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a. Report of the Oranqe County Housinq Authority <br /> The Board considered accepting the report of the Housing Authority for 2014 and <br /> providing feedback. <br /> Jean Bolduc thanked the Commissioners for their funding of this department even <br /> during the difficulty of the sequester. She reviewed some highlights from the following report, <br /> as included in the abstract: <br /> Though the following is not an exhaustive list, it does represent the Board's primary <br /> activities and accomplishments. <br /> • During the late Spring and through the Summer, there was a growing controversy <br /> surrounding the decision of one property management company (GSC) to discontinue its <br /> acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers. This was a corporate level decision based on many <br /> factors, having nothing to do with Orange County's voucher holders or the management of its <br /> program. <br /> Nevertheless, activists and housing advocates took up the issue and began meeting regularly <br /> in an effort to force GSC to reverse its decision. <br /> Although we are always concerned about the pressure on our housing market, the Voucher <br /> program itself was managing this within its normal course of activity. We were left, then, with a <br /> disconnect between the actual problem and the perception of the problem. <br /> Through the summer, Mr. Davis and I spend many Wednesday afternoons at Empowerment, <br /> Inc. meeting with the ad hoc group of advocates who were seeking to assist the affected <br /> families. We spent a significant amount of time correcting misinformation on many points, the <br /> leading one being that these families were "losing their vouchers." <br /> This activity culminated in a press conference given by the mayors of Chapel Hill and Carrboro <br /> to bring attention to the issue and to assistance funds they had available to help families that <br /> needed emergency funds for security deposits. Mr. Davis spoke at the August press <br /> conference, which was well covered by local media, and we both took questions from reporters <br /> during and following the press conference. <br /> Takeaway: The Orange County Community, including several segments of housing providers, <br /> advocates, political leadership and the general public would benefit from learning much more <br /> about the HCV program and how it works in Orange County. <br /> Following the mayors' press conference in August, the Housing Authority, as promised, hosted <br /> an information session for landlords and the public about the program and how to participate <br /> as a housing provider. It was held at the Orange County Library in Hillsborough and had <br /> modest attendance. We were disappointed that none of the housing advocates were able to <br /> attend, after repeatedly requesting such a meeting. <br /> • As a beginning to our educational efforts, we have (in addition to the PowerPoint created for <br /> the Landlords meeting) created a brochure that was printed in January 2015 after review with <br /> the County's Public Information Officer. We are also looking forward to taking advantage of <br /> new information infrastructure soon to be available when the County launches its new website. <br /> It's critically important that Orange County's Voucher program not "rest on its laurels" after <br /> many, many years of being a quietly well-run, effective program. <br /> Takeaway: The Orange County Government has long supported the HCV program and now <br /> does so at an even greater funding level following Federal Sequester. During 2015, we would <br /> like to raise the profile of the HCV program and its benefits to taxpayers to highlight the value <br /> of that investment. <br />