residents on the importance of paying rent and being in good standing with the Authority. Ms. Smith stated that the Authority was encouraging their community partners to focus on resident outreach. She stated that staff was working in cooperation with many different groups to handle the rent issue and to promote residents’ financial independence. Commissioner Yamasaki requested that staff provide regular reports to the Commission on forthcoming strategies to deal with the rent issue. Commissioner Yamasaki asked if it was possible to provide more detail on rent collection data. Velma Navarro, Deputy Executive Director and COO, explained that the Authority’s new Emphasys Software system would allow staff to breakdown the rent collection data into more detailed categories, such as current rent, late fees, maintenance fees, rent collection through repayment agreements, etc. Commissioner Yamaski asked when the system would go live. Ms. Navarro stated that the new system would go live in June 2015. Commissioner Lindo commended staff for their successful operations and overall increase of company efficiency. Commissioner Torres recommended that staff consider holding a few RSOP meetings on-site at community developments to enable staff to address resident issues. He asked staff to assess the most effective way to promote greater resident attendance at Commission and Committee meetings. Commissioner Torres requested that a formal item be added to the Commission Meeting agenda on January 22, 2015, to commemorate that passing of Commissioner Patricia Thomas. He asked for a moment of silence to honor Commissioner Thomas. Public Comment Item 5: Randall Glock; stated that the Authority had to change the rent payment culture among residents in order to have more success with rent collection. Mr. Glock stated that Alice Griffith, Sunnydale and Potrero Terrace residents had the largest rent collection problem. He requested that the Authority correct his rent statement, which had been three dollars off for almost a year. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 6:35 PM 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 Cumulative Totals include September 69 Cumulative Totals include September 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 Adjournment 107
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