[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 31, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48748-48750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18722]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-6280-D-01]
Redelegation of Authority for the Office of Field Policy and
Management
AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, Housing and Urban
Development (HUD).
ACTION: Notice of redelegation of authority.
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SUMMARY: Through this notice, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field
Policy and Management and the Director for Field Policy and Management
redelegate certain operational management authority to the HUD Regional
Administrators located in Region I (Boston, MA); Region II (New York,
NY); Region III (Philadelphia, PA); Region IV (Atlanta, GA); Region V
(Chicago, IL); Region VI (Fort Worth, TX); Region VII (Kansas City,
KS); Region VIII (Denver, CO); Region IX (San Francisco, CA); and
Region X (Seattle, WA).
DATES: Applicable Date: August 25, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John B. Shumway, Assistant General
Counsel, Administrative Law Division, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, at 451 7th Street SW, Room 9262; Washington, DC 20410-0500
or telephone number 202-402-5190 (this is not a toll-free number).
Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number
through TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339 (this
is a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In October 2020, the Secretary of HUD
delegated to the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and
Management and the Director for Field Policy and Management authority
for the management and oversight of the Department's field operations,
which was published in the Federal Register at
[[Page 48749]]
85 FR 62753. In that notice, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field
Policy and Management and Director for Field Policy and Management were
authorized to redelegate such authority. Through this notice, the
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management and the
Director for Field Policy and Management redelegate certain operational
management authority to the HUD Regional Administrators. This notice
supersedes all prior redelegations to the HUD Regional Administrators.
Section I: Authority Redelegated
A. Cross-Program Coordination. Each Regional Administrator is
redelegated the following duties:
1. Develop and implement place-based Regional and Field Operating
Plans in consultation with field Program Directors.
2. To develop, approve, track, and oversee the Regional Operating
Plan priority projects and initiatives that cross program office lines.
3. Prepare briefing papers and hot issue reports.
4. Lead disaster relief efforts.
5. Convene on-site program teams (e.g., Community Planning and
Development, Office of General Counsel, Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, Public and Indian Housing, etc.), as necessary and in
consultation with field Program Directors, to review proposed major
projects or initiatives for place-based impact.
6. Assist state and local housing officials in assessing the impact
of housing foreclosures.
7. Convene place-based teams, as necessary and in consultation with
field program directors, to review Consolidated Plans during the 45-day
review period.
8. Provide comments to Public and Indian Housing field directors on
public housing disposal and/or demolition applications.
9. Review with other program leaders the status of the HUD-VASH
program to maximize utilization.
10. Consult with Program Directors regarding implementation of
departmental management goals, Secretarial and Presidential
initiatives, and Annual Performance Plan commitments. Regional
Administrators can request review by Headquarters of decisions made by
Program Directors. Where the Regional Administrator and relevant
Program Director disagree on a major program decision, the Regional
Administrator may report the disagreement to the Assistant Deputy
Secretary for Field Policy and Management, who may then raise the
matter with the relevant Assistant Secretary or equivalent. The
relevant Assistant Secretary or equivalent makes the final
determination, subject to review by the Deputy Secretary, as necessary.
B. Administrative Management. Each Regional Administrator is
delegated the following administrative duties:
1. Manage administrative field operations, applicable to all
employees at a duty location, including out-stationed personnel,
through coordination with Program Directors administrative offices, and
supervisors of out stationed personnel. Administrative field operations
include, but are not limited to:
Determining official local office hours of operation.
Determining emergency office closings due to weather,
disaster, or local events.
Providing effective customer service.
Working with Program Directors and all employees to foster
a positive working environment.
Coordinating with the Office of Administration (and its
Office of Administration Regional Support Manager) to develop and
manage an administrative budget that meets the needs of programs and
staff in each office.
Managing internal office communications of a general
nature.
2. Regional Administrators may request a waiver of specific
directives and handbook provisions pertaining to programs in the
offices of Housing, Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and
Development, and Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Waiver is not
authorized for the HUD Litigation Handbook and regulations, or those
departmental directives and handbook provisions mandated by or directly
predicated on a statute, Executive Order, or regulation. Waiver
requests by a Regional Administrator will be forwarded to the Assistant
Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management, who will forward the
requests to the respective program Assistant Secretary for final
decision. All waiver requests must be in writing and specify the
grounds for requesting the waiver. Regional Administrators will be
notified in writing of the program Assistant Secretary's decision,
through the Office of Field Policy and Management leadership. Only the
program Assistant Secretary, or other program office officials with
delegated authority to do so, may grant waivers or make a specific
delegation of waiver authority.
C. Representation. Each Regional Administrator is redelegated the
following duties:
1. Serve as the lead point of contact for non-tribal local elected
or appointed officials.
2. Serve as one of the principal points of contact with industry
groups with the support of and in consultation with field Program
Directors.
3. Oversee labor/management relations in the region in coordination
with the assigned Employee and Labor Relations representative.
Based on information provided by the Office of the Chief
Human Capital Officer/Employee and Labor Relations Division and with
input by the Office of General Counsel, the Regional Administrator will
provide the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management
with regular reports on all open and active labor/management cases that
are in process.
4. Work with Headquarters offices, including the Office of
Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, to ensure that federal,
state, local, and tribal elected officials within a jurisdiction
receive responsive and coordinated customer service. This in no way
supersedes the Secretary's delegation of authority to the Assistant
Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations on October
7, 2011 (Federal Register Docket No. FR-5515-D-01), in which the
Secretary delegates to the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and
Intergovernmental Relations authority and responsibility for
coordinating congressional and intergovernmental relations activities.
5. Manage all field-controlled congressional and intergovernmental
correspondence, in consultation with field Program Directors and in
coordination with the Executive Secretariat (Office of Administration)
and the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations.
6. Respond to all media inquiries in conjunction with Headquarters'
Office of Public Affairs and field Program Directors.
7. Administer the local office's web page and internet sources, in
coordination with the Office of Public Affairs.
8. Monitor and evaluate customer service.
9. Enter into co-sponsorship agreements, with the concurrence of
the General Counsel and the relevant program Assistant Secretary or
equivalent.
Section II: Authority To Redelegate
Except for those authorities specifically excluded in Section III
of
[[Page 48750]]
this notice, this authority may be redelegated, as appropriate, from
Regional Administrators to Field Office Directors and Deputy Regional
Administrators within the respective jurisdictions.
Section III: Authority Nonredelegable
The following authorities may not be redelegated from the Regional
Administrators to the Field Office Directors or to any other employee:
1. The authority to enter into co-sponsorship agreements.
2. The authority to request waivers as provided by section I.B.2.
above.
3. The authority to sign local, area-wide, or center-wide
negotiated impact and implementation or memorandum of understanding
agreements with unions representing smaller units consisting of either
Headquarters and/or field employees on issues confined to a single
program area and within the Regional Administrators' own budget
authority, including the resolution of unfair labor practice charges
and bargaining impasses.
Section IV: Authority Superseded
This notice supersedes all prior redelegations of authority to the
Regional Administrators from the Secretary of HUD, the Assistant Deputy
Secretary for Field Policy and Management, or the Director for Field
Policy and Management.
Authority: Section 7(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).
Michele Perez,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-18722 Filed 8-30-21; 8:45 am]
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