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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-09-18 Government Operations Committee Minutes � � Government Operations Committee September 18, 2006 Minutes � Councilor Attendance: Ailen, Greene, Cashwell, Farrington, Stone, � Derrico, Palmer, Hawes StafF Attendance: Barrett, Farrar,Yardley, Hamer � 1. Municipal General Assistance Program Rental Issues and Rate Structures Health and Welfare Director Yardley discussed a memorandum previously � provided to the Committee which detailed certain issues related to rental concerns and rate structures within the City's General Assistance program. It has come to the attention of Yardley that there are concerns regarding practices � by area landlords regarding General Assistance clients. In a number of cases, landlords have been subdividing their housing stock to allow more tenants to live in units than they are designed to accommodate. This allows the landlord to � receive additional City rent vouchers. It also potentially places the tenant in a living situation with someone they do not know. � Providing background, Yardley said that a single individual eligible for GA is entitled to $495 overall maximum for housing, food, incidentals, and legitimate ' living expenses under State Statue and City Code. There is a maximum for housing up to $450. Some landlords have a three bedroom apartment with a living room and kitchen which they have made into three separate residences � with each tenant receiving the City's voucher. The landlord is then receiving $450 for each of the three tenants. This problem has been occurring for a while � and the Department has dealt with some landlords individually to resolve the issues. Yardley has met with Pine Tree Legal. He is concerned that some tenants are pending receipt of SSSI and are expected to repay the State and the City during the time they are pending determination. Yardley also noted tha� if $450 � out of$495 is spent for rent there is only $45 remaining to cover all other , expenses. This then places the individual on other safety net programs; i.e. food , kitchens, etc. Yardley spoke of a proposal to tighten up this area for the future by changing the � vouchers to request the landlord to list all of their properly information which is on file with Code Enforcement and Assessing citing the number of bedrooms. This would provide solid ground to hold the landlords accountable. Yardley is � also proposing to create a single room occupancy rate for the City at $325. Health and Welfare has recently secured a software system from the City of Portland to more efficiently handle these issues. It is currently in the test � process. � ' � Responding to Greene, Barrett said on an annual basis the City provided $1.3M � in payments to landlords and approximately 200 checks per month. Staff is looking through its records to see if other incidences can be identified. Responding to Greene, Yardley said one of the challenges is that eligible � individuals are required to find their own housing and they report back to Health and Welfare. Barrett said the voucher change will require the landlord to certify � their housing information and staff will also check with clients to make certain of what they are renting. Paperwork will be tightened up as well to provide a clear record. The change in the voucher policy was effective as of August 1, 2006. � Cashwell said he wasn't certain that a policy to go forward and not backwards is � appropriate. Yardley said that Code Enforcement and law enforcement are looking at past issues. He is, however, asking the Committee's support for future implementation to correct problems. Cashwell said that in the past 3 � years or so that general assistance has increased from $750,000 to $1.5M. Barrett clarified in FY00 it was $848,000 and last year was $1.8M. The largest jump has occurred over the last several years where in FY04 it went of $1.38M � to $1.7M in FY05. Cashwell asked about an audit and Barrett said the City's independent auditors have been asked to review the General Assistance program to identify other weaknesses in the program. � Yardley is also working with Shaw House, Acadia, and other vendors on a variety of issues all related to the cost to the Bangor taxpayer. Responding to Cashwell, , Yardley said the City never pays more than the overall maximum but the consumer pays. � Stone asked if the GA budget is on target in terms of expenditures. Yardley said it is right about on what was projected. One area difficult to predict is that of � prescriptions. Barrett clarified that 80% of the budget is for rental assistance. The State reimburses SO% of the City's expenditures up to $625,000. Beyond that, the State reimburses 90%. Barrett agreed with Yardley that the City needs � to have a better handle on its clients. He also talked about working with current clients to see what other programs are available that could move them off a 100% state and local funded program onto a program that has more significant � federal participation. Allen asked if the landlords are bound by any program to accept clients in this category. All landlords are subject to anti-discrimination policies. Responding to Allen, Barrett said the GA program is not available to � fulltime students. The rental rate reimbursement is based on HUD's Fair Market Rents for the area. Responding to D'Errico, Barrett said that each community � has its own GA program and other communities may have the same problems. Bangor's program is significantly larger than other region communities. Portland's is the largest. Yardley said that GA is a state mandated program and � administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS perForms � ' , � audits which primarily focus on making certain the municipality complies with the administrative function of the program. �' Cashwell agreed with Yardley's proposal but sees it as only a piece of the solution. The City needs to resolve the issue of almost lethargic administration � and focus on the paper rather than the client, the system, the inventory and the propensity for landlord misuse. Yardley said the staff working on this issue could not be any more committed to do exactly what Cashwell had outlined. They have � worked very diligently and are to be commended. Palmer asked the number of landlord vendors. Yardley estimated 200. Palmer � agreed with Cashwell. Responding to Palmer, Yardley spoke about the Shelter Plus Care program which provides a case manager to those individuals who need � assistance in locating housing. Barrett said that not all of the landlords are happy with the new forms and requirements. The information is needed for accountability. He said the form may be simplified but the landlords will be � required to provide accurate information on what is being rented, to whom they are renting, etc. The voucher form is a contract, Barrett responded to Cash�vell. Answering Allen, Barrett said the clients have to qualify on a month to month � basis but could be on the program for years. Hawes thinks Yardley is headed in the right direction but asked what type of disciplinary procedures are in place for identified ofFenders. Barrett said that the Legal Department is looking into this � as well as the Police Department. The vouchers used in the past have not been explicit enough. Hamer said that going forward if someone misrepresents themselves on a form they will not receive payment from the City. It could result � in the eviction of the tenant, which the City does not want to happen. Hamer said it is better to make a cooperative effort to work with all parties to make sure � the City is getting what it is paying for as opposed to having a mistake and trying to enforce it. When the Ordinance is revised to incorporate these changes, Barrett said it should also include language that would make a violation of the � ordinances. Hawes asked Yardley to provide periodic updates to the Committee regarding his proposed process. Yardley agreed. Answering Stone, Barrett said that the City will pay for what it receives. When landlords complete the voucher � form, they will be clearly certifying what they have for units. It can then be checked against the data base, against the zoning codes, against the certificate of occupancy on file. Stone talked about legal enforcement of City Ordinances. � Hamer stressed the importance of the revised form. If a landlord misrepresents what they are providing to a client, the City has a signed form as proof. In the past, the forms were not clear and not enough information was required. � Greene made a motion to move stafF's recommendation for the various ro osed P p changes on to full Council. The motion was seconded by Hawes. � � The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. � i