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23 <br /> 1 See attached for excerpts from the Orange County Housing Authority's Administrative Plan and <br /> 2 Federal Register's Wednesday, November 16, 2016 edition. <br /> 3 <br /> 4 Question 5: <br /> 5 PHA was used a few times in the document. Shouldn't that have been OCHA? <br /> 6 Yes and no. Staff and HUD utilize "PHA" interchangeably when talking about housing <br /> 7 authorities. Staff is certainly open to making the change, deleting PHA and inserting OCHA <br /> 8 where appropriate. <br /> 9 <br /> 10 Question 6: <br /> 11 Please explain the use of criminal background checks and sex offender checks and why <br /> 12 it is based on HCV regulations. Is there any flexibility for local jurisdictions regarding <br /> 13 criminal backgrounds, i.e. the Town of Chapel Hill and its Public Housing Program? <br /> 14 Like the Town of Chapel Hill's federally-funded Public Housing, the Housing Choice Voucher <br /> 15 (HCV) Program, which is also federally-funded, must follow HUD rules regarding the use of <br /> 16 criminal background and sex offender checks as it relates to awarding or denying assistance. <br /> 17 So when it is mentioned that the County's new Local Rent Supplement Program will be <br /> 18 following the HCV Program Guidelines as it relates to criminal background and sex offender <br /> 19 checks that is the relaxed policies that HUD requires. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 Question 6: <br /> 22 Because the voucher program and the public housing program are so closely related, <br /> 23 Commissioner Greene would like to be sure that there is as much consistency as <br /> 24 possible between the two or she would like an explanation for why they can't or <br /> 25 shouldn't be. In addition, the Commissioner would like for County staff to reconsider the <br /> 26 strictness of the proposed policies as it relates to criminal back grounds, etc. <br /> 27 While the public housing and voucher programs have similar intent and are both funded by <br /> 28 HUD, the regulations for the programs do differ. To name a few of the more important <br /> 29 differences, see below: <br /> 30 • In public housing, the Housing Authority owns the units and in the HCV Program, the <br /> 31 units are owned by various private property owners. This difference allows HCV <br /> 32 participants a "choice" in selection of the location of their home, as well as serves to <br /> 33 mitigate concentrations of poverty. <br /> 34 • In public housing, the Housing Authority does not have the ability to request a rent <br /> 35 increase each year but instead must rely solely on federal funding to provide for its <br /> 36 capital needs and unit subsidy. <br /> 37 • With the HCV Program, there is no mechanism for having Resident Councils but public <br /> 38 housing allows for the creation of resident councils at the various complexes. The <br /> 39 bylaws of OCHA does allow for resident representation on the Board of Directors. <br /> 40 <br /> 41 In the case of the new Local Rent Supplement Program, the County has the opportunity to craft <br /> 42 a program that provides for flexibility given specific needs found throughout all areas of the <br /> 43 County, as Orange County has rural, urban and suburban characteristics. County staff has <br /> 44 recommended that in several instances the new program mirror the current HCV Program <br /> 45 policies to mitigate confusion among constituents and alleviate potential legal ramifications, as <br /> 46 well as follow industry best practices. <br /> 47 As it specifically relates to the criminal background checks and being less restrictive, note the <br /> 48 following: <br /> 49 Staff proposes that the Orange County Local Rent Supplement Program "mirror" the <br /> 50 criteria of the current HCV Program as it relates to criminal background checks, etc. The <br />