From housingminnesota at mhponline.org Mon Mar 8 15:49:03 2004 From: housingminnesota at mhponline.org (HousingMN Communications ) Date: Mon Mar 8 15:55:13 2004 Subject: [HousingMinnesota Bulletin] Volume 3, Issue 5 3-8-4 Message-ID: <91CE81A8B5C57940AA99ECF1E2A160600A6378@mhpserver.mhponline.org> HousingMinnesota Homes for All by 2012! The Bulletin March 8, 2004 Volume 3, Issue 5 Distributed bi-weekly, this bulletin contains news, announcements, legislative updates, publications, and upcoming events. We hope you'll find it helpful in keeping you abreast of important developments. Please don't hesitate to contact us with items you'd like included in future issues. The Bulletin is also available online at http://www.mhponline.org/Bulletin/Bulletin.htm . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * News/Announcements HousingMinnesota Comments on the Draft "Report and Business Plan of the Working Group on Long-Term Homelessness" Minnesota Housing Partnership/HousingMinnesota commends the Pawlenty administration, the state agency staff involved in this effort, and the working group members who devoted hours of their time to take a bold step toward addressing one of the most pressing housing issues faced by our state and nation. The months of work that have gone into shaping and drafting the report, "Ending Long-Term Homelessness in Minnesota ," (http://www.mhfa.state.mn.us/about/homeless_draft%20report_022304.pdf ) was a tremendous undertaking and the beginning of a visionary effort that will positively impact the way Minnesota approaches long-term homelessness. With this large of an undertaking in such a short period of time, a tremendous amount of work was accomplished toward setting up a plan to end long-term homelessness. While many pieces of the plan are solidly in place, there are understandably many pieces that will take time to put into place while maintaining our state's proven commitment to address homelessness. HousingMinnesota offers our recommendations for how to strengthen these efforts. Comments are on our web site: http://www.housingminnesota.org/pages.cfm?PageID=46 Proposed Cuts to Housing Programs in Governor Pawlenty's Supplemental Budget On Feb. 27th, the Minnesota Department of Finance projected a $160 million deficit in Minnesota 's budget for the remainder of the 04-05 fiscal years. (This is down from the November forecast of a $185 million deficit.) Gov. Tim Pawlenty has responded by proposing a supplemental budget that will not tap into reserves, but instead covers the deficit through a combination of budget cuts and shifts, accelerating the collection of sales taxes on leased vehicles, and increasing spending in a number of areas. The budget cuts fall hardest on human services where $40 million is cut. Most state agencies will see a 3% cut totaling $19 million. The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency budget is cut by $628,000 in fiscal year '05 which represents a 1.8% cut to their base state appropriations. The most notable increase in funding was for public safety which would experience an increase of $19.5 million. The governor's proposed supplemental budget is available at: http://www.finance.state.mn.us/ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reading/Resources Updated! HousingMinnesota bill tracking tool online All housing related bills are listed in an easy to use table. Click on the bill number to see the text of the legislation and to access links to check on the status of the bills. http://www.mhponline.org/2004%20Housing%20legislation/Intropagefor2004le gislativebills.htm "The Next Decade of Housing in Minnesota" Regional Reports now available See MHFA's web site for information on the next decade of housing needs for the following regions of the state: Twin Cities Metro, Northeast, Central, Northwest, West Central, Southeast, and Southwest. http://www.mhfa.state.mn.us/about/about_reports.htm Homeless in Minnesota 2003: Key facts from the survey of Minnesotans without permanent housing Summary results from the Oct. 2003 survey on homelessness done by Wilder Research are now available on their web site: http://www.wilder.org/research/topics/homeless/HomelessMN2-04.pdf NLIHC Releases New Census Database and Analysis NLIHC publicly launched two new tools for understanding the affordable housing crisis in a March 1 briefing to housing advocates and the press held at the National Housing Conference in Washington, DC. Along with presenting a new database of housing statistics from the 2000 Census (the Local Area Low Income Housing Database project), the Coalition also released a new report on changes in low income rental housing affordability in the 1990s. The report, Losing Ground in the Best of Times, and the Local Area Low Income Housing Database can be found at www.nlihc.org/research/index.htm . (Source: NLIHC Memo to Members) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Upcoming Events March 9 LSS HOUSING FORUM 9:30am LSS, 2414 Park Avenue, Minneapolis. "Duties, old & new, of the Minneapolis Housing Inspections Department". To RSVP, call 612-879-5266 or email amichels@lssmn.org . (Source: HousingLink) March 11 LEADERSHIP TO END HOMELESSNESS 2pm, Audio Conference Series: "Housing First." Featuring Shirley Hendrickson of Hennepin County's Rapid Exit Program. For more information, visit: http://www.endhomelessness.org/audio/ (Source: HousingLink) March 22 GREATER MINNESOTA HOUSING NEED FORUM: The Next Decade of Housing in Minnesota Study: Implications for Affordable Housing Development in Greater Minnesota 10:00am-1:30pm, Best Western Kelly Inn, 100 4th Avenue South, Downtown St. Cloud, 320-253-0606. Co-sponsored by Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. The forum will include a presentation and in-depth discussion on the recently-completed Next Decade of Housing in Minnesota study findings pertaining to Greater Minnesota. Learn about affordable housing needs and demographic trends in each region from 2000 to 2010 and how this Housing Need Study may affect your plans, proposals and funding decisions. There is a $25.00 fee per person. Register by March 16. Contact Linda Kozak, GMHF, 651-221-1997, ext. 108; 800-277-2258, ext. 108; or lkozak@gmhf.com . April 13 Reasonable Accommodations Workshop: Understanding the Fair Housing Act, 504 Requirements, and Reasonable Accommodations 9:00am-3:30pm , Initiative Foundation, 405 1st Street SE , Little Falls, MN. The goal of this training is to ensure that McKinney Vento funded grantees have the information they need to explain the rules regarding handicap accessibility and reasonable accommodations to their asset and property managers, staff, subgrantees, contractors/subcontractors, and to provide guidance and successfully monitor them. Click here to download a brochure and registration materials. April 19 Reasonable Accommodations Workshop: Understanding the Fair Housing Act, 504 Requirements, and Reasonable Accommodations 9:00am-3:30pm , Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, 3002 4th Street SE , Minneapolis , MN . The goal of this training is to ensure that McKinney Vento funded grantees have the information they need to explain the rules regarding handicap accessibility and reasonable accommodations to their asset and property managers, staff, subgrantees, contractors/subcontractors, and to provide guidance and successfully monitor them. Click here to download a brochure and registration materials. April 26 & 27 Income Training: Determining Income Eligibility for the HOME Program 8:00am-5:00pm, Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, 3131 Campus Drive, Plymouth, MN. This training will teach attendees how to calculate a family's eligibility for HOME-assisted housing units using annual income as defined at 24 CFR 5.609. Training will include determining whose income to count; definitions of income, assets, and allowances; the methods used to calculate them; and the necessary source documentation. Click here to download a brochure and registration materials. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Looking for something from the last Bulletin?? Archived issues are available online at: http://www.mhponline.org/Bulletin/Bulletin.htm For more information on affordable housing, the content of this document, or if you have news or events you would like included in future issues, please contact Rachel Callanan , Policy Director, (651) 649-1710 x107, email rcallanan@mhponline.org or see HousingMinnesota's website at www.housingminnesota.org . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mapnp.Geeks.ORG/pipermail/mhp-bulletin/attachments/20040308/2cd98c15/attachment.html From housingminnesota at mhponline.org Fri Mar 26 11:00:59 2004 From: housingminnesota at mhponline.org (HousingMN Communications ) Date: Fri Mar 26 11:07:39 2004 Subject: [HousingMinnesota Bulletin] Volume 3, Issue 6 3-26-4 Message-ID: <91CE81A8B5C57940AA99ECF1E2A160600A637D@mhpserver.mhponline.org> HousingMinnesota Homes for All by 2012! The Bulletin March 26, 2004 Volume 3, Issue 6 Distributed bi-weekly, this bulletin contains news, announcements, legislative updates, publications, and upcoming events. We hope you'll find it helpful in keeping you abreast of important developments. Please don't hesitate to contact us with items you'd like included in future issues. The Bulletin is also available online at http://www.mhponline.org/Bulletin/Bulletin.htm . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * News/Announcements House Majority proposes to increase the $50 housing penalty to a $200 penalty! Take action! The Minnesota House Majority has proposed to increase the penalty imposed last year on MFIP participants that receive federal housing assistance. Their proposal is meant to help balance the state's current budget deficit of $160 million. A family of three receiving MFIP gets only $532/month in assistance; an amount unchanged since the 1980s. This provision is projected to save the state $8.2 million in FY 05; however, the cost to the families that will have to choose which part of their scant family budget they can do without is immeasurable. It is estimated that as many as 11,000 households will be impacted by this increased penalty. The House Majority is putting their budget together now. Please contact your House member to protest this penalty on some of Minnesota's lowest income families: Ask them to oppose any increase in the housing penalty for MFIP participants. You may find out who represents you in the House by visiting http://maps.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/website/districts/ or calling (651) 296-2146 or 1 (800) 657-3550. For more information on this issue view our fact sheet from last year when we were successful in reducing the penalty from a proposed $100 down to the current $50 penalty: http://www.housingminnesota.org/downloads/$100_Fact_Sheet.doc $20 million bonding initiative for permanent supportive housing passes House committee as a "high priority" Gov. Pawlenty's $20 million initiative was passed from the House Jobs and Economic Development committee as one of eleven of their highest priorities for funding in the House bonding bill. The Capital Investment committee will now review recommendations from all the House Finance committees and will be putting their bill together in the coming weeks. The governor proposed a $760 million bonding bill which included this housing initiative. The House is expected to come in with a lower overall bonding number and the Senate a larger number. All negotiations and agreement between the governor and each body of the legislature must be completed in time for adjournment on May 17th, 2004. Final Report and Business Plan Released: "Ending Long-Term Homelessness in Minnesota" The final report has been released and is available on the MHFA web site at: http://www.mhfa.state.mn.us/about/about_reports.htm#lthtag . Many housing organizations and service providers submitted comments and important suggestions for how to improve the plan to end long-term homelessness. There was an overwhelming consensus that the plan was a good first step in tackling these issues and there is a readiness to get to work to end long-tem homelessness in Minnesota. Many of the comments are included in the appendix to the report (available soon at the above web address). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reading/Resources Two New Resources on Housing Vouchers from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has released new reports looking at the Administration's proposal for the housing voucher program. These reports analyze the potential impact of the Administration proposals and critique both the justifications for and the consequences of them. 1. "The Local Impact of Proposed Cuts in Federal Housing Assistance" This study finds that local housing agencies would have to scale back assistance by 12% in 2005 and by 30% by 2009 if the President's cuts are approved and distributed proportionally. This study contains a state and public housing agency (PHA) level analysis of the impact of the Administration proposals in 2005 and 2009. It shows how voucher funding would be reduced under the proposals, and also shows the reduction in the number of families assisted if cuts were carried out by eliminating vouchers, and the increase in annual rent if cuts were carried out by raising rents. The press release can be found here: www.cbpp.org/3-17-04hous-pr.htm . State and PHA level data can be found at www.cbpp.org/3-17-04hous-states.htm . 2. "Passing the Buck" looks at how the Administration's proposals to change the voucher program would force responsibility for funding cuts upon local and state agencies. Agencies would have to decide between cutting large numbers of vouchers, raising rent burdens, or shifting vouchers away from poorer families. The report states that while it is possible to provide PHAs with more flexibility in certain areas, these changes do not have to come at the expense of the voucher program's effectiveness. The changes in the voucher program proposed by the Administration, however, mean that any increased flexibility for PHAs may simply mean they have more flexibility in deciding how to implement the funding cuts. The report is available at www.cbpp.org/3-16-04hous.pdf . These and other reports on housing vouchers can be found on CBPP's voucher webpage at www.cbpp.org/housingvoucher.htm . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Upcoming Events March 29 & 30 American Lung Association Health House Builder Training 8:00-5:00pm, American Lung Association of Minnesota, 490 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55103. The Health House guidelines were used to build Jackson Street Village, a supportive community for low-income Minnesotans, to rebuild a Native American settlement in Iowa plagued by black mold and Habitat for Humanity project "The House That Dreams Built." For more details or to register, visit www.healthhouse.org or call Kim Dorniden at (651) 268-7598. April 13 Reasonable Accommodations Workshop: Understanding the Fair Housing Act, 504 Requirements, and Reasonable Accommodations 9:00am-3:30pm , Initiative Foundation, 405 1st Street SE , Little Falls, MN. The goal of this training is to ensure that McKinney Vento funded grantees have the information they need to explain the rules regarding handicap accessibility and reasonable accommodations to their asset and property managers, staff, subgrantees, contractors/subcontractors, and to provide guidance and successfully monitor them. Click here to download a brochure and registration materials. April 19 Reasonable Accommodations Workshop: Understanding the Fair Housing Act, 504 Requirements, and Reasonable Accommodations 9:00am-3:30pm , Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, 3002 4th Street SE , Minneapolis , MN . The goal of this training is to ensure that McKinney Vento funded grantees have the information they need to explain the rules regarding handicap accessibility and reasonable accommodations to their asset and property managers, staff, subgrantees, contractors/subcontractors, and to provide guidance and successfully monitor them. Click here to download a brochure and registration materials. April 26 & 27 Income Training: Determining Income Eligibility for the HOME Program 8:00am-5:00pm, Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, 3131 Campus Drive, Plymouth, MN. This training will teach attendees how to calculate a family's eligibility for HOME-assisted housing units using annual income as defined at 24 CFR 5.609. Training will include determining whose income to count; definitions of income, assets, and allowances; the methods used to calculate them; and the necessary source documentation. Click here to download a brochure and registration materials. May 3-7 NeighborWorks Training Institute Hilton Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN. NeighborWorks offers a series of workshops with topics such as Affordable Housing, Asset Management, Community Building and Organizing, Community Economic Development, Construction and Production Management, Home Ownership and Community Lending, Management and Leadership, Neighborhood Revitalization and more. Early Registration Deadline: March 22nd. Registrations accepted through April 19th with a $25 late fee. Scholarships are available. For more information and to register, visit www.nw.org/training and click the Minneapolis Institute Link, email nti@nw.org , or call (800) 438-5547. May 11-13 Financial Management Training: Ensuring Compliance with Federal Financial Requirements Radisson Hotel Roseville, 2540 N. Cleveland Ave., Roseville, MN 55113. This training will provide attendees with an overview of financial compliance rules for federal housing and community development programs. Participants will gain an understanding of the financial management reporting and audit requirements for funding received from federal departments like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Click here to download a brochure and training materials. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Looking for something from the last Bulletin?? Archived issues are available online at: http://www.mhponline.org/Bulletin/Bulletin.htm For more information on affordable housing, the content of this document, or if you have news or events you would like included in future issues, please contact Rachel Callanan , Policy Director, (651) 649-1710 x107, email rcallanan@mhponline.org or see HousingMinnesota's website at www.housingminnesota.org . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mapnp.Geeks.ORG/pipermail/mhp-bulletin/attachments/20040326/2aabfd4c/attachment.html