SECTION 8: City Staff Exaggerations ??
Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: Community Revitalization
Forum Description: Middletown Community Revitalization News
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2560
Printed Date: Nov 22 2024 at 5:46pm
Topic: SECTION 8: City Staff Exaggerations ??
Posted By: Nelson R. Self
Subject: SECTION 8: City Staff Exaggerations ??
Date Posted: Jan 20 2010 at 7:11pm
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How comical to view City Council and Public Housing Authority meetings as we routinely witness exaggerated praising of a senior City staff member by Miss Judy. Even more hilarious is the self-aggrandizement of this Department head themself.
In regards to certain long-overdue reforms made to the HUD Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program, they were implemented well BEFORE the sudden and totally unexpected resignation of Ginger Smith (first Community Revitalization Director) in March 2009.
EXAMPLES:
1) It was NOT the above-referenced current Department head who first begun obtaining names and addresses of Section 8 tenants from C.O.N.S.O.C. in the Fall of 2007. This data was regularly distributed to the Planning Director, Police Department, Law Department, City Manager's Office, Finance Department, Water Services, etc.
2) It was NOT the above-referenced current Department head who first begun obtaining addresses of Section 8 rental properties (including landlord names) from C.O.N.S.O.C. in early 2008. This data was regularly distributed to the Planning Director, Police Department, Law Department, City Manager's Office, Finance Department, Water Services, etc.
3) It was NOT the above-referenced current Department head who first arranged meetings with Police Department and C.O.N.S.O.C. staff to discuss tenant screening procedures and how improvements could be made to same. It was February or March of 2008 when the Police Department first utilized the Section 8 tenant list to determine if any of these households might have outstanding warrants, etc. From this point forward only Judy GIlleland, her consultant (Frank Chapman), Marty Kohler and later Ginger Smith handled everything pertaining to Section 8 until the arrival of Doug Adkins in February 2009.
4) It was NOT the above-referenced current Department head who first arranged meetings with Section 8 landlords and C.O.N.S.O.C. staff to discuss tenant problem areas and to seek solutions to same. These meetings began in April of 2007.
5) It was NOT the above-referenced current Department head who directed Housing Code Enforcement personnel to resume canvassing neighborhoods for Section 8 rental unit violations. Prior to January 2007, HUD-funded Community Development Division staff was advised to let C.O.N.S.O.C. handle this matter as that was what they were paid to do.
Please, no more baseless exaggerations or revisions of the facts from senior City staff.
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Replies:
Posted By: stewieboy
Date Posted: Jan 20 2010 at 10:45pm
| What I would like to know is why the Comm Revitalization Director was given a raise after only 6 months on the job, especially when he is laying off a good portion of his staff! What achievements has he accomplished the last 6 months to warrant this? |
Posted By: 409
Date Posted: Jan 20 2010 at 11:21pm
| Good Question! I'd have to believe that Gilleland is afraid of losing him since he is able to keep some of the heat off of her!!!!!!! |
Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 6:39am
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I understand the need to do a background check of the tenants that are on Section 8 …however I was shocked that the City wanted to include a background check of the landlords without cause. While I applaud the City wanting to clean up the criminal active in Section 8 housing I don’t believe they should have the right to start searching all the personal information and tax records without cause of the landlords. We need to protect our personal freedoms.
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Posted By: Pacman
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 7:34am
| Vivian if you go apply for a job today many companies will do background checks on you. If you want to be on the Section 8 bandwagon, hey you get a background check. Fine with me, weed out the less than desirable landlords. |
Posted By: randy
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 7:48am
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While I am all for personal freedoms, I am ok with background checks on landlords and in fact was surprised that this wasn't already happening. There are close to 500 landlords that have thrown their hat in the section 8 ring. I can name one that has some of the worse houses in Middletown and I know for a fact that he has had some troubles in the past.
I guess my point is this, If I landlord has been arrested for drugs in the past, he might be more willing to allow drugs in his section 8 home. ------------- Call me for a www.CameraSecurityNow.com" rel="nofollow - www.CameraSecurityNow.com quote 513-422-1907 x357 |
Posted By: Hermes
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 9:21am
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I think background checks are an excellent idea to be a section 8 landlord. I also believe that a landlord MUST DISCLOSE how many section 8 homes they own. A set of rules or standards should be the norm for section 8 landlords,thats why you end up with the slum-lords,because no one is checking these people out. Another thing that needs to stop,and in my opinion this is a big problem,section 8 landlords who live out of state,out of county,out of town. It should be a government requirement that they live in the city where they maintain a section 8 rental. To many of these people are sitting back and collecting checks and doing nothing about the deplorable conditions of the tenants & the house. Since they do not live in the city apparently the city lets them slide on housing codes & number of occupants. And lastly,there should be a city ordinance pertaining to the NUMBER OF TIMES that the POLICE respond to a section 8 house,if the number of police responses is,lets say 5,but the police have been called to that particular residence 10 times then that landlord should evict the tenants or lose his section 8 status and the city confiscate the house. The real problem is not that Middeltown has to many section 8's,the problem is mainly the absentee landlords. They live else where and do not have to look at the house or hear about it so they don't care as long as they are getting a check. And I know for a fact that many of these landlords never,ever visit the home they are renting as section 8. Put a stop to sheriff sales of low priced homes,more and stricter regulations on landlords and I'll guarantee you'll see a difference. But as long as people with money continue to buy up houses at sheriff sales & the rules and regulations governing section 8 and the landlords continue to be slack you'll have a problem. |
Posted By: LMAO
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 10:59am
| I myself think that anyone that is getting welfare or section 8 ought to be drug tested. Also they need to do suprise inspections instead of them sending out notice's that they are going to be there on a certain date.Would crack down on the people that arent suppose to be living in the section 8 housing. |
Posted By: wasteful
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 11:20am
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Hermes as long as you have a City which caters to the Section 8 program and just 4155 people, rather than the city as a whole and all of it's residents this problem will only get worse. Tax paying residents will continue to flee the city. Businesses will continue to close and leave. New Businesses will not come as the poverty level will be to high to support. No disposable income, no retail and entertainment businesses.
I for the life of me don't understand the City's stance on this issue and ignoring the other 48000 residents and the city overall.
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Posted By: Nelson R. Self
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 11:40am
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I recall attending a meeting on Section 8 issues with Miss Judy and my supervisor (Marty Kohler) in early 2008 shortly after she assumed her position as City Manager here.
Comments were made by all three of us about the number of Section 8 rental properties that were owned by Limited Liability Corporations (LLC's).
We expressed dismay that LLC-owned properties concealed the identities of the actual Section 8 rental owners.
They had a further speculative interchange regarding rumors that a couple of City Council members could "potentially" have an ownership interest in the aforementioned LLC-owned Section 8 rental prroperties.
If any elected official of the City were such an owner, a HUD Conflict of Interest finding would result.
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Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 11:55am
| Sooooo, Nelson. At the time that Gilleland, Kohler and you expressed concern about LLC owned properties not revealing info. about the owners of the Section 8 properties and the potential conflict of Council member Section 8 ownership and those same councilmembers participating in the same Section 8 program that would benefit them financially, why didn't this send Gilleland and Kohler a "red alert" that this program may not be the best way to go for the sake of the city? Did they even make an attempt to stop this conflict of interest and report it to the proper authorities? Was this concern mentioned to HUD and if so, what was done about it at the time? |
Posted By: Hermes
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 12:50pm
I have to agree with you wasteful,Middeltown,for whatever reason does cater to section 8. But could it be due to the reason that Nelson states,"that certain council persons/city officials could have a vested interest ?" As we all know the reasons the government created the program as usual the unscrupulous money people stepped in and turned it into a nightmare. Seems regardless of what laws or regulations exist the unscrupulous money people find a way around it all. Again I stick to what I said earlier,strict regulations,background checks & disclosure laws may help.
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wasteful wrote:Posted By: Nelson R. Self
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 2:49pm
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Viet Vet -
A few weeks after the aforementioned impromptu meeting in February 2008, the first City Council Housing Sub-Committee meeeting took place in Miss Judy's office in March 2008. At that time they talked about hiring a consultant and I basically no longer had ANY REAL INVOLVEMENT with the Section 8 Program. Consequently, I can't answer why the issue of elected officials "possibly" being Section 8 landlords wasn't looked into.
By the way, that City Council Housing Sub-Committee meeting was attended by Miss Judy, Marty Kohler, David Schiavone, Barbara Castells (Chief Building Official) and me. There was much talk about the Public Housing Agency being brought back to City Hall under the direction of Mr. Kohler. A couple of attendees openly advocated City staff to administer the program and not C.O.N.S.O.C.
After that date in March 2008 you would have to speak with Miss Judy, Marty Kohler or Frank Chapman (Consultant) to learn what was happening as time moved along. I do know that Ginger Smith attended meetings after she was transfered to be the Community Revitalization Director in August 2008 and Doug Adkins when he was moved upstairs as of February 2009.
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Posted By: Bill
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 3:16pm
| What is the amount of money the COM makes annually from the Sec 8 program? |
Posted By: Nelson R. Self
Date Posted: Jan 21 2010 at 5:33pm
| I believe that Miss Judy or Doug said it was about $11,750,000 for this Section 8 Program fiscal year. The majority of these funds is used for housing assistance payments with the balance used for administrative fees (C.O.N.S.O.C. plus other City of Middletown expenses) |