HUD Budget, HOTMA, BABA, 30-Day Notice Rule Atop Our List of Priorities
PHADA President Mark Gillett.
PHADA held its annual Commissioners’ Conference earlier this month in San Diego, California. We were delighted to host more than seven hundred attendees in our first gathering of 2024, providing an opportune time to focus on key issues while also learning from informative presentations.
Most of the Association’s committee meetings occur on the conference’s first day, which was Sunday, January 7. Typically, before our committees get underway, members participate in a briefing conducted by our policy staff. Every time we do this, more people attend because this is one of the most valuable aspects of our conferences. Given all that is occurring in Washington right now, the briefing was particularly helpful.
PHADA staff covered the latest on the FY 24 HUD budget and other issues such as the 30-day notice rule for non-payment of rent, ongoing NSPIRE inspections, and HOTMA. A key takeaway was that PHADA plans to be more aggressive in trying to convince the Department of the need to slow down on burdensome regulations, especially HOTMA. Please see the separate articles in this edition on the 30-day notice, the federal budget, and our other policy-related priorities.
As always, the conference featured some workshops and presentations on other timely topics including sessions on the ten-year anniversary of RAD, insurance issues confronting HAs, and new Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA) changes.
PHADA appreciated Robert Dalzell’s attendance and presentations on the Build America Buy America (BABA) rule. Dalzell is with HUD headquarters and did an excellent job covering the information and responding to members’ many questions and concerns. PHADA plans to follow up with him to provide additional suggestions to make the BABA rule more workable.
Graduates from the Rutgers University-PHADA Executive Director Education Program (EDEP) were honored in a special luncheon. There were more than three dozen graduates this year with twenty-five of them in attendance. As an EDEP alumni myself, I can confidently assert they are now in a better position to lead their agencies into the future.
We were pleased to be joined by scores of executive directors, staff and commissioners attending their first PHADA meeting.
Our membership committee, Board of Trustees and staff took the opportunity to meet and greet them in a nice gathering Monday morning, January 8.
I must recognize the newly appointed San Diego President and CEO Lisa Jones and her talented team at the San Diego Housing Commission for their invaluable assistance during the conference. We really appreciated their help in making the meeting a success.
We were also pleased to be joined by Mayor Todd Gloria, who welcomed attendees to the city.
In San Diego, we also recognized former PHADA President Jon Gutzmann at the opening ceremony and Trustees meeting. After more than thirty successful years leading the St. Paul Public Housing Agency. Jon is retiring in April.
For those of you who were unable to attend, I would remind you that you can access the presentation materials on the PHADA website here. This is the kind of experience you can benefit from at each PHADA conference.
We encourage you to join us in New Orleans this June for our 2024 Annual Convention & Exhibition. Registration material, hotel, and other information about that meeting can be found in this edition and on the PHADA website.