[1978 Annual Report of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

1978 Annual Report
SWBNiKffl DEPOSITOR lia*
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
’^30
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20410
THE SECRETARY
Dear Mr. President:
I have the honor to transmit herewith for submission to Congress The Fourteenth Annual Report of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This report is a narrative record of major activities under all of the programs administered by this Department for the calendar year 1978. A supplemental statistical analysis will be published separately.
Respectfully,	___.
Moon Landrieu
Enclosure
The President The White House Washington, D.C.
■ -
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402
Stock Number 023-000-00571-9
Contents
1	Office of the Secretary
1	Assistant to the Secretary for Public Affairs
2	Assistant to the Secretary for Labor Relations
2	Counselor to the Secretary
3	Office of International Affairs
4	Office of the Under Secretary
5	Deputy Under Secretary for Field Coordination
6	Office of the General Counsel
8	Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development
14	Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner
20	Government National Mortgage Association
21	Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research
35	Assistant Secretary for Neighborhoods, Voluntary Associations and Consumer Protection
42	Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
44	Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations
44	Assistant Secretary for Administration
48	New Community Development Corporation
49	Federal Insurance Administration
51	Office of Inspector General
51	Federal Disaster Assistance Administration
53	Advisory Bodies to the Department
Office of the
Secretary
The Secretary of the Department is responsible for the administration of programs, functions and authorities of the Department and for advising the President on Federal policies, programs and activities relating to housing and urban development.
Additionally, the Secretary develops and recommends policies regarding the orderly growth and development of the Nation’s urban areas, and exercises leadership, at the direction of the President, in coordinating Federal activities that impact on housing
Relations; a Special Assistant for Indian and Alaska Native Programs; the HUD Board of Contract Appeals; and an Administrative Law Judge.
Assistant to the Secretary for Public Affairs
The Office of Public Affairs advises the Secretary and other principal departmental staff on matters involving the Department’s dealings with the general public and the media.
development and related fields;
•	development and execution of an averall public affairs program for the Department;
•	response to Freedom of Information requests from the media;
•	review of all departmental issuances and publications; and
•	maintenance of quickly retrievable information on departmental programs and activities.
During 1978, the communication specialist concept, emphasizing broad
and community development in urban, suburban or metropolitan areas.
The Secretary also is responsible for the general overview of activities of the Federal National Mortgage Association and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New Community Development Corporation.
Principal staff officers of the Department include the Secretary, Undersecretary, General Counsel, seven Assistant Secretaries, President of Government National Mortgage Association, Federal Insurance Administrator, General Manager of the New Community Development Corporation, Inspector General, and Federal Disaster Assistance Administrator.
The Office of the Secretary includes the Under Secretary; Deputy Under Secretary for Field Coordination; Counselor to the Secretary; two Executive Assistants; Assistants to the Secretary for Public Affairs, International Affairs and Labor
The Office is responsible for matters relating to pubic information, public opinion and participation in public events, and provides the following services;
•	liaison with and response to requests for information by national, regional, and local news media;
•	issuance of news releases and other publications explaining or describing departmental activities;
•	liaison with and guidance of field public affairs officers;
•	communication support for the program activities of the Department;
•	public affairs evaluation and training;
•	community liaison relating to speeches and visits of HUD personnel;
•	preparation of speeches for use by the Secretary and the Under Secretary, as well as other top staff, as capabilities permit;
•	liaison with national organizations having an interest in housing and community
multimedia capabilities, was substituted for the previous desk officer system. The specialists, in addition to covering program areas, coordinate numerous communication projects under a “Communication Support Services” plan of which the purpose is to strengthen Public Affairs support for program objectives.
An important innovation during 1978 was creation of a Communication Review Board to coordinate departmental communication efforts, including publications.
During 1978, communication efforts were launched in support of the Graduated Payment Mortgage program, the President’s National Urban Policy, flood insurance, energy conservation, and the Urban Development Action Grant program, among others.
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Assistant to the Secretary for Labor Relations
The Assistant to the Secretary for Labor Relations is the principal adviser to the Secretary on labor relations and labor standards matters, particularly in the construction industry, and acts as liaison with organized labor.
Through its Field staff, the Office of Labor Relations enforces construction labor standards and determines the wages rates for
The Office of Labor Relations also began development of a comprehensive job and job training policy to be linked with housing and neighborhood revitalization efforts.
Counselor to the Secretary
The Office of the Counselor to the Secretary was established in February 1977 to advise and counsel the Secretary on sensitive policy issues which cut across organizational and programmatic lines.
Tax-exempt Bond Financing
The Counselor contributed to the drafting of the final regulations defining the conditions for the issuance of tax-exempt obligations by Public Housing Agencies, as well as to the drafting of the associated Section 8 regulations.
Taino Towers
In 1978, with assistance of the Counselor, HUD successfully defended itself against a $ 10 million claim filed by the contractor of
maintenance employees of low-rent public housing authorities.
In 1978, the Office of Labor Relations made significant progress in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of its labor standards enforcement program. This overall level of improvement was made possible in part by the Secretary’s decision to staff all HUD Area Offices with Labor Relations personnel. More than one-third of the staff appointees were women or minorities.
In conjunction with the Offices of Housing and Policy Develoment and Research, Labor Relations initiated two important studies: one to design a departmental low-rent housing authority maintenance wage rate determination system, and the other to assess the current HUD-Department of Labor method for obtaining reliable Davis-Bacon wage determinations for HUD-assisted residential construction.
During 1978, activities of the Counselor included an in-depth analysis and review of Indian Housing, tax-exempt bond financing for Section 8 projects, the Taino Towers project and various special projects designed for Washington, D.C.
Indian and Alaskan Native Housing
This broad review resulted in the return of the Indian and Alaskan Native housing program to the full policy and operational control of the Assistant Secretary for Housing, and the assignment of the associated coordinating responsibilities to the newly appointed Special Assistant for Alaskan and Native Programs.
In the process, the Counselor initiated an Indian-Alaskan Native housing demonstration project utilizing private construction management assistance.
the East Harlem Pilot Block project known as Taino Towers. The resolution of these difficulties made possible the transfer of this function to the Assistant Secretary for Housing and the local HUD Area Office.
District of Columbia Initiatives
One of the Counselor’s functions is working on initiatives in the District of Columbia, such as the Ivy City Project, which will provide the Nation with concrete examples of how the Department’s programs can inspire revitalization of our urban areas. Under the Ivy City project, neighborhood residents, with the assistance of the Institute of Cultural Affairs, have converted a closed public school into a community facility. The sponsors have proposed comprehensive economic development and housing plans involving a minimum of Government assistance.
The Office of the Counselor also assisted in an effort to resurrect the closed-down
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Deanwood Gardens public housing project, which will result in a multifamily homeownership endeavor to be managed by an indigenous, nonprofit organization under contract with the public housing authority.
Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally Handicapped
In continuation of work done in 1977 in connection with St. Elizabeth’s hospital, the HUD Counselor, Department of Health, Education and Welfare and local public and private organizations in the District of Columbia and surrounding areas cooperated in fostering housing techniques which support the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill.
The Counselor’s Office also played a lead role in a jointly funded HUD-HEW demonstraton on mental health programs conducted on five Indian reservations under the direction of Dr. Karl Menninger.
Office of International Affairs
The Assistant to the Secretary for International Affairs advises and assists the Secretary in matters concerning the international exchange of information on areas of priority interest to the Department.
These activities include:
•	the exchange of information on housing and urban development issues under both formal and informal arrangements with other nations, and the dissemination of information on relevant foreign experience within the Department and to urban affairs professionals and the American public.
•	advising the Department of State and coordinating U.S. representation at international meetings relevant to HUD’s domestic interests.
•	directions and arrangement of visits by officials of foreign governments and other high ranking persons to HUD Headquarters in Washington and other locations in the United States.
Following is a summary of the outstanding events, as well as the main continuous tasks carried out by the Office of International Affairs (OIA) for 1978:
Research and Publications
OIA continued to furnish research and information services to the Department, other Federal agencies, the Congress, the United Nations and other international organizations, as well as to universities and private institutions. OIA uses two principal methods for disseminating foreign data: a computer-based information system and a publications program.
The HUD International Information System is the only automated system in the Federal Government for documentation related to urban affairs outside the U.S. It contains more than 10,000 documents detailing the foreign experience in housing programs, construction techniques, and planning and environmental policies.
In 1978, the publications program underwent important revisions. The International Bulletin, first issued in the spring, provides schedules and summaries of the activities of a broad range of foreign organizations in housing and urban affairs. The International Sources Series, also a new publication, consists of bibliographies on specially selected subjects, such as the “Selected Bibliography on Innner City Areas of the United Kingdom.” The newly conceived International Review, to appear early in 1979, is designed to facilitate the exchange of urban research among governments, as well as to disseminate information on the increasing number of international conferences being called to consider urban issues.
International Agreements and Conferences
The Third Joint Committee Meeting under
the US-USSR Agreement on Housing and Other Construction was held in Washington on September 27-29. The HUD Secretary headed the U.S. delegation, which included representatives from the General Services Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These sessions were concluded with the signing of documents establishing the subjects for joint research and exchange of information during 1978-1979.
Later in the year, at the first joint seminar
held under the agreement, both nations presented technical papers on industrialized building systems. Discussions also took place on building design and construction management, utilities, construction in seismic areas, building materials and components, building for extreme climates and unusual geological conditions, and new towns.
The Department, which also participated in the US-USSR Agreement for Environmental Protection, will continue to confer with housing representatives from the Soviet Union under a five-year extension of the US-USSR Agreement.
The first joint report issued under the 1977 Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Housing and Urban Affairs between the Department and the Canadian Ministry of State for Urban Affairs was published. The report, “Revitalizing North American
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Office of the
UnderSecretary
Neighborhoods: A Comparison of Canadian and U.S. Programs for Neighborhood Preservation and Housing Rehabilitation,” reviews the major efforts of both nations to resuscitate older neighborhoods. Additional reports are planned for 1979.
Preparations were completed for the signing of an Agreement between the United States and Mexico on Housing and Urban Development. This agreement designates HUD and the Mexican Ministry of Human Settlements and Public Works as executive agencies. A Joint Steering Committee will design and schedule an agenda to provide for an exchange of views about National Urban Policies with particular reference to urban areas along the US-Mexico border.
The Office of International Affairs arranged the visit of Secretary Harris to Greece in November at the invitation of the Greek Ministry of Public Works. A useful exchange of ideas set the stage for additional contact.
HUD officials represented the United States in a number of multi-national meetings on urban development. For example, departmental officials contributed to a discussion in Brussels on “Problems of Inner City Areas” during the plenary session of the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society.
During the year, the OIA staff participated in various United Nations undertakings. In April, HUD officials played a key, substantive role in the preparation of America's policy positions at the first session of the UN Commission on Human Settlements. In related activities, departmental personnel participated in UN regional meetings on low-cost housing in Monrovia, Liberia, and in Mexico City, where problems of financing and management of human settlements in developing countries were examined.
In September, a senior HUD official led the U.S. delegation to the annual plenary session of the Committee on Housing,
Building and Planning of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).
Also in September, another prominent international body, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), convened its Ad Hoc Meeting on Urban Concerns. A high-ranking HUD delegation participated in these deliberations, which were scheduled to resume in January 1979.
Foreign Visitors
As part of the information exchange program, HUD received visiting foreign government officials, as well as numerous professionals and researchers from overseas, who are concerned with housing and urban development. OIA arranges Headquarters briefings for these visitors and coordinates similar orientations at HUD offices in the 10 regions. In 1978, 140 programs were arranged for 318 visitors from over 25 countries. Many of these visits result in continued exchanges of documentation with the visitor’s organization.
In order to keep senior HUD officials posted on foreign trends in urban public policy, OIA organized a series of six seminars on the overseas experience in housing finance with the assistance and participation of World Bank officials.
The Under Secretary assists the Secretary in the discharge of departmental duties and responsibilities and serves as Acting Secretary in the absence of the Secretary.
As the chief operating officer, the Under Secretary is responsible for the maintenance of efficient and effective management and accountability systems, the establishment and execution of specific priorities, and overseeing the accomplishment of the Department's goals and objectives by the various Assistant Secretaries.
Housing Costs Task Force
The Office of the Under Secretary took the lead in pressing for more rational local zoning codes and ordinances to reduce the excessive costs of government regulation of the housing industry. This emphasis resulted from the work of the Housing Cost Task Force set up by the Secretary in May 1977.
The Under Secretary served as departmental liaison to the Assistant to the President for Inflation. The Undersecretary made clear that HUD would use appropriate means at its disposal to encourage its clientele to follow closely the President’s wage and price standards.
During 1978, the Under Secretary implemented a number of significant initiatives designed to improve the management of the Department and effectiveness of HUD’s programs:
Workload Leveling Task Force
The Under Secretary established a
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Workload Leveling Task Force to examine and propose actions to reduce the housing program production peak which occurs during the last three months of each fiscal year. Corrective actions have shortened processing time by shifting additional responsibilities to the field and granting area office personnel greater responsibility to act without awaiting Headquarters concurrence. The Workload Leveling Task Force will continue its efforts in 1979.
procedures for coping with fraud in the future. The last two phases provided for a program to correct these potential weaknesses and a system for ongoing evaluation.
Operating Plan
The Operating Plan constitutes the Department’s chief operational planning and monitoring tool. In May 1978, the Under Secretary formalized the requirements for an automated Planning and
managers and chairing the selecting panels for vacant field manager positions.
The Deputy Under Secretary serves as the principal action arm of the Secretary and the Under Secretary in assuring that deficiencies in field operations identified during periodic performance evaluation reviews, and other sources, are corrected by Regional Administrators and Area Office Managers.
Section 312 Rehabilitation
Loan Task Force
Responding to criticism by the General Accounting Office, as well as concerns of the Secretary, the Undersecretary chaired a Task Force to evaluate the management of the Section 312 Rehabilitation Loan Program. The Task Force developed procedures to simplify and improve HUD’s systems of loan origination, property disposition, loan servicing, management information and financial management.
Anti-Fraud Program
The Under Secretary instituted a four-step, anti-fraud plan to prevent and detect fraud and “red flag’’ potential trouble spots before they could develop to a critical stage. The first phase included identifying the most immediate potentialities for fraud and instituting quick remedial action. In the second phase, the Undersecretary assembled the best technicians in the Department to discuss the optimal
Performance Reporting System to streamline the Department’s Regional Operating Plan process.
The Executive Management Reporting system, which assesses progress in key performance areas, was also linked to the automated Operating Plan System. The Executive Management Reporting process culminates in a monthly performance review meeting where top management from Headquarters and the Field evaluate problems and initiate corrective action.
Deputy Under Secretary for Field Coordination
The Deputy Under Secretary for Field Coordination is responsible for overseeing relationships between Headquarters and the field, coordinating the Department’s field activities and improving field office operations. The official is responsible for coordinating the assessment of field
Field Direction and Management
In June 1978, the Deputy Under Secretary for Field Coordination and the Assistant Secretary for Administration jointly conducted the first of a series of week-long quarterly meetings for the orientation and training of newly appointed and incumbent Area Managers. Principal staff personnel from Headquarters and outstanding leaders from both the public and private sectors participated in the programs which addressed the full range of management issues faced in field operation.
Audits Backlog Cleanup
Under the supervision of the Deputy Under Secretary, all but 400 open audit findings from a backlog of 4,600 were resolved within 90 days. The remaining cases were sent to Headquarters by the Regions for final resolution.
Environmental Crisis Response
During 1978, staff personnel coordinated
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The General Counsel
the Department’s response to two complex field problems stemming from critical environmental issues: housing development in the vicinity of the Rocky Flats Plutonium Processing Plant in Denver and, relocation of families from the chemically polluted Love Canal area of Niagara Falls.
Field Issue Resolution System
Designed to monitor and ensure timely responses by Headquarters to issues raised in the field, the Field Issue Resolution
System (FIRS) was developed and implemented by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary.
Management Performance Evaluation
The Office conducted management performance appraisals of field operations of HUD Regional Offices in Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, Dallas and San Francisco. Area Office evaluations were carried out in Hartford, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles. The findings of these evaluations should result in an improvement in the overall delivery of HUD programs.
The General Counsel is the attorney for the Department, providing legal advice and services essential for the proper formulation, development and operation of all HUD programs.
The Office of the General Counsel (OFC) consists of six divisions - Insured Housing, Regulatory Programs, Litigation, Urban Development, Finance and Administrative Law, and Legislation - and an Office of Regulations.
Insured Housing Division
Home Mortgage Branch
The Home Mortgage Branch performs the legal work necessary for HUD’s singlefamily insured housing programs.
In addition to preparation of regulations and issuance of opinions on program questions, the Office in 1978 participated in the simplification of forms and procedures associated with Title I Property Improvement and the Mobile Home Program. Also, on an experimental basis. Home Mortgage attorneys initiated title evidence procedures for single-family acquisitions which permit approved mortgagees to obtain a title binder in favor of the Secretary. Since the cost of the title binder is less than that of an owner’s title policy, both HUD and the mortgagee benefit from the new procedure. OGC expects to expand this experimental procedure to 20 States in 1979.
In 1978, the Home Mortgage Branch
approved title for 26,071 properties, authorizing the payment of over $347,719,400 in claims.
Multifamily Mortgage Branch
Attorneys of the Branch dealt with a broad spectrum of multifamily insured housing issues, rendering opinions on program questions and drafting regulations and procedures. Particularly creative legal work went into the review of proposals involving FHA mortgage insurance coupled with tax-exempt financing under Section 11(b) ofthe Housing Act of 1937.
Multifamily mortgage insurance claims and legal work associated with foreclosures accounted for a significant part of the year’s workload: 151 new mortgage insurance claims were received, of which 32 were subsequently withdrawn; 98 claims were completed; 85 requests for foreclosures were received; 30 judicial foreclosures were transmitted to the Justice Department; and 17 power of sale foreclosures were sent to HUD Area Offices. Branch attorneys also represented HUD on the Legal Committee of the Interagency Condominium Task Force, and helped to revise the Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare with respect to the Section 242 mortgage insurance program for hospitals.
Regulatory Programs Division
Consumer Protection Branch
During 1978, Branch attorneys represented HUD in administrative hearings and lawsuits necessary to assure developer compliance with the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act. Consumer Protection attorneys also assisted in the enforcement of the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, assumed conduct of litigation over the revised National Flood Insurance program, furnished legal services for Federal disaster assistance activities, and developed standards for buildings covered by the Energy Conservation and Production Act.
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Equal Opportunity Branch
The Equal Opportunity Branch provided all necessary legal support to the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). In addition, Equal Opportunity attorneys served on Secretarial task forces to develop equal opportunity and grantee performance regulations for the Community Development Block Grant program, and to review HUD’s Title VIII authority with respect to rapid racial transition in neighborhoods.
In 1978, the Equal Opportunity Branch advised HUD staff about the relation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to the Department’s programs, and advised various Indian Tribes about the applicability of Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to their program interests.
Finally, Equal Opportunity attorneys served as departmental representatives in Administrative FHEO cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and in appeals before the various offices of the Civil Service Commission.
The Regulatory Programs Division, in addition to the work of its two branches, also functioned as counsel to the Department’s Mortgage Review Board.
Litigation Division
Litigation Division attorneys represented the interests of the Department in those cases which raised significant issues concerning HUD programs and activities.
In 1978, the Department’s plan of reorganization and consequent transfers and reassignments of functions and personnel were sustained in three cases; a fourth challenge was abandoned.
The Department agreed to establish from the excess rentals reserve fund the sum of $60 million for distribution to those present and former tenants who would have qualified for a tax and utility cost subsidy between February 1, 1975, and October 1, 1977.
HUD continues to be involved in the extensive post-judgment proceedings in Resident Advisory Board v/ Rizzo, where construction of a 120-unit public housing project was ordered as relief for racial discrimination resulting from the failure of the Philadelphia Housing Authority to construct the project in the Whitman Park urban renewal area. The Department is cooperating fully with the Court’s orders and has agreed to make progress payments to the developer in order to alleviate his
problem of obtaining financing for construction of this controversial project.
Urban Development Division
Block Grants Branch
Attorneys in this Branch aided the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development with legal matters surrounding such HUD programs as Community Development Block Grants, Section 312 Property Rehabilitation Loans, Comprehensive Planning Assistance, and relocation activities. Their efforts had great impact, during the year, on the development of regulations, legal forms, and procedures for the new Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) program.
In addition to ongoing legal activities, including the closing out of urban renewal and other superseded categorical grant programs, the Branch took part in shaping regulations governing an expanded Urban Homesteading program.
Low-Rent Housing Branch
Attorneys in the Low-Rent Housing Branch provided legal advice in connection with the Department’s various efforts to house the less fortunate, particularly the public housing and Section 8 programs.
During the year, the Branch observed an important milestone in the history of public regulation when HUD announced an opportunity for comment and public inspection of a revised Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) for the public
housing program. This marked the first major revision of the ACC in nearly a decade and culminated a two-year effort by OGC.
Finance and Administrative Law Division
Opinions Staff
This Staff, which has regular responsibility for labor, environmental, and budget law matters and advises in other areas, collated and analyzed more than 1,000 responses to proposed regulations governing the activities of the Federal National Mortgage Association (24 CFR Part 81).
Administrative Law Branch
The Administrative Law Branch furnished legal assistance with respect to the Department’s ethical conduct program, adverse personnel actions, and procurement and contract activities. Included in this work were suspensions of contractors, the
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Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development
Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, and other matters involving organization and management.
Finance Branch
The Finance Branch provides legal counsel with respect to three areas: the programs and functions of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), the financing of departmental programs in private capital markets, and analyses of the effect of Federal and State tax laws on the
Legislation Division
Legislative services provided by the General Counsel’s Office include the drafting of bills and supporting statements and material, and advising on pending legislation proposed by or of interest to the Department. The Division also coordinates the preparation, review and clearance of testimony presented by the Secretary and other HUD officials before the Congress.
The Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (CPD) advises the Secretary on and administers the Community Development Block Grants and Urban Development Action Grants made by HUD to local governments to fund a wide range of community, neighborhood and economic development activities.
CPD activities include those previously eligible under the separate categorical grant programs - Urban Renewal, Neighborhood Development, Model Cities, Water and
conduct and operations of HUD programs. Since Branch attorneys had to defend against a series of lawsuits challenging GNMA activities, this workload increased dramatically in 1978.
Members of the Finance Branch have also acted as departmental coordinators for the joint HUD-Treasury tax study which is evaluating the alternatives to the existing housing tax incentives.
New Communities Branch
This Branch continued to provide legal counsel for the programs administered by the New Community Development Corporation.
FNMA Oversight Unit
A FNMA Oversight Unit was created in October to assist the Secretary in implementing the requirements governing the secondary market operations of the Federal National Mortgage Association.
Office of Regulations
This Office is responsible for obtaining departmental clearance of all HUD regulations and arranging for their publication in the Federal Register. In 1978, it originated procedures to comply with recently enacted statutory requirements for Congressional review of new HUD regulations.
Sewer, Neighborhood Facilities, Code Enforcement, Demolition, Open Space, Urban Beautification and Historic Preservation. These discontinued categorical programs will continue to be administered by CPD until the projects authorized under them are completed.
The Assistant Secretary formulates the Department’s contribution to the National Urban Policy, is HUD liaison to the Water Resources Council and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and represents the Secretary on the Pennsylvania Avenue Commission.
CPD is a primary source for continuing policy analysis and development in intergovernmental relations, public management and community planning.
The Assistant Secretary serves in the statutory role of Director of Urban Program Coordination, and helps the Secretary to coordinate programs with other Federal departments and agencies having an impact on community development.
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In addition to advising the Secretary on HUD’s assistance to various State and local governments for improving their management capability, the Assistant Secretary administers a broad range of financial and technical aids to foster planning and management by these units of government.
The Office implements the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. It develops the Department’s relocation activities and coordinates them with the interagency Relocation Assistance Implementation Committee.
The Assistant Secretary is the key official for departmental compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (including Section 104(h) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974) and its related statutes and executive orders, and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. His office also develops and coordinates environmental activities shared by HUD, other Federal departments and agencies, and the Council on Environmental Quality.
National Urban Policy
On March 27, 1978, President Carter submitted to Congress his proposals for a comprehensive national urban policy which detailed the full range of Federal, State, local and private efforts which must be carried out in concert if the Nation is to make “wise and balanced use of the physical and human resources” in America’s towns, cities and metropolitan areas. The Federal Government’s first comprehensive statement on the need and method for conserving the urban environment, the National Urban Policy heralds a major overhaul of most of the Federal programs currently aimed at our cities. All told, the first biennial report cites 50 initiatives and more than 150 revisions to existing programs, within the sphere of 10 separate Federal departments and agencies.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development
played a lead role among the sub-Cabinet offices which took part in the Urban Policy process. CPD helped to define the new policy and many of the 52 HUD program revisions which are outgrowths of the Urban Policy.
One of the titles contained in the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978, which is a direct outgrowth of the Urban Policy process, is the Livable Cities program, which makes available special grants to communities and States to support local arts programs and urban design and planning activities. The 1978 changes to the Section 312 Rehabilitation Program and the enactment of the Better Communities title are also statutory products of the National Urban Policy formulated by CPD. Examples of important administrative revisions to existing programs include “Urban Initiatives” and “Neighborhood Strategy Areas,” which are discussed elsewhere in this annual report.
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
Program Activity
In 1978, 1,344 units of government were entitled to apply for $2,798 million in block grant funds, or 80 percent of the $3,600 million appropriated (excluding Urgent Needs Funds). These entities included 559 metropolitan cities, 81 urban counties, 268 small metropolitan communities and 436 small nonmetropolitan, hold harmless communities. Out of the total entitlement fund, $2,533 million went to the large jurisdictions, while the remainder was absorbed by small metropolitan and nonmetropolitan communities. Since only 31 of the eligible communities chose not to apply and eight others were disapproved, CPD was able to award all but $ 18 million in its entitlement grants.
The rest was reallocated for small cities lacking in entitlements, and to meet urgent needs. Accordingly, during 1978, CPD expected to award about 2,000 small cities
grants (previously known as discretionary grants) in excess of $600 million. This figure represents about 15 percent of the entire CDBG allocation.
The Secretarial discretionary fund of approximately $95 million and the urgent needs fund of $ 100 million, accounting collectively for six percent of the CDBG appropriation, were available to aid between 75 and 100 localities for authorized special purposes. In total, the $3,600 million in 1978 CDBG funds is expected to
assist some 3,400 units of government within the various categories of eligibility.
As part of its responsibility to review program compliance by the nearly 1,345 entitlement communities which have received funds since 1975, and the 5,300 small communities which are carrying out CDBG activities with discretionary funds, CPD conducted 5,461 monitoring visits of CDBG recipients during 1978.
Program Changes
HUD issued block grant regulations to implement legislative changes made as one of the Department’s key initiatives in the 1977 Housing and Community Development Act, and substantially redirected the program to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income persons. The publication of these regulations in March 1978 followed a lengthy review of public comments received in connection with the proposed rules change.
The Fourth Annual CDBG Report shows
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that low- and moderate-income benefits in the program are increasing. In 1977, 61 percent of the program activities had benefited low- and moderate-income persons. In 1978 at least 66 percent, and perhaps as many as 73 percent, of the activities benefited this group.
Other information from the Report shows that neighborhood preservation, accounting for over 40 percent of all program expenditures, is the fastest growing type of activity in the CDBG program. Other common activities, each accounting for roughly 15 percent of all program expenditures, include economic development, general development, and redevelopment.
Early findings described in the Report disclosed that the new regulations are having a generally positive impact. In some cases they are already having apparent effects on community development plans. In other instances, it appeared that they would prompt future planning and generate more widespread recognition of the importance of various community development issues.
Another important new wrinkle in the block grant program in 1978 concerned the transformation of the Discretionary Balance Grants program into one for Small Cities. Consistent with various amendments to the Community Development Act of 1974, CPD in March issued new regulations for the Small Cities program. Some of the key features of the revised program include an emphasis on larger, more comprehensive approaches to community development, as well as the instituting of a national selection system designed to permit communities to apply for the type of program most responsive to their needs. The new regulations also allow States or counties to apply for Small Cities Grants in behalf of smaller units of government which lack the administrative capacity to undertake such programs.
The Offices of Community Planning and Development and Policy Development and Research conducted a Small Cities study,
The Developmental Needs of Small Cities, as required under Section 113 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977. HUD surveyed 2,000 local chief executives, conducted 48 case studies and convened 17 regional meetings to solicit local opinion about the priorities of Small Cities. The study took a close look at the comparative needs of large and small cities, as well as the efficacy of Federal community development programs. In particular, the study examined the formula now used to allocate funds for the Small Cities programs and weighed alternative methods for achieving the purposes of the Act. A final report on Small Cities, which will furnish options for new Federal programs capable of meeting changing community development needs, is now being readied.
Yet another noteworthy feature of the Assistant Secretary’s regard for the problems of small communities took the form of $600,000 in technical assistance, to be administered through HUD’s Regional Offices. This funding will be available to aid small communities which have experienced difficulty in implementing grant programs begun in the previous three years.
Urban Renewal Closeouts
During FY 1978, the Department exceeded its annual closeout goal with respect to remaining urban renewal projects for the third time. Some 237 projects were closed out, or two more than the preestablished goal, leaving 456 projects yet to be concluded.
Urban Development Action Grant Program (UDAG)
The Urban Development Action Grant Program, a highly flexible economic development tool which seeks to create partnerships among the Government, the community and private industry to overcome problems of development, completed its first year of operation. An initiative of the Carter Administration, the Action Grant program is a key element of
the National Urban Policy and demonstrates the Federal Government’s commitment to encourage private reinvestment in our Nation’s cities.
Action Grants were designed to assist severely distressed cities, both large and small, and urban counties in revitalizing their stagnating economies and reclaiming deteriorated neighborhoods. The program solicits unique opportunities whereby qualifying communities can use Federal funds to stimulate new or increased private investment. No Action Grant project is approved unless there is a firm commitment by the private sector to a proposed project.
Some $400 million a year was authorized and appropriated for Fiscal Years 1978 and 1979, and a program level of $675 million is anticipated for FY 1980. Twenty-five percent of the funding is set aside for small communities.
Action Grants served as a complement to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which is HUD’s major funding resource for towns, cities and urban counties.
In 1978, a total of 205 communities received Action Grant funds for 236 projects. Of these communities, 104 have populations below 50,000, and 101 of them have populations of 50,000 or more. HUD secured commitment for an average of more than six dollars in private investment for each dollar of Action Grant funds it had awarded. Thus, over $2.4 billion of private capital has been leveraged by $400 million in Action Grants funds.
Action Grants have an immediate effect on the employment pictures of distressed cities, creating new jobs at the rate of over 87,000 per year, at a cost of $5,536 Action Grant dollars per job. Moreover, 48,000 jobs per year, which otherwise would be lost, are being “saved” while an additional 77,000 construction jobs are being created.
Rehabilitation, Conservation, and Neighborhood Preservation
Activities in support of efforts by localities to preserve and improve neighborhoods fall
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into three main categories: (1) rehabilitation under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, (2) activities under the rehabilitation loan program authorized by Section 312 of the Housing Act of 1964, and (3) endeavors under the Urban Homesteading program authorized by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.
Rehabilitation
During 1978, the Rehabilitation Working
supervision, and program policy and design, with initial sessions to be held in the Fall of 1979.
Under its Direct Technical Assistance program, the HUD Office of Urban Rehabilitation and Community Reinvestment, in conjunction with HUD field offices, sponsored workshops and seminars for rehabilitation professionals, and prepared written materials on the subject of rehabilitation for use in the classroom. Guidebook materials were
traditional categorical grants.
The 1978 Housing and Community Development amendments extended the Section 312 authorization through FY 1979, and a separate act of Congress appropriated an additional $230 million for the program inFY 1979. Since the HCD Act of 1977 had increased the maximum loan amount from $17,400 per dwelling to $27,000 per dwelling, more rehabilitation projects were feasible in 1978 than a year ago. Furthermore, HUD was able to earmark
Group continued its work under the joint chairmanship of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development and the Assistant Secretary for Housing. As their agenda, the members of the task force continued to refine the Department’s rehabilitation strategy, as well as to gain intra-agency comments on HUD’s program initiatives in rehabilitation and critical policy issues.
In keeping with the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977, CPD instituted two important features of its Rehabilitation Technical Assistance program. First, under the Communities Rehabilitation Training program, HUD was getting ready to train the staffs of State and local governments, nonprofit agencies, and neighborhood organizations in the various skills required to design, operate and manage local housing rehabilitation programs. Courses are in preparation in the areas of rehabilitation construction, lending, program administration and
prepared on such subjects as the leveraging of CDBG funds with private sector loans and mortgages, rehabilitation, and multifamily rehabilitation.
Section 312 Rehabilitation Loans
The year 1978 witnessed striking results in terms of the volume of loan activity, as well as changes in the statutory and regulatory character of the Section 312 Rehabilitation Loan program.
Out of the $86 million in new loan funding apportioned by the Office of Management and Budget for FY 1978, CPD committed $75 million in Section 312 loans. The 1978 loan volume, totaling 6,050 separate loans, represented one of the highest annual dollars amounts in the history of the program. This level of activity brought the total dollar amount of Section 312 loans approved to approximately $546 million, or enough to rehabilitate 91,150 dwellings. Much of this activity was intensified in CDBG areas and in areas of
certain Section 312 funds in support of the Urban Homesteading program. This was true in the case of the innovative, cooperative multifamily homesteading projects instituted in the South Bronx and in the Lower East Side of New York City.
Among the more important administrative steps taken under this program in 1978, CPD implemented recommendations to simplify Section 312 loan processing, and its staff conducted nearly 450 visits to local public agencies for the purpose of program monitoring.
Urban Homesteading Program
The Urban Homesteading program is yet a third Federal mechanism for encouraging localities to preserve urban neighborhoods. Begun in 1975 as a HUD Demonstration, homesteading was transformed into an operating program by the Office of Community Planning and Development during 1978.
The Urban Homesteading program was
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authorized by Section 810 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. This legislation permitted the Secretary to transfer, without payment, one- to four-unit, unoccupied HUD-owned properties to units of State or local government, or their designated public agencies, for use in urban homesteading programs. Local governments carry out a homesteading program approved by HUD, within designated neighborhoods. The localities then convey the houses, at nominal cost (usually $ 1), to homesteaders who agree to rehabilitate them to local standards, and occupy and maintain them for a minimum of three conservative years. If, at the end of this three-year period, all conditions are met, the homesteader acquires full title to the property. In short, the urban homesteading program allows families or individuals who are in need of housing and who are able to restore a selected dwelling to habitable condition to obtain homes for essentially the cost of rehabilitation.
Section 810 authorized an appropriation of $5 million for FY 1976 to reimburse the HUD/FHA insurance funds for the transferred properties. Increments of $ 15 million for each of the Fiscal Years 1977 and 1978 followed. During FY 1978 alone, CPD allocated $8,379,000 in Section 810 funds among the 39 cities currently participating in the program. This money reimburses the FHA mortgage fund for the fair market value of the property used in the program. As of September 30, 1978, this meant that HUD had conveyed a total of 2,842 properties to these municipalities, which, in turn, had selected 2,334 homesteaders and conveyed 1,950 properties. More than half of the former HUD properties are now occupied.
On December 29, 1978, the Department published regulations for the operational homesteading program, which will permit even more cities to participate. In addition, HUD planned to continue the targeting of Section 3 12 low interest rehabilitation loans to support its homesteading effort. About $6.8 million in Section 312 loans were
allocated for homesteaders during the 1978 calendar year.
Relocation and Property Acquisition
The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (Uniform Act) was enacted on January 2, 1971. It establishes uniform policies for a broad range of relocation payments and assistance for the fair and equitable treatment of all persons whose property is
acquired for a Federal or federally assisted program and/or those who are forced to move as a result of such acquisition.
Relocation payments include compensation for moving expenses, as well as payments of up to $ 15,000 for displaced homeowners who purchase a replacement dwelling, and up to $40,000 for displaced tenants and certain others to assist them in renting a replacement dwelling or in making a downpayment on a home.
During Fiscal Year 1977, a total of 15,358 families and individuals, as well as 3,395 business concerns, farm operations and nonprofit organizations, were displaced under HUD programs. Relocation payments to displaced families and individuals amounted to $5,976,451 for moving expenses and $68,122,275 for replacement housing payments. For displaced business concerns, farm operations, and nonprofit organizations the total payments for moving expenses came to $34,284,246.
For Fiscal Year 1978, preliminary reports
disclose that at least 12,266 families and individuals and 2,568 business concerns, farm operations, and nonprofit organizations were displaced under HUD programs. Relocation payments for FY 1978 to displaced families and individuals amounted to at least $4,514,855 for moving expenses and $38,765,500 for replacement housing payments. The total payments for moving expenses for displaced business concerns, farm operations and nonprofit organizations totaled at least $24,293,628.
The cost of real property acquired for HUD-assisted programs during Fiscal Year 1977 amounted to $325,754,596. This covered the acquisition of 16,595 parcels. During Fiscal Year 1978, the preliminary figures show that the cost of real property acquired for HUD-assisted programs amounted to $201,309,035, and this amount was used to acquire at least 104,804 parcels. In all cases, the costs for real property acquisition and relocation are included in the total costs of the project or program carried out by the locality.
On March 31, 1978, the Department published for public comment a proposed comprehensive revision of its Uniform Act regulations.
Comprehensive Planning Assistance
In 1978, $57.2 million in Comprehensive Planning Assistance (701) funds were awarded to 56 States and territories, 563 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areawide planning organizations, about 750 small communities and counties (less than 50,000 population), and 55 Indian tribes.
The 701 statute provides that after August 22, 1977, eligibles under the 701 funding process must first complete the land use and housing elements of their planning strategies. These two planning elements must describe policies and implementation programs for land use, determinations on proper and improper growth sites, and the distribution of housing needs and resources. In 1978, accordingly, CPD approved land use and housing elements for 49 States, 193
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metropolitan areawide planning organizations, 258 nonmetropolitan areaswide planning organizations and 12 large cities. Under the terms of the Section 701 law, these jurisdictions are eligible to receive 701 assistance for the next three years.
In addition to the foregoing general activities under the Section 701 program, CPD rewarded nine States and 10 areawide planning organizations (APO’s) for outstanding planning. Some $2.8 million in Comprehensive Planning Assistance incentive grants went to APO’s for State and regional strategies which encouraged aid to distressed places and sought an expansion of housing and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged. In conformance with the intent of the National Urban Policy to solve the wide range of city and suburban community development problems which overlap local political boundaries, HUD awarded the grants to those States and APO’s which had made the greatest progress with explicit, action-oriented plans and programs.
Areawide Housing Opportunity Plan (AHOP) Program
Similarly, 10 areawide planning organizations and the communities they serve received $42 million in Housing, Community Development Block Grant, and Comprehensive Planning Assistance funding under the Areawide Housing Opportunity Plan (AHOP) program because they had offered to expand the housing choices for lower-income families within their regions. The AHOP program was created to support the localities and organizations that are addressing the total assisted housing needs of their areas and expanding housing choices for lower-income families through cooperative efforts. The Section 701 program supports the planning necessary to develop AHOP strategies and also awards bonus funds so the selected organizations may implement them. It is expected that as many as 8,000
families may be assisted through this program, depending on the type of housing finally provided.
Environmental Activities
Policy and Procedural Changes
CPD’s Office of Environmental Quality modified HUD’s environmental policy in consideration of the appearance of new hazards, improvements in antipollution technology and various evaluations of environmental performance, as well as out of the recognition that the variations among environments compel a certain degree of administrative flexibility. The most important of these changes are illustrated below.
A growing incidence of industrial mishaps involving flammable and explosive materials has drawn attention to the problem of selecting development sites which are adequately protected from neighboring industrial keepers of these materials. The Office of Environmental Quality placed in clearance a policy for assessing the potential impact of such industrial operations on proposed HUD projects. Just as the Department must be on the lookout for these new hazards, so too does it respond to those technological improvements which will permit simplification in environmental regulations. In 1978, this Office placed into clearance significant revisions of the Departmental Noise Policy which incorporate new scientific methodologies and shorten the time needed to assess the noise impacts on HUD-insured or HUD-assisted projects.
Environmental policymakers also responded to new standards of program performance. Following various studies of community performance under the block grant program conducted by the GAO, the Council on Environmental Quality and the HUD Inspector General, the Department's environmental staff published for comment extensive revisions to the environmental regulations for the CDBG program. These revisions simplify block grant
environmental review by such changes as exempting additional activities and establishing flexible thresholds for preparation of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS’s).
CPD also sought clearance on the procedures for assessing the impact of HUD actions with respect to historic and archeological resources. This Office, which had heretofore relied on guidelines prepared by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, among others, planned to
codify its own guidelines and submit them to the Advisory Council for review.
With respect to the basic HUD environmental regulations, CPD published for comment a number of revisions intended to incorporate flexibility into the thresholds for EIS preparation.
Areawide Environmental Impact Statement
In continuation of the 1977 prototype proposal, the Office of Environmental Quality developed an areawide Environmental Impact Statement for New Castle County, Delaware. Prepared in conjunction with that county’s planning agency, this EIS takes into account the critical environmental issues associated with urban growth, namely, air and water pollution, drainage, land utilization, natural systems, infrastructure requirements, and historic and archeological resources.
The purpose of the areawide EIS is to assess the aggregate impact of potential
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Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner
HUD involvement in a designated growth site, and to permit waiver of the automatic requirement to prepare an EIS for projects larger than 500 dwelling units.
Additional areawide EIS’s were also being prepared for the Denver metropolitan area and Dade County. Florida.
Program Evaluation
During 1978, CPD completed evaluations of a number of short-term special problems of immediate policy import, as well as several long-term studies of the Community Development Block Grant programs.
The short-term studies included: (1) an analysis of the recent history and effectiveness of the Section 701 Comprehensive Planning Assistance program; (2) a study of the extent to which the rehabilitation and clearance consequences of HUD programs are causing the displacement of low/moderate income families; (3) two studies of the Section 312 rehabilitation loan program which explore the targeting of FY 1979 Section 312 funds to needy jurisdictions; and (4) an investigation of the demonstration program for Neighborhood Business Revitalization.
Evaluation
The principal long-term program evaluation study was an analysis of the participating communities in the block grant program. Published in the Third Annual Report to the Congress on CDBG, this investigation sampled 147 entitlement cities, 76 urban counties, and more than 500 discretionary communities.
The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner directs the housing programs of the Department, including the production, financing and management of housing and the conservation and rehabilitation of housing stock.
The Department insures mortgages on single-family homes, multifamily rental, condominium and cooperative projects, as well as on land purchased, for residential development, group practice facilities,
nursing homes, and nonprofit and proprietary hospitals. HUD also insures loans for property improvements and for the purchase of mobile homes. Special purpose programs are available to help meet the housing needs of veterans, the elderly, disaster victims, the handicapped and prospective home purchasers who are marginal credit risks. Additionally, a small College Housing program is administered by the Assistant Secretary-Commissioner.
Public and Indian Housing Programs
Public Housing
Development
During FY 1978, contract authority was reserved for 63,651 units to be developed under the Public Housing program. It is estimated that 50,000 public housing units will be approved for development during FY 1979 based upon contract authority provided for in that year’s appropriation act.
Management
Performance Funding System. The
Performance Funding System (PFS) provides operating subsidy payments to PHA’s based upon a formula which reflects the operating costs of well-managed PHA’s. In 1978, in keeping with amendments to the Social Security Act and the Unemployment Compensation Act, HUD established provisions to allow the payment of additional funds. In another management effort, the Office of Housing launched an
evaluation designed to determine the impact of the PFS on all PHA’s.
Public Housing Modernization Program. HUD finances capital improvements in low-income Public Housing projects to upgrade living conditions, correct physical deficiencies, and achieve operating efficiency and economy. Given that the national need for Public Housing far exceeds both the current and anticipated supply, HUD is promoting the maximum conservation and utilization of the existing stock that is possible beyond the terms of the original Annual Contributions Contract (ACC).
During 1978, HUD made available $42.6 million in contract authority for the financing of $474.7 million in capital improvements. Improvements receiving priority consideration included: (1) alterations to ensure compliance with Federal, State and local health and safety laws, such as those pertaining to gas
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pipeline safety, leadbased paint removal, air pollution control and fire protection; (2) preservation of the basic integrity of structures and systems; (3) immediate and demonstrable cost-saving improvements;
and (4) energy conservation measures, such as the installation of storm doors and windows, piping insulation, and electric checkmeters for individual units.
HUD adopted a new 20-year method for financing public housing modernization. As of October 1978, the Office of Housing
During 1978, special attention was directed at deteriorating public housing. (These dwellings make up four percent of the total 1.2 million public housing units.) The Office of Housing has advanced the new Public Housing Urban Initiatives program to make a prompt and substantial improvement in the conditions of “distressed” public housing projects and to stimulate better management by public housing agencies.
The Public Housing Urban Initiatives
and the Department of Labor for purposes of solving security problems which exist in public housing projects.
Targeted Rehabilitation/Management Assistance. The Targeted Rehabilitation Component of Public Housing makes available special funding, provided under HUD’s Low-Income Public Housing Modernization program, to public housing agencies for financing capital improvements in PHA-owned, low-income
began to fund modernization on an individual project basis. Each modernization project would now be treated as a separate debt financing package with a maximum amortization period of 20 years, regardless of the number of years that had elapsed under the original ACC terms of the project involved. For the full 20 years, HUD would subject public housing included under the modernization project to the terms of the ACC and to departmental requirements for public housing operation, even if it exceeded the remaining period for amortizing the original development debt.
Public Housing Urban Initiatives. The wide-ranging implications of the President’s National Urban Policy have impelled the Department to join together its own strategies and to foster coordination between HUD’s programs and those of other Federal agencies. It is in this context that HUD has emphasized Public Housing in its efforts to support urban revitalization.
effort is linked to other HUD programs for Community Development Blocks Grants, Urban Development Action Grants and Neighborhood Strategy Areas. The new program promises to ensure improved community services, tenant involvement and PHA management planning capabilities, as well as to establish closer ties between local communities and the projects. Further, it concentrates the resources of HUD, other Federal agencies, and State and local government on making improvements in the neighborhoods in which public housing projects are situated. The program also seeks to stimulate private sector involvement in the improvement of public housing neighborhoods.
Anti-Crime Initiative. Start-up activity for this Public Housing component is anticipated during Fiscal Year 1979. The Anti-Crime program involves special funding provided by HUD, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration,
housing projects. Targeted Rehabilitation helps PHA’s to upgrade living conditions, correct physical deficiencies and achieve operating efficiency and economy.
The Management Assistance provision within the Targeted Rehabilitation Component makes available special funding to improve a PHA’s management capability. This may take the form of improvements in management and financial systems, tenant selection and assignment procedures, or in connection with the PHA’s relationships to local government and the community. During FY 1978, the Office of Housing selected 33 public housing agencies to participate in this component of the Urban Initiatives program. The winners were chosen from an open competition of PHA’s managing 2,500 or more federally assisted units. These agencies will share approximately $259 million in capital improvement funds.
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Project-Based Budgeting/Management. This aspect of Public Housing dispenses money from HUD operating subsidy funds to enable selected PHA’s with 1,250 or more low-income housing units to develop and implement a project-based budgeting and accounting system. The primary intent of this management initiative is to ensure the accountability of individual project revenues and expenses, and to effect operating efficiencies in the day-to-day operations of each project. Thirty-four public housing agencies were selected for participation in 1978.
Section 8 Existing Housing Program. The Section 8 Existing Housing program, which allows lower-income families to receive rental subsidies in the housing units of their choice, proved to be a very effective and relatively inexpensive means of providing housing assistance. As of September 1978, HUD had released funds for approximately 500,000 units, and more than 400,000 lower-income families had received rental subsidies.
Under the conditions of the Section 8 Existing Housing program, an eligible family may apply for a Certificate of Family Participation from a local public housing agency. This certificate entitles the family to seek housing anywhere within the jurisdiction of the PHA. The desired rental unit - which may include the dwelling which the family is currently occupying - must meet the Fair Market Rent limitations and the Housing Quality Standards of the Section 8 program. If the owner wishes to lease a unit, family and owner may sign a lease which is subsidized by the Housing Assistance Payments contract worked out between the owner and the PHA. Among its other features, the contract allows the owner up to 60 days worth of vacancy loss payments and annual rent adjustments.
Neighborhood Strategy Area Program. During FY 1978, new regulations implementing the Neighborhood Strategy
Areas (NSA) program were published, and local governments were invited to participate in the program. The Office of Housing distributed funds to successful applicants from Section 8 Substantial Rehabilitation monies set aside for the purpose of revitalizing neighborhoods selected for concentrated revitalization activities. The local government is responsible for identifying specific properties to be rehabilitated, providing technical assistance to owners and
developers, and recommending projects to HUD for approval. Tied to this increased flexibility and control of housing assistance funds is a requirement that the cities commit a wide range of other resources to the neighborhood in question.
The NSA program will be administered over a five-year period and will involve a total of 37,668 units allocated to 155 neighborhoods within 118 political jurisdictions.
Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation. The proposed regulations for this program were published for comment in the Federal Register on December 28, 1978.
Current FY 1979 plans call for the funding of 39,000 Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation units. This new program authorized by the 1978 Housing and Community Development Amendments will furnish rental subsidies to owners who upgrade substandard units and lease them to lower-income families. The Section 8
Moderate Rehabilitation program is designed to fill the gap between the Section 8 Existing and Substantial Rehabilitation programs. It will also work to improve and maintain that segment of the existing American housing stock which needs more than minor repairs but less than “gut” rehabilitation. It is estimated that at least 2.7 million rental units have deficiencies requiring a moderate amount of refurbishment. Approximately 85 percent of the units are in buildings with fewer than
20 units. The Moderate Rehabilitation program will address this portion of the rental housing inventory and will result in the expenditure of about $ 1,000-$5,000 for the rehabilitation of each unit.
Indian and Alaska Native Housing Programs
Development
During FY 1978, HUD reserved4,858 units of Indian Housing. Construction starts increased from 3,965 units in FY 1977 to 4,581 in FY 1978. The number of units completed over that same period increased from 1,299 to 2,677.
Management
During the latter part of FY 1978, the Assistant Secretary established an Office of Indian Housing. This Office reports directly to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Housing and Indian Programs.
On December 1, 1978, the Department submitted the First Annual Report to
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Congress on Indian and Alaska Native Housing and Community Development Programs. This report summarizes program activities for FY 1978, renders a statistical profile on the condition of Indian and Alaskan Native Housing, and recommends an agenda for future consideration.
In conjunction with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, HUD commenced funding for the construction of a Small Group Homes Demonstration Project for Indian Elderly, Handicapped and
Children.
Tribes participating in this, the Menninger Project, include the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, White Mountain Apache, and San Carlos Apache.
Multifamily Programs
Development
The Department insured 896 projects covering 105,949 units under its Multifamily Mortgage Insurance programs.
The year 1978 also saw a continuation of strong activity in the Section 8 New Construction program. Almost 107,000 reservations were made for new constructed units and housing starts increased dramatically. Over 130,000 units were begun during the year, or a full 24 percent more than the nearly 99,000 units started in 1977.
In addition to the progress made in reservations and starts, the Department took important strides in improving the delivery
system of housing assistance to meet the housing needs of local communities. For the first time, central cities of SMSA’s were established as distinct allocation areas for housing assistance funds. This makes it possible for HUD to better target its resources to needy areas. Finally, the promulgation of revised regulations on the allocation of housing assistance funds improved the linkage between the Department's Housing and Community Block Grant programs.
Management
Multifamily Property Utilization Task Force. In 1977, the Department formed a Multifamily Property Utilization Task Force to analyze the increases in defaults, assignments and foreclosures of HUD-insured subsidized housing projects which had occurred over the previous few years. The task force found that projects in default were characterized by a widening gap between operating expenses and rental income, by poor project management, or by inadequate monitoring on HUD’s part.
As a result of task force recommendations, HUD undertook in 1978 initiatives for dealing with these problems. The Flexible Subsidy program was designed to stabilize distressed projects, provide for deferred maintenance, augment project reserve accounts, as well as allow for items that project owners have been unable to fund because of cash flow problems. Placing these projects on a sound financial basis will reduce future defaults and result in actual cash savings to the Government. As a first step in implementing this program, HUD conducted a survey of its field offices to determine the requirements for Subsidy Funds; in the second step HUD assigned funds to the field offices to begin upgrading the system of existing projects.
Management Initiatives. All HUD-insured, subsidized multifamily projects now must undergo an annual management review. Following the review, HUD advises the project owner and management agent of
any deficiencies and requests submission of a plan of corrective action.
The HUD field staff in the future will benefit in its management oversight of insured projects by the availability of a new comprehensive, automated, management information system. This system, the Office of Loan Management System (OLMS) which is the responsibility of the Office of Multifamily Housing Management and Occupancy, is a major innovation in project mortgage servicing. It is designed to (1)
ensure a uniform review of annual financial statements, (2) significantly reduce the amount of time needed for each review, and (3) provide an advance warning of adverse trends which point to default.
OLMS has been implemented in 29 field offices and in association with 3,800 multifamily projects. It is expected that, by the end of Fiscal Year 1979, all field offices with multifamily servicing responsibilities will have computerized financial statements for 7,800 different projects, 6,283 of which are subsidized.
In another management initiative, the Office of Inspector General, in cooperation with Housing program offices, published two audit guides to be used by independent public accountants for the auditing of HUD-insured/held projects and Section 8 new construction projects.
State Housing Finance Agencies. State Housing Finance Agencies (HFA’s) contributed significantly to the production
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of new and substantially rehabilitated Section 8 units. In 1978, HFA’s accounted for 43,995 Section 8 starts, up from 37,780 starts in 1977. Overall, HFA’s accounted for nearly 30 percent of the new construction and 26 percent of the substantial rehabilitation starts under Section 8 in 1978.
In addition, 25 State agencies function as PHA’s for the purpose of administering the Section 8 Existing Housing program. In 1977, States were responsible for providing
the long-term interest rate was increased to 6% percent.
HUD also makes available interest-free “seed money” loans under Section 106(b) of the HUD Act of 1968 to cover up to 80 percent of the allowable preliminary expenses incurred by a Section 202 sponsor for planning a project and applying for Section 202 housing.
With a total of $750 million authorized in Fiscal Year 1978, HUD made loan reservations sufficient to finance the
Improvement and Mobile Home Loans) during FY 1978. This figure represents a seven percent increase over the previous year’s activity.
In particular, HUD’s Graduated Payment Mortgage program experienced remarkable growth and acceptance among both consumers and the mortgage industry. In 1978, the Office of Housing insured approximately 51,000 GPM’s, and it expects this activity to more than double in 1979.
10,532 existing units, and in 1978, 11,309 units.
Housing for the Elderly or Handicapped. HUD is authorized under Section 202 to make direct loans to finance rental or cooperative housing for the elderly or handicapped. These loans are used to build or substantially rehabilitate projects sponsored by private, nonprofit organizations, and for meeting the requirement of the Section 8 Housing Assistance Plan.
The Department lends money to eligible applicants for a 40-year term at an interest rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be the average rate paid on Federal obligations in the preceding fiscal year, plus one percent during the construction period and one-half of one percent for the long-term loan.
The construction interest rate on loans made between October 1, 1977, and September 30, 1978, was 7% percent, and
construction of approximately 20,000 housing units under Section 202.
An additional $800 million was authorized for fiscal year 1979, including at least $50 million for housing designed expressly for non-elderly, handicapped persons. The latter figure will fund approximately 21,000 units of housing for the elderly and handicapped.
Multifamily Property Disposition. During the calendar year, HUD sold 75 projects from its multifamily property inventory for $46.3 million. Fourteen of these projects, accounting for 1,475 units or 17 percent of the total, were sold with Section 8 assistance earmarked for substantial rehabilitation.
Single-Family Programs
Increased Insurance Activity. HUD insured 705,692 loans under its SingleFamily Mortgage Insurance programs (including the program for Title I Property
Several changes brought on by the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 are expected to increase significantly the activity under three of HUD’s Single-Family programs.
The Department is preparing the regulations and handbooks necessary to implement the following statutory provisions.
•	Section 528, which will allow the Department to permit second trust obligations and liens on properties on which State and local governmental agencies are taking the second obligation, pursuant to programs making financing available to low- and moderate-income families for buying and maintaining a home.
•	Section 234(c), which will provide for mortgage insurance on individual units within condominiums of 11 or more units which were not encumbered or built with an FHA-insured project mortgage.
•	Section 203(k), which has been expanded to assist in the insurance of rehabilitation
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loans for one-to-four family residential structures. Under this program, the concept of “insured advances” will be utilized during the course of the rehabilitation.
Management and Disposition of Acquired Home Properties. During 1978, HUD sold 25,116 acquired home properties. In doing so, the Department reduced its Single-Family Property Disposition Inventory to 26,653 units, from a high of over 78,000 properties in mid-1974. During the first 11 months of 1978,
HUD also added a net amount of about $271 million to the insurance funds.
Other accomplishments related to property disposition included:
•	A record annual reduction in real estate tax delinquencies on acquired properties, following the decentralization of the tax payment function to local offices;
•	The development and implementation of an automated Critical Path Processing (CPP) system for large-volume HUD Field Offices, which, combined with the basic
CPP System, provides management and monitoring capabilities for over 98 percent of the acquired home property inventory; and
•	A new agreement between HUD and the Community Services Administration on the sale of acquired home properties to community based organizations using CSA grant funds.
Mortgage Approvals and Monitoring.
Because of the introduction of innovative procedures in 1978, the Mortgagee
HUD/FHA Mortgage and Loan Insurance Written During Calendar Year 1978 (Dollar Amounts in Thousands)37
Program	Number	Amount	Units
Grant Total	706,684	$15,841,838	N/A
Home Mortgages	334,108	11,139,970	346,911
Unsubsidized	325,362	10,869,556	338,155
Subsidized	8,746	270,414	8,756
Mutifamily Housing Mortgages	896	2,681,961	105,949
Unsubsidized	888	2,645,848	104,748
Subsidized	8	36,113	1,201
Other Mortgagesb/	96	332,272	N/A
Title 1 Loans	371,584	1,687,635	N/A
Property Improvement	349,209	1,379,830	N/A
Mobile Homes	22,375	307,805	N/A
Assisted Housing Program Activity During Fiscal Year 1978		
Assisted	Low-Income	
Housing	Public	
Total	Housing	Section 8
Approval Division expects to reduce its processing time for applications submitted by mortgagees to an average of five days.
The Office of Housing realigned its Office of Mortgagee Activities, which now monitors both loan service and loan origination. The number of reviews in each of these areas is expected to surpass 1,100 approved annually, and be of significantly higher quality.
Annual Contributions contracts executed	9,371	9,371	N/A
Units placed under construction or rehabilitation	160,770	11,835	148,935
Completions (New and Rehab)	193,732	10,295	183,437
a/ Prelimary
b/ Includes mortgages and loans insured in Section 207 mobile home spaces, Section 223(d) 2-year operating loss loans, Section 232 nursing home beds, Section 241 supplemental loans and nursing home beds, Section 242 hopsital beds, and Title X lots.
N/A Not Applicable.
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The Government National Mortgage Association
The Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA or “Ginnie Mae”) was created in 1968 through an amendment to the National Housing Act which rechartered the 30-year-old Federal National Mortgage Association as a private corporation and established GNMA as a Government corporation within HUD.
GNMA has provided one of the major sources of financing for the housing that is built, bought, and rented under HUD’s mortgage insurance programs. Through its Tandem, or mortgage purchase, programs and its Mortgage-Backed Securities program, GNMA helps to channel billions of dollars to the residential mortgage market annually. These funds are used to support the production of new housing and the purchase and rehabilitation of existing structures. The GNMA programs also help to create thousands of additional jobs in the construction and related industries.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Program
GNMA’s Mortgage-Backed Securities program represents one of the most significant innovations in residential finance in the past 40 years. Under this program, GNMA guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on securities which are issued by mortgagelending institutions and are backed by pools of HUD/FHA-insured, Farmers Home, and VA-guaranteed mortgages. The GNMA guarantee is supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S.
Government.
This program represents the third largest source of funds for all home mortgages and provides nearly half the funds made available in the secondary market for home mortgages. Over three-fifths of all FHA-insured and VA-guaranteed home loans are funded through GNMA-guaranteed securities.
The beneficiaries of this significant credit source are the home buyers who, in
many instances, would not otherwise be able to obtain a home mortgage.
In addition to helping people realize their housing needs, GNMA also is helping to conserve the Nation’s stock of existing housing - and contributing to the preservation of older neighborhoods.
During 1978, some $ 15.3 billion of new securities were guaranteed by GNMA. This was the second largest amount to be guaranteed in a single year and brought the
cumulative program total to $67.3 billion since the program’s inception in 1970. Of this total, $63.9 billion are in securities backed by single-family mortgages, $2.2 billion in project and construction loan securities, and $649.2 million in mobile home securities.
The capital requirements for GNMA issuers were raised in 1978. Under new regulations being implemented in 1979, the capital requirements (net worth) of the private financial institutions participating in this program as issuers of GNMA securities rise in relation to the type and amount of securities issued or proposed to be issued. The new requirements help ensure that issuers have financial resources commensurate with their obligations under the Mortgage-Backed Securities program.
This year also witnessed an expansion of trading in futures contracts for GNMA securities when, on September 12, the new Amex Commodities Exchange (ACE) opened in New York. The ACE now joins the futures marketplace for GNMA securities established by the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) three years earlier. Trading of future contracts on the ACE and CBOT is federally regulated and standardized, unlike trading in the informal forward delivery markets.
Mortgage Purchase (Tandem) Programs
Under the mortgage purchase programs, GNMA issues commitments to purchase mortgage loans to fulfill two statutory objectives: to sustain the flow of mortgage credit when the private market is unable to do so, and to offset cyclical declines in housing production.
During 1978, GNMA established two new mortgage purchase programs. Under the first program, implemented in January 1978, GNMA made available $1.5 billion in tandem assistance for the issuance of mortgage purchase commitments on FHA-insured. Section 8 assisted projects. Below-market rate funds were furnished to support the production of more than 50,200 new and substantially rehabilitated housing units for low- and moderateincome family recipients of Section 8 housing assistance.
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Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research
Under the second new mortgage purchase program, known as the Targeted Tandem program, GNMA provided commitments for below-market rate mortgages for multifamily housing in cities and urban counties experiencing physical and economic distress. The basic thrust of this program is to leverage private financial involvement behind urban revitalization efforts. “Targeted Tandem” is one of several tools established by HUD in its effort to assist distressed areas. Over
18,000 units were financed under the program during 1978.
GNMA also issued new commitments to purchase mortgages for housing projects being processed as “bona fide” commitments under the Section 236 and Rent Supplement programs.
All in all. during 1978 GNMA issued $1.9 billion in commitments to purchase mortgages under its Special Assistance programs. It purchased $ 1.277 billion in such mortgages, which represented more than 62,200 multifamily housing units.
Sales of loans from GNMA's mortgage portfolio, through an auction system, helped to create for the first time a truly national market for FHA-insured project mortgages.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Pevelopment and Research (PD&R) advises the Secretary on policy, program evaluation, and research. It evaluates existing programs and policies and analyzes potential programs and policies by employing the independent and objective research capacities of its staff members and consultants.
Program Highlights
Policy Development
In fulfilling its mission, PD&R assesses alternative policies and gauges their impact. An important step in that process is linking the findings of long-term research with the policy issues and program problems facing the Department. PD&R utilizes all expertise within its divisions for ongoing research, evaluation, and economic analysis. In-house options papers during 1978 ranged from displacement and relocation to singlefamily property disposition. The Office also participated in all aspects of the budget and legislative development process, including membership on the Secretary’s Program Budget Development Committee, and reviews of departmental regulations, notices and handbooks.
Policy Evaluation
The evaluation process is inseparable from policy development. Along with preparing
option and quick-response papers on a wide variety of issues, PD&R also evaluated programs in terms of their overall effectiveness, cost and administration.
Evaluations completed in 1978 included the existing housing component of the Section 8 Housing Assistance program, the effects on the housing market of changes in the income tax rules on the deduction of interest and property taxes, and the conditions under which it is cost-effective to substitute private fee appraisers for FHA appraisers.
A major ongoing evaluation concerns the Community Development Block Grant program. Included among the evaluative efforts was a staff-prepared analysis of single-family alternatives as prescribed by Section 106 (1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977. Work also began on a four-year study to determine to what degree the major activities funded by block grants improve neighborhood housing and living conditions.
Other evaluations in progress involve the nature and extent of racial discrimination against blacks, Hispanics, and women in housing; the Urban Initiatives program; and the income certification process for subsidized housing. To these were added evaluations covering the factors which determine risk in single-family mortgage insurance, the Performance Funding System, the conditions of the public housing inventory, Baltimore’s experimental Housing Maintenance program, and the Neighborhood Housing Services Demonstration of the Urban Reinvestment Task Force.
Research
Following a decision to narrow and intensify its research agenda in 1977, PD&R’s research focused on a comprehensive series of evaluations on key
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elements of every major operating program in the Department. Emphasis also was given to the dissemination of findings which will stimulate interest and greater involvement in housing and community development programs.
Research activities continued to focus on the priority areas of major concern to the Department. These included economic development, public finance, and tax policy; housing for the elderly and handicapped; neighborhood reinvestment and revitalization; freedom of choice in housing (including equal economic opportunity); financial institution regulation and alternative housing finance mechanisms; and the cost of housing.
In addition, a major capacity-sharing program in financial management for State and local government was instituted. This new program is designed to increase the use of current, accurate, and understandable financial data to meet the needs of local governments as they strive to make sound administrative, program, and policy decisions.
Dissemination
The emphasis on research utilization bore fruit in 1978 as PD&R’s dissemination program accelerated sharply. Over 100 new research studies were published. Nearly 50 reports were reprinted. Three thousand copies of more than 50 individual research summaries were prepared and sent to HUD staff. State and local governments, public interest groups, professional associations, universities and research groups, industry, and the general public.
In cooperation with other divisions, a number of flyers were prepared in-house and widely distributed to announce the availability and highlight the findings, of many of PD&R’s more noteworthy publications. Two publications - How Well Are We Housed? 1. Hispanics and 2. Female-headed Households - were
prepared from research developed by the Division of Housing and Demographic Analysis and released to mark Hispanic Heritage Month and the first anniversary of the Houston Women’s Conference.
Work also was begun on establishing a computerized information service on completed research sponsored by the Department. The file will contain title, bibliographic and ordering information, and a 200-word abstract.
Programs for Women and Minorities
Developed in 1978, the new Women and Mortgage Credit project was designed to facilitate the access of women to homeownership by directing an educational campaign aimed at the lending industry and women consumers.
The goal of the lender education campaign is the preparation and dissemination of statistical and empirical data on such things as women’s work patterns, income stability and growth, and economic independence.
For potential borrowers, the project will undertake to educate women in sample target cities about the world of finance, credit, and mortgages.
Three PD&R publications in this area are available for distribution: How Well Are We Housed? 2. Female-Headed Households, Women and Mortgage Credit and Women in the Mortgage Market, a summary of a 1976 study. In support of the project, the National Council of Negro Women will supply five educational packages dealing with, among other things, a Guide to Home Purchase for Women, Rental Housing Assistance for Lower-income Female Heads of Household and Housing Options for the Older Woman.
Along with efforts to attract and train minorities for research work in housing and urban studies, PD&R has initiated a program to help women and minorities gain greater access to high-level professional and administrative positions in local government and in related State and Federal agencies.
HUD and the Arts
In his urban policy statement. President Carter stressed the Federal Government’s commitment to “Improve the urban physical environment/and the cultural and aesthetic aspects of urban life and reduce urban sprawl. ’’ In support of this objective, PD&R prepared a policy statement for the Secretary on ways that HUD can better incorporate design and cultural concerns into existing programs. The office also worked with two Federal task forces set up to compile information for the White House’s Cultural Issues Definition Memorandum. In addition, the office submitted descriptions of HUD programs for inclusion in the Cultural Directory of the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
International Activities
Border Cities. In September 1978, Secretary Harris announced a grant to the California Border Area Research Center at San Diego State University to produce a study of the economic interdependence of the “paired’’ cities along the US-Mexico border. The completed study will provide information on the flow of people, goods, financial capital, information, and technology across the border in these international metropolitan areas. The 18-month project is expected to provide important planning tools and to contribute to new areas of cooperation between the United States and Mexico.
Canada. As the result of a Memorandum of Understanding between HUD and the Canadian Ministry of State
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for Urban Affairs, HUD published Revitalizing North American Neighborhoods: A Comparison of Canadian and U.S. Programs for Neighborhood Preservation and Housing Rehabilitation. The research on which the report is based was done for PD&R by the Urban Institute.
USSR. Six working groups are actively conducting an exchange of scientific and technical information on design and construction under the US/USSR
Agreement on Housing and Other Construction, a five-year agreement that runs through June 1979. Working Group 10.02, Utilities, is chaired by the Assistant Secretary for PD&R. Teams of experts working on two projects - one on utilities internal to buildings, the other on utilities in populated areas - moved toward the preparation of in-depth technical papers on subjects of mutual interest. Two seminars, one in the United States and one in the USSR, were scheduled to be held in the first half of 1979.
United Nations. The United States is a longstanding member of the Committee on Housing, Building and Planning of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. PD&R, which has participated in a number of activities of the Committee, prepared the following monographs for its use: Current Trends in Housing, Building and Planning in the United States, Housing Forecasting and Programming: the United States Experience, and United
States Energy Policies in Planning and Development of Human Settlements.
Organizational Summary
The following projects, undertaken by PD&R in 1978, are grouped according to the specific organizational units responsible for them.
Economic Affairs
Economic Development and Public Finance. PD&R’s research in this area seeks to help State and local governments deal with the problems of development, private employment opportunities, revenue, and finance. Solutions to many of these problems depend on local economic development efforts that can attract private investment, generate employment and entrepreneurial opportunity, and sustain the local tax base. The current fiscal crises of many local governments also underscore the interrelated need to improve both their finances and the efficiency with which they provide services.
Local Economic Development. During FY 1978, a 10-city economic development demonstration cosponsored by HUD, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Commerce neared the end of its two-year program. A competitive contract to evaluate the demonstration was awarded.
In a major new effort in economic development, PD&R prepared several urban and community impact analyses for the Department’s new budget initiatives. Four of these analyses were completed in FY 1978 and submitted to the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with the guidelines set out in OMB Circular A-116. Several other urban impact analyses of Federal programs were also prepared by the Division staff or commissioned from scholars in the field. To link these in-house efforts with the work of other experts and scholars, a conference on methodologies for assessing
urban impacts was scheduled for early February 1979.
Other research efforts initiated in FY 1978 include a conference on retail location decisions, also scheduled for February 1979; a research study of industrial location decisions and their urban impacts; development of small-area economic multipliers to assist in evaluating Urban Development Action Grant proposals; a study of re-use options for “destroyed” areas of large central cities;
and an exploration of the economic development impacts of alternative publicutility pricing mechanisms.
Public Finance. Three publications resulting from PD&R projects marked the Department’s public-finance achievements in FY 1978. A conference on urban fiscal problems, cosponsored by PD&R, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, was held in Syracuse, New York, in April. The papers presented at the conference have been published in the volume Fiscal Outlook for Cities: Implications of a National Urban Policy, edited by Roy W. Bahl, with a foreword by Secretary Harris.
In addition, two handbooks for local officials provide guidance to the problems of administering local government: The Fiscal Impact Handbook, by Robert Bushell and David Listokin, describes alternative methods of evaluating the local
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fiscal impacts of new land developments. Improving Real Property Assessment, by the International Association of Assessing Officers, is a reference manual for improving local assessment practices.
A significant new effort in public finance is the staff support provided the Assistant Secretary for PD&R. who was designated in FY 1978 to chair the Interagency Task Force on Urban Data. This support combines in-house work and external research on fiscal data and other urban indicators.
New and continuing projects include a study of urban economic indicators, urban capital infrastructure conditions, fiscal impacts of local government pension systems, and a conference on the impacts of tax and spending limits on Federal programs.
Environmental Land-use. Research in this area provides assistance to HUD staff. State and local officials, and the private sector in achieving an economic and safe use of land. Its goal is to protect and enhance the human environment while providing needed housing and urban development.
Research and demonstration activities support departmental responsibilities in environmental matters, natural-disaster reduction, and land-use planning. The program responds to specific mandates of the Housing and Community Development Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Flood Disaster Protection Act, the Disaster Relief Act, and other legislation. Research products, which are designed for immediate use, consist of guidebooks, information for policy and issue analysis, criteria for standards, proposed regulations, and training materials.
Two land-use publications came out of HUD research projects in FY 1978. Windfalls for Wipeouts: Land Value Capture and Compensation, by Donald Hagman and Dean Misczynski, is a study of public sector influences on private land values and of techniques for offsetting these impacts. Innovative Zoning, a two-
part pamphlet consisting of a local official’s guidebook and a digest of literature, provides a brief look at some of the zoning options available to local jurisdictions.
New projects in FY 1978 included a conference on the urban environment jointly sponsored by HUD, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Urban League and the Sierra Club. Several projects have pursued research recommendations of the Department’s Housing Cost Task Force, including a study of the real costs imposed by development regulations such as zoning and permit requirements, and a study of local strategies to reduce red-tape delays of development regulations.
Finally, PD&R has planned and managed a national conference on controlling housing costs through improved land-use practices. The conference, held February 1979, brought together key elected officials from State and local government, land-use and housing practitioners, private developers, and members of the research and academic community to analyze and discuss approaches to stabilizing housing costs. The participants are expected to develop recommendations for State and local action that complement HUD initiatives already underway.
Economic Market Analysis
Fair Share Allocations. To allocate housing assistance funds to HUD field offices, PD&R has developed “fair share" factors basd on relative housing assistance needs in each county as determined from data on population, housing overcrowding, vacancy, substandard housing, and production costs. In addition, from HUD's field office economists, PD&R obtained information on actual mixes of housing types (new construction, rehab, and existing) as reflected in the goals of approved Housing Assistance Plans (HAP's) and estimates for areas not covered by HAP’s. This was the first year
that such complete data on types of housing were used in the housing assistance allocation process.
The Department’s efforts to speed up the allocation process were also aided by a PD&R-conducted training session for all field office economists in October 1978.
Urban Development Action Grants.
PD&R assumed a substantial role in implementing the Urban Development Action Grant program by (1) assisting in developing the economic review criteria
for determining economic feasibility, fiscal impact, the leverage of private investment, and projections of employment among minorities, and (2) conducting extensive training programs for all of HUD’s field-stationed economists who have a major responsibility for the economic review of UDAG applications. A Fiscal Impact Handbook was developed on contract for distribution to State and local policymakers to help them evaluate the impact of proposed development projects.
Housing and Demographic Analysis
Annual Housing Surveys. Conducted for HUD by the Bureau of the Census, the Annual Housing Surveys detail changes in the Nation's housing inventory and provide a wealth of otherwise unavailable data on the physical condition of dwelling units: the workability of their plumbing, heating, and electrical systems; and the characteristics of the neighborhoods in which they are situated. Data are published
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for the Nation as a whole and for the four census regions.
Surveys are also made for 60 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA’s), broken down into three panels of 20 SMSA’s, which are surveyed every third year. These surveys permit comparisons of the number and types of housing and changes in the total number of units resulting from losses and new construction. The survey also provides data on the characteristics of occupants
who move in and out over the years, and the types of units in which they live. The data appear in joint HUD/Census Bureau reports covering general urban and rural housing characteristics.
Results of the fourth Annual Housing survey (1976) and housing data for the third panel of SMSA’s were published in 1978.
Characteristics of New Housing. In 1978, HUD and the Bureau of the Census compiled annual reports describing the types and characteristics of new housing units completed in the previous year. The major report, entitled Characteristics of New Housing: 1977, reports on ownership, structure, type, location, purpose of construction of new housing completions, and physical characteristics of new one-family and multifamily units completed, with additional data on new one-family houses sold and contractor-built houses started. Two other reports deal with units in multifamily structures: Market
Absorption of Apartments Annual: 1977 and Characteristics of Apartments Completed, 1977.
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Research. Activity continued in two areas, both mandated by the RESPA of 1974.
In late 1978, Peat. Marwick, Mitchell and Company was selected to conduct a full-scale study of settlement costs and practices. The study will assess how well
current RESPA provisions (principally advanced disclosure requirements) are working, and it will analyze the potential benefits and problems of such alternative remedies as the lender-pay concept. Study findings will be reported to Congress in mid-1980.
The second research activity, required under Section 13 of RESPA, focuses on improvements in the storing and assessing of title records, with its ultimate objective to reduce the cost of title searches. In FY 1978, PD&R awarded grants to five State and local jurisdictions to operate model title demonstration systems. In addition, draft reports on various legal and administrative issues in the area of title recordation were submitted to PD&R by Booz, Allen and Hamilton, which conducted studies on this subject. Findings from this activity, and from the demonstration, will also be included in the 1980 report to Congress.
Housing Finance Analysis
Housing production has always been sensitive to interest rates and conditions of the money market. As these have varied over the business cycles, so also has the construction of new homes. The sharp oscillations in credit conditions in recent years have raised anxiety over the continued viability of the Nation's major mortgage lenders - the thrift institutions. A number of research efforts were conducted to contribute solutions to some of these problems.
Research is in progress in a number of important areas dealing with secondary mortgage markets. One study examines the economic impact of GNMA's mortgage-backed securities. Another study examines FNMA’s Free Market System commitment process to determine whether FNMA is receiving an adequate or more than adequate return given the amount of risk inherent in mortgages. The study also will determine how trading in GNMA options affects FNMA.
In addition to the development of new mortgage instruments, many analysts see a need to remove deposit-rate ceilings so that thrifts can compete for loanable funds. The Purdue Research Foundation is examining alternative financial reform packages where the removal of deposit-rate ceilings will not significantly damage existing financial institutions or the homebuilding industry.
PD&R also completed its study on mortgage credit differences between urban and rural areas. Using a sample data base developed from four separate urban-rural areas, the study determined that housing price differentials and distributional differences, in such household characteristics as family size, age, and wealth, were responsible for most of the observed differences in mortgage credit outstanding.
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Policy
Policy Development
PD&R assumed departmental responsibility fordoing urban impact statements of HUD programs under the President’s new Executive Order 12044. Early in the FY 1980 budget process, PD&R completed preliminary urban impact assessments on over 30 possible program initiatives. Later a fuller analysis of a reorientation and expansion of the
Comprehensive Planning program was prepared and submitted to the Office of Management and Budget. Another urban impact analysis led to recommendations for major revisions in the Title X land development insurance program. An assessment of the 203 (b) single-family mortgage insurance program also was begun.
PD&R has continued to be the departmental source of work on redlining, disinvestment, and reinvestment. Studies were begun on the effectiveness of riskreduction strategies and methods of identifying areas which have been redlined. A survey to identify uses that local public and private groups have made of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data in the development of reinvestment strategies was completed. Findings from the survey will be published as an aid to other groups wanting to develop their own strategies.
PD&R worked with the Office of Community Planning and Development to
produce a landmark report on the development needs of the Nation’s small cities. Research on differences among cities, on the availability of small-city data, on the perceptions of local officials, and on allocation formulas supported preparation of The Developmental Needs of Small Cities, required by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977.
A major options paper on possible departmental responses to displacement caused both by HUD programs and private
revitalization was completed in 1978. It led to PD&R's assignment as lead agency in preparing a Congressional Report, due in 1979, assessing the nature and extent of displacement and making recommendations for reducing the hardships it causes.
In early preparation for the FY 1980 budget, PD&R compiled a background briefing for principal staff that delineated important baseline data such as population trends in urban and rural areas, the economic conditions in cities, the housing conditions of moderate-income households, and the response of HUD programs to those needs.
The Department develops its regulations and handbooks and its legislative positions through a clearance process involving all major offices. PD&R plays a unique role in that process by identifying crosscutting program issues, and by bringing research and evaluation resources to bear on important policy questions.
Policy Studies
The 1978 HUD survey on the quality of community life was a significant accomplishment in the realm of policy studies. The project was undertaken so that the Cabinet-level group preparing legislative recommendations for President Carter’s 1978 urban policy message could benefit from the widest possible representation of citizen opinion.
The national cross-sectional sample of over 7,000 persons produced by the survey was one of the largest and most comprehensive to focus on issues related to the quality of community living. Included were questions dealing with personal satisfaction with place of residence, perceptions of the direction of change in community conditions, salient problems facing local communities, evaluations of the performance of government in responding to local needs, and people's residential and housing preferences. The results have been disseminated in several forms, including a report entitled A Survey of Citizen Views and Concerns about Urban Life and a 790-page Data Book containing the answers to each of the survey questions for the total sample and selected subgroups.
Studies of Troubled Multifamily Housing Projects. In the last two years, PD&R has conducted several in-house studies of the problems facing multifamily housing projects in HUD’s major housing programs. The first study, completed in 1977, assessed the impact and administration of the Section 8 Loan Management Set-Aside program. The second study, conducted in 1977 in support of the Task Force on Multifamily Property Utilization, was a more comprehensive field investigation into the problems facing financially troubled subsidized projects.
Building on this research, a third study, conducted in 1978, focused on HUD-insured unsubsidized housing projects. Paralleling the study of subsidized
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projects, this third study delineated the major types of problems facing financially distressed projects insured by FHA.
A fourth study, also conducted in 1978, supported the Department’s Urban Initiatives program, a program intended to upgrade the most troubled portion of the public housing inventory. On the basis of a national sample of public housing projects and a more detailed field study, PD&R was able to project the estimated number of projects in troubled condition, the kinds of
accounting and auditing, how to use performance measures, forecasting revenues and expenditures, and improving State and Federal oversight and technical assistance.
PD&R responded to the needs identified by program participants. Among the projects to grow out of this collaboration in 1978 were a Financial Management Technical Support Service, a State initiative for improving State financial management legislation and technical
Development Act of 1977 allowed the demonstration to be expanded into a full-scale operating program, now administered by HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development.
The evaluation, however, remains with PD&R, which published the Second Annual Report on urban homesteading in December 1978. The three-volume Urban Homesteading Catalogue, also published in 1978, gives details of the procedures employed by the participant cities. Another
projects that are troubled, and the problems facing these projects.
Government Capacity Building
In 1978 PD&R focused its efforts for building management capacity on a program to strengthen the financial management of local government. Utilizing the resources of national organizations, State agencies and institutions, and local officials, the Financial Management Capacity Sharing program is designed to encourage local officials to incorporate accurate financial management data into their daily decisionmaking.
With this end in mind, PD&R consulted extensively with local, State, and Federal officials in order to develop a priority list of financial management problems and needs, as well as to determine the best way of meeting them. This survey revealed four urgent financial management concerns: integrating the operations of budgeting.
assistance to local governments, and a series of workshops and materials on the three priority areas described above.
Research
Community Conservation
Urban Homesteading. In 1975, under Section 810 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, PD&R began a demonstration to test whether urban homesteading - a program aimed at encouraging homeownership, reducing housing abandonment, and promoting neighborhood revitalization -could become an important element of neighborhood preservation programs. Under the demonstration to date, 1,861 houses have been transferred to cities; rehabilitation has begun on 1,713; and 1,019 families have completed basic rehabilitation work and moved in. Additional funding and new authority under the Housing and Community
report, Baseline Analysis of the Urban Homesteading Demonstration, which awaits publication, provides a preliminary technical assessment of the program's impact, an assessment based on the first wave of the extensive set of data being collected on the program.
Population Mobility Issues. During 1978, PD&R initiated several efforts dealing with displacement and other aspects of population mobility. One new effort included an analysis of legal issues related to displacement and an analysis of displacement based on household survey data from three Baltimore neighborhoods. In addition, a draft report on displacement in urban homesteading neighborhoods was completed as part of the evaluation of that program.
PD&R also is conducting research on mobility patterns between and within central cities and suburbs. Using Annual Housing Survey data, staff members are examining the social and economic
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characteristics of each of four categories of movers (central city to suburb, suburb to central city, within central city, within suburb) in order to identify significant differences. Information on such differences will be useful in predicting future trends in intrametropolitan population movement.
Two major displacement projects were developed in 1978 for execution in 1979. A multicity study of revitalization and displacement will attempt to document the
characteristics of these two phenomena and to develop a system for recognizing them in the early stages. In a related effort, a single city will be the focus of an intensive site analysis utilizing household surveys of inmovers, outmovers, and long-term residents.
Re-Use of Abandoned Property. In May 1978 a grant was awarded to the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University to examine issues and effects of population decline in specific urban neighborhoods. A manual for local officials will result. Among the issues under examination are methods of inventorying abandoned structures, strategies for the acquisition and interim management of abandoned properties, and procedures for reestablishing re-use priorities and disposing of surplus property.
Role of Neighborhood Organizations. PD&R continued to focus on the role of neighborhood organizations in the
neighborhood preservation area. One project examined the methods by which community organizations move from a purely issue-organizing program into one that encompasses planning and development. Another project funds several research efforts conducted by the Office of Neighborhoods, Voluntary Associations and Consumer Protection. The projects, several of which were completed in 1978, focus on strengthening the capacity of neighborhood revitalization strategies.
Urban Reinvestment Task Force Demonstration. In 1974, HUD and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board joined in establishing the Urban Reinvestment Task Force (URTF).
The URTF’s main thrust is to establish Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS), organizations designed to encourage neighborhood preservation and to utilize home improvement and mortgage lending for existing housing in a neighborhood. PD&R's comprehensive three-year evaluation of the NHS demonstration began in 1977 and continued during 1978. The membership of the URTF has since been expanded to include the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration.
Security. In 1978. PD&R prepared a set of manuals to provide housing managers with a tool for prudently allocating funds to improve security in public and private housing projects. The manuals, based on a comprehensive approach to crime reduction, develop recommendations for improving management and increasing the strength of resident organizations.
In addition, as part of a critical review of the literature on crime and public housing, PD&R conducted two conferences on crime reduction. The first involved representatives of management and residents from 19 major public housing authorities. The second brought together
over 50 senior experts in residential crime prevention for the purpose of proposing strategies to be employed in the Department’s crime-reduction demonstration in public housing.
Counseling and Mortgage Forebearance. Based on a design developed earlier, PD&R initiated in 1978 a multiyear demonstration and evaluation of a program for making temporary mortgage payments for defaulting homeowners. Counseling is included.
along with special mortgage forebearance and mortgage assistance payments. This is an experimental system of “Protective Insurance Payments” (PIP) for homeowners. Evaluation of October 1978 data indicates that approximately 33 percent of the mortgagors enrolled in the program have had their incomes restored and are not only again making payments on thejr mortgages but are also repaying the mortgage payments advanced by HUD.
PD&R also initiated the HOME (Home Ownership Made Easier) program in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Phoenix. It is a demonstration project to ascertain the cost and effectiveness of prepurchase homeownership counseling.
New York City Demonstrations
Sweat Equity Multifamily Homesteading. In 1977, HUD awarded a demonstration grant of $3 million in Section 312 loan funds to the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board in New
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York City, thus initiating the Nation’s first federally supported demonstration of sweat equity multifamily homesteading. Sweat equity homesteading involves the restoration of abandoned, multifamily tenements by unemployed community residents who receive job training and stipends through CETA and who contribute labor for their equity. By the end of 1978, rehabilitation had begun on seven buildings containing 95 apartments and representing $1.9 million in loan
funds, and plans were completed to expand the demonstration into two additional New York City neighborhoods.
PD&R’s evaluation of the demonstration was initiated in 1978 and is expected to be completed in 1980. Among the products of the evaluation will be a documentation of the process, a report on the role of the neighborhood-based sponsor, an analysis of the direct and indirect costs associated with the sweat equity rehabilitation process, and an assessment of the replicability of the demonstration.
Multifamily Homeownership Demonstrations. PD&R’s first field office in New York City was established in August 1978, and charged with implementing Section 510 of the 1978 Housing and Community Development Amendments. Under this legislation, the Secretary is authorized to “conduct a series of demonstrations to determine the feasibility of expanding homeownership opportunities in urban areas and to
encourage the creation and maintenance of decent, safe, and sanitary housing in such areas by utilizing techniques including, but not limited to. the conversion of multifamily housing properties to condominium or cooperative ownership by individuals and families.”
Since its inception, the New York office has, concentrated on formulating a series of alternative demonstration designs reflecting the continuing emphasis which both Congress and HUD’s office of PD&R
have placed on testing the feasibility of homeownership as a vehicle for improving the physical, economic and social viability of multifamily housing for lower-income families.
Evaluation
During 1978, PD&R continued its extensive evaluation of the Community Development Block Grant program. Under contract with HUD, the Brookings Institution produced its second report on the program, in which it reviewed the effects of the program on community development decisionmaking at the local level, the impact of program funds on low-and moderate-income families, and the effects of the new dual formula. PD&R prepared a detailed analysis of the current dual formula and impaction and singlefamily alternatives, as prescribed by Section 106 (1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977.
Work was begun on a four-year study to determine to what degree the major activities funded by the block grant improve neighborhood housing and living conditions. This study also will provide a detailed analysis of the distribution of benefits from these activities.
The initial findings of PD&R’s fair housing evaluation were released in 1978. The study found evidence of substantial discrimination against blacks seeking either to rent or buy. Work was begun on a project to determine the extent and nature of discrimination against Hispanics. Another PD&R funded evaluation completed in 1978 examined the effects on the housing market of changes in the income tax rules permitting the deduction of mortgage interest and property taxes. The report found that certain changes could have significant impact on the price of housing, the type of housing built, and the location decision of households. Still another study analyzed the condition under which it is cost-effective to substitute fee appraisers for FHA staff appraisers.
The year also saw progress in PD&R’s evaluation of the Urban Initiatives program, the income certification process for subsidized housing, and the factors which determine risk in single-family mortgage insurance.
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Research. PD&R recently completed a major paper on discrimination and segregation in American housing markets. The paper summarizes existing research in fair housing in order to determine priorities for research initiatives which would assist HUD in overcoming the effects of discrimination and segregation. Among other subjects, the paper discusses the causes and costs of discrimination and segregation, and the policies and research needed to realize fair housing goals.
To strengthen HUD’s fair housing enforcement efforts, PD&R undertook in 1978 a new demonstration to test the
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premise that local fair housing groups can assist HUD in identifying and rectifying instances of discrimination. The National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing was selected to assist HUD in the selection and training of nine local groups, giving technical assistance, and monitoring their efforts and performance. A separate evaluation will assess the impact of the demonstration on the nature and form of discrimination.
Work has also begun on an important study of discrimination in lending. Utilizing data collected by two State regulatory agencies, the study will examine the extent of discrimination in mortgage lending on the basis of sex, marital status, and race. It is scheduled for completion early in 1980.
Delivery of Services. One area of the research program focuses on ways to improve the delivery of housing services. For example, PD&R is exploring the issue of whether, and under what circumstances, management of public housing projects by the tenants themselves can result in improved operating performance. At each participating public housing site, a tenant management corporation has been formed, a tenant board of directors elected, and a tenant staff hired and trained. Additional tests of improved means for delivery of technical assistance to public housing authorities were planned for 1979.
Management Training. As part of the Hispanic Housing Management program, an Hispanic training component was developed in 1978 to help non-Hispanic managers of predominantly Hispanic housing projects address the specific needs of the resident population as well as improve their management skills and resident relations.
Significant progress was also made in 1978 toward the development of a comprehensive college-level curriculum in housing management. Intended to promote the professionalization of housing managers, the curriculum, when completed in the summer of 1979, will
consist of seven courses and 18 workshops.
Funding. The second area of public housing research focuses on the means of assuring adequate funding of public housing. Work was begun in 1978 on a two-year evaluation of the Performance Funding System (PFS), a system that determines the amount of subsidy due each of over 1,900 PHA’s for the operation of public housing. Although the PFS
represents HUD’s attempt to systematize the calculation of subsidies while having payments reflect actual PHA needs, a number of questions have been raised about the system’s design and operation. PD&R’s evaluation will provide recommendations for improving HUD’s subsidy allocation process, both on a shortterm and long-term basis.
In an effort to determine more accurately the magnitude of labor costs as a component of overall PHA operating costs, PD&R also began a study of the process of wage-rate determination in public housing authorities. In a related research project, work toward the development of a standardized position-classification system to be used by PHA’s in Massachusetts also was initiated. The inconsistencies of job descriptions and employee classifications have aggravated the difficulties involved in wage-rate determinations, union contract negotiations, employment of tenants, and
equal-opportunity activities. A uniform classification system could serve as a model for a broader standardization effort.
Maintenance. The third area of publichousing research concentrates on ensuring adequate maintenance of the public housing stock. An evaluation of the condition of the public housing inventory was initiated in 1978 in an attempt to estimate the cost, time, and impact of modifying public housing for the purposes
of modernization, energy conservation, and accessibility to the handicapped. The actual implementation was scheduled to begin early in 1979.
In order to ensure that research in public housing continues to focus on the most pressing concerns facing the program, a review of the Department’s past research work in support of the public housing program was undertaken. This effort will be followed in 1979 by the development of a long-range research agenda to identify outstanding issues.
HUD-insured Multifamily Housing.
Research activities in 1978 sought a broad range of creative approaches to resolve both the financial and management problems of distressed HUD-insured multifamily properties and to dispose of defaulted properties. These activities were designed to involve project residents in the property disposition process and strengthen the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Four research and demonstration programs were employed to address these issues. The first continued a previous demonstration set up to develop comprehensive diagnostic and treatment programs for distressed, federally aided multifamily projects in the New York area.
Using comprehensive audits and technical intervention assistance, the second program was designed to demonstrate methods for remedying problems in distressed California multifamily projects through integrated programs of financial relief and improved project management.
The third program initiated in 1978 supplied technical assistance, monitoring, and evaluation to the Boston area office under a demonstration of new approaches to the management and disposition of HUD-acquired multifamily developments.
Launched in the fall of 1978, the fourth project is a study of HUD’s multifamily loan servicing, staffing, and office organization procedures. Scheduled for completion in 1979. the study will result in the development of a model HUD loanservicing unit complete with procedures and staffing requirements, including job descriptions and needed skill levels, to help the Department better cope with the increasing number of defaults, assignments, and foreclosures within its insured multifamily inventory.
Among the more significant accomplishments of the year was the development of new techniques and procedures - emphasizing transfer of ownership, preventive servicing, and training of HUD personnel - to aid in the implementation of HUD policies for troubled properties.
Special Users
Assistance to the Elderly. A significant step toward advancing research on the housing needs of the elderly was taken in 1978 as work began on the development of a research agenda giving specific attention to the housing needs of those elderly who
live independently, as well as those who are concentrated in the older neighborhoods of the Nation’s cities.
Housing Options for the Elderly, a paper published within HUD, describes the current housing situation for the elderly - major demographic, income, location, and housing features; tenure patterns; housing quality; and housing expense burdens. The paper compares the situation of the elderly poor with that of the elderly in general and of younger age groups.
The paper also assesses HUD’s present approach to meeting the housing needs of the elderly, gives a short history of present programs, and discusses whether the elderly are getting their fair share. It also offers options that would permit HUD to better serve the elderly by modifying existing programs or by designing new economical programs.
In 1978, the Special Users Group began an evaluation of Baltimore's experimental Home Maintenance Program with the objective of helping eligible households with minor maintenance and repair problems which, if unattended, could lead to a serious deterioration of individual properties as well as negative effects on neighborhood stability. Persons who are 55 years of age or older, living in the target area, physically handicapped, or singleparent householders were eligible for the program. The evaluation results, expected in 1979, will form the basis for a three-city demonstration of the concept to be implemented in 1980.
A demonstration outreach and training program for minority sponsors of Section 202 housing was conducted during 1978. More than 500 potential sponsors were identified, some 100 were given orientation to the Section 202 program, and 53 were given additional training. The outreach and training program was scheduled to be conducted again and evaluated in 1979.
Assistance to the Handicapped. Work continued on the project to develop a new
American National Standard Al 17.1 on accessibility for the handicapped.
Additional work during the year included editing the document for clarity and usability. Work also continued on the project to demonstrate the new standards by constructing, beginning in 1979. several accessible single-family and multifamily units.
The demonstration of small group homes for the handicapped was completed.
and the final report and guidebook for potential sponsors was expected to be made available during 1979. Much was learned about the difficulties of using Section 202 for the construction of such housing.
The City of New York completed the documentation of its competition to design a playground that can also be used by handicapped children. Called A Playground for All Children, the three-volume report includes the competition documents and a guidebook for those interested in developing such a play facility.
Housing Research
Section 8 Research and Evaluation. The objective of the research on Section 8 housing assistance is threefold: to provide the Department with continuous information on the operation of the Section 8 program, to identify problem areas and
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potential solutions, and to offer a basis for program improvements. The first phase of Section 8 research, concentrated on the existing-housing component, was completed in 1978. A report published in late 1978 summarized the findings of this phase.
The factors studied included, among other things, the appropriateness of Fair Market Rents and the effects of those rents on Section 8 participation; the effectiveness of the program administration by public housing agencies (PHA's), including an analysis of the administrative fee structures; and the housing quality standards adopted by PHA’s and the effects of these standards on program operations.
A second phase of Section 8 research began in 1978 and was scheduled to continue in 1979. This effort concentrates on the new construction, substantial rehabilitation, and existing housing components of the Section 8 program. The first study of phase two examines the effect of the program on changes in housing quality and on racial and economic integration, based on on-site inspection of the housing occupied by families before and after entering the program. Another study, to begin early in 1979, will compare development and operating costs of new and substantially rehabilitated Section 8 projects financed and sponsored in different ways.
Housing Assistance Research. In the Housing Act of 1970, Congress mandated a test of the concept of housing allowances, which furnish direct cash assistance to lower-income householders to enable them to obtain adequate housing. The Experimental Housing Allowance Program (EHAP) was designed to accomplish this test. With over 25,000 participating households at 12 sites, EHAP is the largest social experiment ever undertaken by the Federal Government.
EHAP consists of three components; the Demand Experiment, which examines how households use housing allowances; the
Supply Experiment, which analyzes how housing markets respond to the increased housing demand; and the Administrative Agency Experiment, which supplies information on different administrative methods.
The Administrative Agency Experiment has been completed, as has all data collection in the Demand Experiment. Analysis of the Demand Experiment will be completed in 1979. The final household and landlord surveys were conducted in the Supply Experiment in 1978. The Summary Report of Current Findings from the Experimental Housing Allowance Program was published.
EHAP is a significant step forward in research on housing assistance policy for low-income households and should make noteworthy contributions to a better understanding of the complex problem of how to improve the efficiency of housing assistance programs.
Housing Assistance Council. PD&R continued to provide support to the Housing Assistance Council (HAC), a nonprofit organization established by the Office of Economic Opportunity in 1971 to address the problems of poor housing stock, poverty, and the absence of mechanisms for adequate housing delivery in rural areas.
HAC’s activities included the operation of a loan fund to raise seed money for the development of rural subsidized housing and the provision of technical assistance services to such housing, its agencies, and its sponsors, particularly minority groups (farm workers, American Indians, and Southern blacks). The conduct of training conferences, workshops, and seminars on rural housing and community development were other HAC activities, as well as the analysis of pertinent legislation and regulations and the dissemination of relevant information in the form of a series of handbooks, news bulletins, and other publications.
Rural Assistance Initiative. To facilitate the use of HUD housing and
community development programs in rural areas, HUD launched a two-year demonstration to remove existing barriers and increase program accessibility. The objectives aim at strengthening the capacity of local government to administer HUD community development and housing programs and at increasing the participation of lending institutions, developers, and intermediary organizations in delivering HUD program services.
In the future, technical assistance will be given to rural capacity building in North Carolina and Washington. Additional field personnel and travel resources will be made available to work directly with selected rural communities in the modification of HUD regulations and administrative procedures.
Environmental Research
Environment. Accomplishments during the year include the completion of guidance materials for air-quality considerations in residential planning; an investigation of residential indoor air quality, which is a joint project with the Environmental Protection Agency and the development of training-program materials to assist in training HUD personnel responsible for conducting environmental assessments.
Research projects completed in areas related to natural disasters include studies on the social, environmental, and economic effects of flood-plain management and in support of the development of standards for the mitigation of flood hazards for postdisaster reconstruction. PD&R also completed a study on the risks of land subsidence along coastal wetlands and of subsidence caused by the collapse of abandoned mines and limestone caverns. Several research projects requested by the New Communities Administration were completed. These included integration of public safety services in new community development and a study on developing
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employment base strategies for new communities.
The environment research effort continues to develop cost-effective methods for conducting flood insurance studies and to improve environmental assessment methods. Research also was initiated to supply information for the formulation of earthquake hazard initiation standards pursuant to Section 406 of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974.
lead in the environment. This evaluation, in process by the Environmental Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences, is due in 1979.
The HUD-supported local model lead-abatement project at Louisville held seminars on effective techniques of project management, child identification, and lead-hazard identification. Approximately 65 staff members from federally funded projects attended the seminars.
included studies in progressive collapse of high-rise buildings and the development of criteria for the design and construction of residential structures in coastal high hazard areas, over potential subsidence areas, and on active clay soils.
Work also continued on innovative wiring systems, benefits to be derived from an energy-efficient residence, the development of a procedures manual for the field-testing of brick and mortar, and the development of criteria for the use of
Lead-based Paint Research. PD&R’s lead-based paint research has three interrelated objectives: to develop less costly means for detecting lead-based paint and for reducing the hazard, to determine the circumstances which contribute to lead poisoning, and to give technical assistance and resources to aid health and housing agencies confronted with lead poisoning hazards.
To identify the progress made, errors and misdirections, and to redefine objectives so that the control of high lead levels in children can be accomplished quickly and efficiently, PD&R initiated two evaluations. The first, by the in-house program staff, culminated in the report, Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Research — Review and Evaluation, 1971-1977, published in 1978. The second seeks to obtain an objective evaluation of the research program and how the Department’s own work meshes with the research of other agencies concerned with
Energy, Building Technology, and Standards
Building Technology. The areas of research and demonstration in building technology during 1978 ranged from earthquake-resistant design, through studies in basement waterproofing, to sewerless devices for residential use.
To reduce costs in residential construction, an awards program was developed in 1978 for systems or products aimed at holding down building costs. Winners will receive cash awards and will be eligible to participate in future HUD demonstrations of new technology.
Research in residential fire safety continued in 1978 with fire testing of full-sized rooms and of walls containing polymeric materials, and with development of the fire-safety systems analysis, a new approach to analyzing building designs for intrusion by fire. Other building safety research areas
Com-ply, the new composite lumber and panel material composed of particle board and veneer which was developed under a cooperative research program with the Forest Service.
Work was completed on a design manual for the proper use of vapor and moisture barriers.
Mobile Home Safety and Durability. The 1974 Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act was passed by Congress to improve the durability and quality of mobile homes and to reduce the number of personal injuries, fatalities, and property damage. The Act mandated that research should be used to assist in developing reasonable standards to meet these goals.
In 1978, three major research projects were essentially completed. The first project, begun in mid-1975, analyzed the performance of various types of interior finishes (wall paneling, ceiling board, and trim) to reduce the spread of accidental fire
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and thereby lessen the risk to mobile home occupants. The last of five reports covering the performance of specific areas of mobile homes will be published in 1979.
The second research project tested the ability of mobile homes to withstand winds of 70 miles per hour (wind zone 1). A full report on this project has been published. In keeping with the Title VI mandate to develop “reasonable” standards, the Department concurrently sponsored an economic-benefit, cost, and risk analysis.
Code Administration. The improvement of the capacity of State and local regulatory agencies to administer codes related to homebuilding is an important objective of the Department. During 1978, PD&R continued its work with the National Academy of Code Administration to develop not only an accredited training program for code administrators, technicians, and inspectors but also a proficiency examination to certify the competency of building-code
presented its technical findings to the Department of Energy, and held public meetings on the full energy-performance standards. Specific research activities concentrated on energy efficiencies of conventional construction practices, potential efficiency increases from available technology, implementation and administration resources, and economic and institutional impacts of the standards.
During 1978, extensive research was accomplished on the thermal envelope
The study indicates that, while the technical recommendations were cost-effective for resisting strong winds (zone I), the additional structural changes required to resist hurricane winds (zone II) were not cost-effective. This aspect will be examined at a later date.
The third research project, on long-term structural durability, also has been completed. It simulated the adverse effects of highway transportation and siteinstallation on the useful life of mobile homes. Seven volumes, including specific recommendations to improve the Federal standards, are scheduled for publication in 1979.
Other ongoing research efforts include full-scale testing and analysis relating to mobile home energy conservation; plumbing, electrical, and structural adhesives; smoke detection; egress window performance; and special fire testing.
officials. Additionally, PD&R has completed initial research with the National Institute of Building Sciences which analyzed the building-code development, promulgation, maintenance, and enforcement processes. The project identified areas where improvements are needed to make the building code process more effective and recommended a program of further research.
Energy Conservation in Buildings.
Legislation enabling the creation and enforcement of Energy Conservation Standards for New Buildings, residential and commercial, was signed into law in August 1976. The Secretary directed the staff to prepare a plan to meet the requirements of Title III of the Energy Conservation and Production Act of that year.
The standards definition process, initiated in 1977, was the first step. In 1978 PD&R completed the process,
(walls, floor, ceiling, roof) of mobile homes, as well as on the performance of their various heating and cooling systems. The purpose was to develop proposed standards based on full-scale field testing.
A publication, The Energy-wise Home Buyer, was prepared for distribution in early 1979. It informs prospective home buyers of what to consider in purchasing energy-efficient housing.
Solar Energy Research and Demonstration. HUD’s activities in solar energy are part of the national solar energy program administered by the Department of Energy. Authority for this program is contained in the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974 (PL 93-409), as supplemented by the legislation creating DOE.
The most visible portion of the PD&R solar program is the series of residential solar demonstrations that furnish data on solar system performance and market
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Assistant Secretary for Neighborhoods, Voluntary Associations and Consumer Protection
acceptance. Under this program, over 470 grants involving almost 12,000 housing units have been made to builders, developers and other housing sponsors, for a total award of over $ 19.6 million.
Projects are now located in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and in every State except Alaska.
A special market incentive program for residential domestic hot water systems was initiated in 1977 to help spur the market for this equipment. Eleven States with
particularly high electric rates were selected for the program, and 10,867 grants of $400 each were made available to families wishing to install solar hot water systems meeting HUD’s standards. Implementation of this program was extended until September 30, 1979.
A new activity was initiated in 1978 to identify and encourage, by way of a design competition, the use of passive solar energy designs and systems. “Passive” solar energy systems involve the use of the building structure to collect, store, and distribute solar energy as heat, with minimal requirements for outside energy to power fans or pumps. With the assistance of the Department of Energy and the Solar Energy Research Institute, PD&R selected 162 designs to receive awards. Eighty of the winning designs, to be built for open market sale, will receive additional construction grants. A major publication on the award winners, scheduled to be published in 1979, will supplement a 1978
publication on regional design guidelines for passive solar designs.
A revised version of the Interim Performance Criteria for Residential Solar Heating and Cooling was published in December 1978, and a major revision of HUD’s Intermediate Minimum Property Standards Supplement: Solar Heating and Domestic Hot Water Systems is being prepared for issue during the summer of 1979.
Market development studies during 1978 concentrated on improving the financial feasibility analysis model, RSVP (Residential Solar Viability Program), to reflect new information on costs and performance, on completion of the series of studies on solar access; and on collection, evaluation, and publication of information on marketing experiences in the demonstration program.
Two reports based on demonstration project data were published in 1978: Selling the Solar Home, which outlines early market experience from the first two demonstration cycles, and Building the Solar Home, which supplies information on system installation problems and corrective measures. Major revisions of both reports, based on experience in the third and fourth cycles, are scheduled to be published in the spring of 1979.
The dissemination of solar information by HUD was dramatically demonstrated on Sunday, May 3, 1978. when the Department produced 500,000 copies each of five solar publications for distribution around the country. This effort drew numerous inquiries from the public and was exploited through exhibits, conferences, workshops and publications. The National Solar Heating and Cooling Information Center completed its second full year of operation in October 1978. having responded to more than 330,000 mail and telephone inquiries.
The Assistant Secretary for Neighborhoods, Voluntary Associations and Consumer Protection (NVACP) is responsible for administering and enforcing certain regulatory functions, and obtaining consumer participation in the development of the Department’s policies and programs. NVACP also is charged with increasing the opportunities for neighborhood, voluntary, and other private sector organizations to participate in the development, revitalization, and stabilization of urban and regional areas.
The regulatory responsibilities of NVACP include registration and disclosure requirements on the sale of lands through the use of interstate commerce or the mails, mobile home construction and safety standards, real estate settlement practices, lead-based paint poisoning prevention, and energy conservation standards enforcement.
Consumer affairs responsibilities of the office encompass activities to ensure consideration of consumers’ views in the Department’s decisionmaking process, including the conduct of open consumer forums and surveys, the operation of a consumer complaint system in cooperation with the Department’s field offices, and the review and analysis of departmental rules and regulations.
In addition, programs are administered to provide housing counseling to current and prospective homeowners, home buyers, and renters of HUD-assisted or insured single-family or multifamily housing. During the past year, NVACP also became involved in the implementation of the Consumer Cooperative Bank Act of 1978.
The Assistant Secretary directs activities to assist urban and regional areas by (1) improving the management capabilities of neighborhood development organizations; (2) stimulating cooperative efforts among neighborhood organizations, local units of government, and the business community; and (3) encouraging voluntary and other nongovernmental organizations to work
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with the Department on areas of mutual interest and concern.
Regulatory Functions
Interstate Land Sales Registration
The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (Title XIV of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968) authorizes a nationwide program for the registration of subdivisions offered for sale in interstate commerce. All subdivisions of undeveloped land containing 50 or more lots, less than five acres in size, sold or offered for sale or lease through any facilities of interstate commerce are subject to the Act. NVACP provides safeguards for consumers through statutory and regulatory penalties imposed upon developers who fail to file and keep a current registration statement with the Office of Interstate Land Sales Registration (OILSR), or who fail to furnish each purchaser with a copy of an approved Property Report at the appropriate time.
The Act requires developers to submit a Statement of Record describing a proposed subdivision in detail, accompanied by maps, contract documents and, certifications designed for the protection of purchasers and lessors of lots. Each prospective purchaser must receive a Property Report containing the descriptive information in the Statement of Record.
The workload volume processed by OILSR each year provides a fairly accurate gauge of that part of the industry which falls within the jurisdiction of the Act. During calendar year 1978, OILSR received and processed 280 new registrations, along with 290 consolidation filings (i.e., additions to existing filings). OILSR also made 2,270 amendments to developers’ filings. For the same period, 916 exception requests were processed along with 692 amendments to exemption filings.
Enforcement activity in 1978 took several forms. OILSR issued 53 formal Notices of Proceedings and 360 informal
notices to developers, in responding to evidence of deficient registration filings. It issued 23 suspensions against developers for filing incomplete or inaccurate disclosures, as well as accepted approximately 250 voluntary suspension agreements. Other enforcement activity resulted in, among other things, the issuance of 168 subpoenas to obtain information relative to investigatory cases, 12 of which required court enforcement; and the preparation of 17 injunctive cases,
seven of which have been successfully filed. Some 334 cases were developed as part of an administrative settlement under which recission rights were offered to groups of consumers who had purchased land from a developer found not to be in full compliance with Federal law.
In addition, three criminal indictments were returned during 1978, bringing the total number of such cases to 18. One of the indictments resulted in a conviction and the remaining two are pending.
It is significant to note that in 1978, through court-ordered and administrative settlements with developers, OILSR was responsible for developer refunds to consumers totaling over $30 million.
Finally, to simplify the filing process and to provide more meaningful disclosure to lot buyers, OILSR undertook a comprehensive review and revision of its regulations. Proposed changes were first published in June 1978, two public hearings for comment were held in July and
final publication of the regulations is projected for early in 1979.
Mobile Home Standards
HUD promulgated Federal mobile home construction and safety standards in December 1975, and issued regulations governing enforcement procedures in May 1976. The Office of Mobile Home Standards has primary responsibility for enforcing those standards. Depending on the seriousness of the defect and the threat
it poses, manufacturers of defective or below-standard units may have to notify mobile home owners of the problem, correct the deficiency, replace the entire unit, or refund the buyer’s money.
As the administering agency, HUD uses the States to assist in the enforcement of Federal mobile home standards. As of December 15, 1978, 36 HUD-approved State Administrative Agencies were responsible for consumer complaints, recall campaigns, and the furnishing of mobile home data to HUD. These same 36 States received nearly 90 percent of all mobile home shipments in 1978.
Twenty-four HUD-approved inspection agencies (16 State and eight private) are presently responsible for assuring that 438 mobile home manufacturing plants conform to the Federal standards. Fifteen of these also review mobile home designs for conformance with the standards. Four additional private agencies perform only the design approval function. HUD staff
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and HUD’s contractor, the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS), monitor the performance of the design approval and inspection agencies and handle consumer compliants for unapproved States.
During 1978, the approved State Administrative Agencies resolved over 6,800 consumer complaints while HUD staff resolved more than 400 additional complaints. The inspection agencies performed over 40,000 factory inspections and design approvals, and NCSBCS performed 1,665 monitoring inspections and 232 deisgn reviews.
HUD and NCSBCS also monitored the performance of 20 provisionally-accepted inspection agencies and granted full acceptance to 16, making a total of 23 fully accepted agencies out of the 24 then active. (The provisional acceptance of three other agencies lapsed during the year.) Similarly, 10 agencies were granted full acceptance to perform design approvals, resulting in a total of 14 fully-accepted design approval agencies and five under provisional acceptance.
In 1978, HUD issued 370 technical interpretations of the standards, completed a field study on the performance of vertical sliding egress windows, initiated a bimonthly advisory letter to HUD-approved State and private agencies, sponsored three regional training sessions for State Administrative Agencies, and initiated an investigation of the problem of formaldehyde vapor outgassing in mobile homes.
HUD’s enforcement activities have resulted in 41 “recall” cases, instances in which manufacturers were or may be required to correct defects in considerable numbers of consumer homes. Of these, eight cases were opened, nine others were closed, and, at the end of the year, seven were still pending.
By vigorously monitoring and assisting the State and private agencies participating in the program, the Department is continuing in its efforts to develop and
enforce a viable Federal standard. It has made significant progress in increasing the safety, durability, and livability of the approximately 300,000 mobile homes which were produced during 1978.
Real Estate Settlement Procedures
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) of 1974, as amended in 1975, is designed to reduce consumer costs associated with the settlement (or closing) of most residential mortgage loans by
providing consumers with the information necessary to make informed buying decisions.
RESPA requires lenders to furnish loan applicants with a Special Information Booklet and good faith estimate of settlement costs at the time a written application is made for a home mortgage loan, or within three business days thereafter. In addition, the person conducting settlement must provide buyers and sellers with a HUD-prescribed statement (HUD-1) that itemizes all settlement charges.
RESPA also prohibits the payment or receipt of unearned fees or “kickbacks” for the referral of business in connection with settlement services. It bars sellers from requiring that the buyer purchase title insurance from a particular company and limits the amount that a lender can require a borrower to deposit into an escrow account.
RESPA also mandates several research efforts and a report to Congress by June 1980. In accordance with Section 13, five jurisdictions have been awarded grants to demonstrate methods to simplify and reduce the costs of recording title to land. Section 14 requires the Secretary to submit a report to Congress by June 1980 recommending ways in which the Federal Government can assist and encourage local governments to modernize their procedures for recording land title information. The
HUD contractor has completed most of the research necessary for the preparation of this report and HUD plans to issue several technical publications on title recordation in 1979.
Section 14 also requires the Secretary to advise Congress on how well RESPA is functioning and whether there is a need for further Federal legislation in the area of settlement costs. In preparation for this report, the contractor will conduct a legal and economic investigation of the competitiveness of the mortgage market and settlement service providers (attorneys, lenders, title insurance companies, real estate brokers); an assessment of any constraints which inhibit free competition; and an analysis of the basis for settlement service charges, in addition to collecting nationwide data on settlement costs. In the absence of any specific enforcement power with respect to the disclosure provisions of the Act, NVACP’s Real
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Estate Practices Division has developed a close working relationship with those Federal agencies which regulate lenders, including the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board and the Comptroller of the Currency. These agencies regularly examine for RESPA compliance and are now reporting violations to the Department on a semiannual basis. RESPA does, however, authorize criminal sanctions for cases
mandate to eradicate the lead-based paint poisoning hazard.
During the year, the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Division compared 63 local lead paint poisoning codes with the HUD standards. This Office plans to disseminate its findings to HUD program offices in order to ensure that program participants meet whichever standard is more stringent.
Collaborating with the Environmental Health Services Office of HEW, the Lead-
undertaken. In addition, NVACP has produced and distributed community energy conservation materials.
NVACP has also held the responsibility within HUD for implementing the energy performance standards for new buildings, which is set for late 1979 under the terms of Title III of the Energy Conservation and Production Act of 1976. During 1978, the Office of Energy Conservation was actively involved in planning how those regulations would be implemented. This
involving kickbacks and referral fees. More than 20 complaints alleging criminal violations have been referred to the HUD Inspector General and the Department of Justice since 1976.
In September, the Department published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, inviting comments from the public on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the regulations issued thereunder. Over 350 comments were received, mainly from professionals in the field.
During 1978, the Division staff handled over 430 individual complaints or inquiries concerning the application of the statute, and distributed more than 20,000 copies of the “Special Information Booklet.”
Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention The primary goal of the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Division is to ensure that HUD-associated properties are meeting the Congressional and social
Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Division participated in a series of regional meetings in Boston. Mass.; New York, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; and Virginia Beach, Va., as well as a workshop in Atlanta, Ga. Attendance at these meetings represented part of a unified Government effort to combat the lead hazard in the child’s environment. In addition, drafting has begun on an HUD-HEW agreement for monitoring selected aspects of the leadbased paint hazard.
Energy Conservation
The Assistant Secretary for NVACP is HUD’s Energy Conservation Officer. In carrying out that role, NVACP has established working relationships throughout HUD, as well as with several other Federal agencies, to coordinate energy activities. The focus of NVACP’s program is consumer and neighborhood outreach, and several consumer and neighborhood-oriented projects have been
process required formal consultation with consumers, State and local officials, building design professionals, and building code regulatory administrators. In addition, NVACP conducted research centering on case studies of State and local building energy standards, analyses of relevant Federal regulatory programs, and studies of technical compliance matters. In November, HUD published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, followed by public hearings held in Washington, Chicago, and San Francisco, on the new building standards.
Neighborhood and Consumer Affairs Functions
Consumer Complaints
The Division of Consumer Complaints operates the Department’s Consumer Complaint Handling System. The purpose of the System is twofold: to facilitate timely and responsive replies to all consumer complaints received by the
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Department, and to inform decisionmakers in HUD about areas of frequent consumer concern, as well as about those issues, policies, and procedures that may require attention and review.
In 1978, the Department received more than 60,000 complaints. The time required to respond to the complaints averaged between seven and 12 days, a considerable advance over 17-26 days in 1977 and 38-56 days before the system was instituted.
A number of steps were taken in 1978 to reinforce the complaint handling system. NVACP has identified a focal point for the monitoring and tracking of all complaint activity in each HUD Headquarters and field office. Each contact submits a quarterly narrative report on complaint trends and implications and a monthly statistical report, breaking down complaint activity by HUD program category. The Division has developed a training program for HUD’s staff of complaint handlers. On a regular basis, consumers are surveyed for their perspective of the Department’s timeliness and responsiveness. The results are analyzed and presented to program officers. Finally, the automated information system for the logging and tracking of complaints has been simplified.
Housing Counseling
The National Housing Counseling program is designed to assist and protect consumers participating in HUD housing programs. HUD-approved counseling agencies offer free counseling to homeowners and renters, including persons living in mobile homes, condominiums, and cooperatives. Some 585 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies throughout the Nation offer free preventive and remedial counseling to renters and homeowners. Counseling is given to prospective home buyers, to homeowners who are having financial difficulties (including mortgage defaulters), and to renters who are delinquent in their rent payments.
In 1978, the Department awarded 200 grants to HUD-approved counseling
agencies for the performance of comprehensive counseling services in their localities. Fifteen special project grants were awarded to identify innovative training methods and demonstrations. HUD continued two grants which offered training to more than 400 counselors from HUD-approved agencies, and awarded a new grant for generating an up-to-date and usable data base on the effectiveness of all types of housing counseling.
Consumer Liaison
The goal of the Consumer Liaison Division is to secure more consumer involvement in HUD policies and programs. Its outreach program consists of two main components: a series of Consumer Forums on timely issues of broad public interest, and various newsletters and publications.
During the year, NVACP conducted 10 public Consumer Forums on topics like insurance redlining, cooperative housing, condominiums, security and crime prevention in public housing, housing rehabilitation, displacement strategies for community reinvestment, and neighborhood commercial revitalization. Information generated at the Forums is used in a number of ways. For example, papers from the displacement forum will comprise a part of HUD’s report to Congress on the nature and extent of displacement. The Division also worked with State officials in New Mexico, Minnesota, Washington, and Wyoming to sponsor forums on such topics as “Buying a Home” and “Housing Costs.”
The Consumer Liaison staff prepared a series of guides in nontechnical language which summarize proposed HUD program regulations, concentrate on issues raised in Consumer Forums and, describe HUD programs of particular interest to consumers. NVACP also prepared guides on HUD’s housing rehabilitation programs, the Community Development Block Grant, and Urban Homesteading programs.
In 1978, the Division continued to be involved in the work on the Task Force on
Tenant Participation in the Management of Low-Income Housing. Composed of tenant, public housing authority, and HUD representatives, the Task Force has submitted recommendations for comprehensive regulations on tenant involvement to the Secretary for approval.
The National Consumer Cooperative Bank
As Chairman of the Internal Procedures Subcommittee of the Interagency Task Force, the Assistant Secretary for NVACP
implements the Consumer Cooperative Bank Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-351). This Act created an independent National Bank for Cooperatives to give consumers a device for minimizing the impact of inflation, and narrowing the price spread between the cost to the producer and the cost to the consumer of needed goods, services, and facilities.
Community Services
The Community and Tenant Service program supplies technical assistance and guidance to the management of America’s public housing and HUD’s assisted housing projects, in order to improve tenant/ management relations and to ensure that program resources are utilized to meet tenant needs.
In 1978, HUD furnished assistance for meeting the special needs of the elderly and handicapped. Nutrition programs supplying on-site daily meals in public housing and other HUD-assisted projects for senior citizens were increased from 800
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to approximately 1,500. At the other end of the age bracket, HUD collaborated with the Boy and Girl Scouts’ national organizations. Ten pilot workshops were held across the country to involve these young people in HUD’s low- and moderate-income housing programs.
The Community Services staff was busy in several other areas. The staff was at work on a “Tenant Employment Report” which will more accurately describe the number of housing authorities which
obtained jobs for tenants through the CETA program. NVACP also held intradepartmental meetings to develop Alcoholism Awareness Demonstration programs which will be administered by selected housing authorities across the country.
Issues Analysis
During 1978, the Issues Analysis Division reviewed all HUD issuances - regulations, handbooks, and notices which were sent to the Assistant Secretary for NVACP for comment prior to publication. NVACP analyzed each item for its effect on HUD’s consumers. “Consumers” include residents of public housing, recipients of Section 8 rental assistance, purchasers of FHA-insured homes, and citizens of localities receiving Community Development Block Grant funds. This review and comment process not only considered the consumer perspective but also focused the attention of HUD program
offices on those consumer concerns which would otherwise be lost in the day-to-day pressures of running programs.
The Issues Analysis Division represented the Assistant Secretary on the Subcommittee for Building Codes and Technology of the Housing Cost Task Force to ensure that consumer concerns were considered in the development of the Subcommittee’s recommendations.
The Division also brought the same perspective to the work of the Mortgage Review Board, whose purpose is to oversee mortgagee compliance with HUD regulations in the mortgagee’s servicing of HUD-insured mortgages for single-family homes.
The Issues Analysis Division has been actively engaged in departmental efforts to achieve regulatory reform by serving on the Federal Aid Reform Task Force and providing guidelines and criteria for writing regulations in “plain English” for the HUD Handbook on the drafting and clearance of Federal Register materials. The Division has also developed criteria and procedures for the “plain English” review of all HUD forms.
Voluntary Associations
The Office of Voluntary Associations is HUD’s mechanism for interacting with the established network of American voluntary associations. NVACP works with three main categories of voluntary associations: women, Hispanics, and the elderly.
In 1979 the Office will expand its effort to bring the private sector into community development, in order to better comply with the public/private partnership mandated by the President’s Urban Policy.
Hispanic Policy and Programs.
The function of this Division is to improve the delivery of HUD services to the Hispanic population throughout the country. In doing so, it informs Hispanic individuals, community groups, and national organizations on HUD programs and services, as well as determines the
issues of concern to the Hispanic community.
In addition to reviewing various HUD publications for translation into Spanish, such as materials on HUD’s Federal Insurance Administration and the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, this Division administers a number of contracts important to the Hispanic community. Under one contract, NVACP developed an Hispanic Housing Management Training Course, and that office is now awaiting the
implementation of an Hispanic Housing Management Career Development program. Another contracted study, entitled Hispanics, Housing and HUD, was based on interviews with approximately 2,100 households in five U.S. cities with high concentrations of Hispanics.
Women’s Policy and Programs
This Division helps HUD decisionmakers to understand and meet the housing and neighborhood needs of women. It reaches out to those women and women’s voluntary associations seeking to participate in the development and implementation of HUD’s policies and programs. The Women’s Policy staff also reviews the Department’s policies and programs in order to assess their impact on women. For example, the Division coordinated the response of a coalition of national women’s groups to the findings of the White House Conference on Balanced Growth and Economic Development, and the
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President’s Urban Policy Report. That coalition subsequently formed a permanent Women’s Commission on Urban Policy.
The NVACP Women’s Policy staff conducted a two-day seminar for the staff of the National Congress of Neighborhood Women and representatives of other neighborhood organizations. Particular emphasis was placed on how neighborhood organizations can participate in HUD’s Section 8 and Community Development Block Grant Programs. In cooperation with staff from the Office of Neighborhood Development and the Boston Area Office, the Division also led several workshops at the Women’s School of Planning and Architecture in Boston.
The Women’s Policy Division held seminars, issued information bulletins, and participated in interagency research and demonstration efforts focusing on battered women’s shelters.
Elderly Programs
The Elderly Programs Division is HUD’s focal point for matters pertaining to the aging. In 1978, it worked with the Office of Housing to plan for the implementation of the Congregate Services Act of 1978 and cooperated with the staff of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare’s Administration on Aging and Rehabilitation Services to foster coordination between the two Departments. The Division also represented HUD at the American Association of Retired People’s Housing Task Force and participated in HUD’s selection of troubled public housing projects to be converted to elderly housing.
Neighborhood Development
The Office of Neighborhood Development (OND) was established to support neighborhood organizations engaged in revitalization. OND created a framework for providing three types of services to neighborhood organizations. OND shares information on successful neighborhood programs, prepares and
disseminates technical publications and letters, and provides written information on alternative sources of public and private funds for neighborhood self-help development projects. The Office also offers various training activities designed to increase the capacity of existing neighborhood development organizations to plan and manage local neighborhood revitalization projects.
Thirdly, OND furnishes direct funding, through “self-help” contracts to
neighborhood development organizations, to prepare projects which are consistent with a city’s community and economic development strategy.
In October 1978, 21 organizations were funded with $2.5 million from the Secretary’s Community Development Block Grant Discretionary Fund. In addition to offering limited technical assistance and direct training, the Office has created a referral network so that neighborhood organizations can share their expertise with one another.
OND contracted with a number of national, regional, and civil rights organizations to supply information, training, and on-site technical assistance for neighborhood organizations and local officials. The organizations providing technical assistance included the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Urban Coalition, the Pratt Institute of New York City, the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, La Raza, the NAACP, and the Center for Community Change.
Overall, in 1978, OND provided intensive skill training to approximately 250 organizations, technical assistance contracts averaging $ 110,000 to 21 neighborhood organizations, and information and some training services to over 4,000 individuals and organizations.
Under an Interagency Agreement, and with funds transferred from the Department of Labor, OND funded 10 community
development corporations and neighborhood development organizations to operate Youth Community Conservation and Improvement programs costing $8 million. This demonstration project explored the feasibility of having organizations of this kind link HUD/DOL grant funds with other resources to develop comprehensive community improvement projects. By the end of the first year, nearly one thousand previously unemployed 16 to 19-year-olds were working in the projects and making physical improvements to their local neighborhoods. In addition, the 10 corporations had leveraged over $4.1 million in other Federal, State and local funds, which they used to hire additional youths and buy equipment and supplies.
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Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FH&EO) is charged with administering Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which seeks to assure fair housing throughout the United States. In addition, the Office is responsible for ensuring that HUD-assisted programs and activities are administered without discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Executive Order 11063.
Other responsibilities of the Office include efforts to (1) promote job and business opportunities for lower-income residents and businesses in HUD project areas pursuant to Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, and minority entrepreneurship in all HUD programs pursuant to Executive Order 11625; and (2) assure equal job opportunities within the Department and among HUD contractors and grantees, pursuant to Executive Order 11478 and HUD Equal Opportunity contract clauses, respectively.
During 1978, the automated system for reporting complaints and compliance reviews, first initiated in 1977, was fully implemented. This system enabled the Department to be more responsive to requests by the Executive and Legislative branches of Government for critical information on a timely basis.
It also provides for the storage and retrieval of information essential to efficient budget planning, work measurement, and goals management.
FH&EO in 1978 continued its program of informational seminars for the public. In April, the Office was host to more than 400 civil rights advocates who attended HUD’s Second Annual Conference on Fair Housing. The conference dealt with fair housing enforcement at the Federal, State, and local levels.
Meetings during the year with legal and financial regulatory agencies and the Department of Justice brought to 20 the number of seminars on Federal fair housing and fair lending laws and practices that have been conducted since the inception of the program.
The Assistant Secretary carries out his responsibilities through five major components of his office: Management and Field Coordination, HUD Program Compliance, Fair Housing Enforcement
and Section 3 Compliance, Contract Compliance Programs, and Voluntary Compliance.
Management and Field Coordination
All of the administrative and management services required to support Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity programs at the national and regional levels are performed by the Office of Management and Field Coordination. These activities include the preparation and administration of the FH&EO budget, coordination of training directed toward fair housing personnel, and conduct of field reviews of the Department’s FH&EO efforts. The Office also prepares reports on the racial and ethnic characteristics of the applicants and participants in all HUD-assisted programs.
Of special importance in 1978, FH&EO, in cooperation with the Office of Community Planning and Development, developed strong standards in conformity
with the statutory provisions of the Urban Development Action Grant program relating to the applicant’s past performance in providing equal employment opportunity and housing opportunity for minorities.
HUD Program Compliance
The Office of HUD Program Compliance seeks compliance and enforcement with respect to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973; Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; Executive Order 11478, which applies to equal employment opportunity within the Department; and HUD contract clauses prohibiting employment discrimination by HUD contractors and grantees.
During the year, this Office negotiated 59 compliance agreements with public housing authorities and subsidized housing owners who agreed to take affirmative action with respect to Title VI. They also promised to overcome the effects of past practices which may have restricted occupancy in their housing on the grounds of race, color, or nation origin.
FH&EO signed several of these compliance agreements with housing authorities that manage over 1.000 units, including PHA’s in Los Angeles, Calif.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Bessemer, Ala.; Orlando, Fla.; Akron, Ohio; and New
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Bedford, Mass. Altogether, these agreements embrace more than 52,000 units of low-income housing.
Fair Housing Enforcement and Section 3 Compliance
The Office of Fair Housing Enforcement oversees compliance activities under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, Executive Order 11063, and Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of
Contract Compliance Program
The realignment of the Federal Contract Compliance program, begun in 1977, continued into 1978. HUD’s authority to administer Executive Order 11246, pertaining to nondiscrimination in employment by Federal contractors and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, was transferred to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) within the Labor
327 over the previous year. The bulk of these instruments were executed with the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the National Association of Home Builders, and the National Association of Real Estate License Law Officials. More than 170 of the agreements, however, were executed with Community Housing Resource Boards (CHRB’s). The Boards are citizens’ organizations created to aid in implementing the instruments and to assess
1968. It also prepares the criteria for processing complaints, and is the recipient of regional office final reports with respect to investigation and conciliation.
The character of discriminatory housing complaints received by this Office continued to be increasingly more complex. Title VIII complaints, in general, totaled 3,169 for the fiscal year, while closures for the same period rose to 3,910, including those cases carried over from FY 1977. The year 1978 was also characterized by an increase in complaints of steering and redlining.
Seven States were recognized during the year as having fair housing laws substantially equivalent to the Federal Government’s. In support of this understanding with the States, HUD conducted training for State and local fair housing officials in February 1978. HUD also negotiated an Affirmative Action Plan with the City and County of Denver, Colorado, under the provisions of Section 3.
Department, which became solely responsible for Government-wide administration and enforcement of that Executive Order.
Prior to the transfer, FH&EO carried out a total of 3,349 Contract Compliance Reviews for the year.
Voluntary Compliance
The Office of Voluntary Compliance develops and fosters voluntary actions that will fulfill the Equal Opportunity program goals and objectives stated and implied in the statutes, Executive Orders and priorities of the adminstration. Its staff assists national organizations in achieving these goals and objectives, develops voluntary programs, and furnishes areawide, affirmative fair housing marketing agreements and plans.
In 1978, the number of voluntary affirmative marketing plans and agreements climbed to 636, representing an increase of
the progress of the affirmative marketing program.
As part of his effort to assist other Federal agencies in fulfilling their fair housing and equal opportunity responsibilities, the Assistant Secretary chairs the Federal Equal Housing Opportunity Council. Open to all Federal agencies and departments, the Council meets quarterly and executes Interagency Fair Housing Agreements, the purpose of which is to record agency efforts for deterring discrimination in housing. Such an agreement was signed in June between HUD and the U.S. Civil Service Commission, establishing the latter’s commitment to a specific approach for achieving the goals of a fair housing program. The HUD-USCSC Fair Housing Agreement represents the eighth such agreement discharged under the auspices of the Council.
The New Horizons Fair Housing Assistance Project is another voluntary arrangement administered by FH&EO. It
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Assistant Secretary for Assistant Secretary for
Legislation and	Administration
Intergovernmental
Relations
purports to assist local governments and regional planning agencies which are interested in developing a program for guaranteeing freedom of choice in housing for all of their residents. Such programs must go far beyond the minimum legal requirements of Title VIII of the 1968 law. In March 1978, Cambridge, Maryland became the first city in the Nation to sign a New Horizons Memorandum of Understanding. During the remainder of 1978, six other cities and four counties
became program participants.
The Office of Voluntary Compliance also operates two programs which have as their objective the expansion of opportunities for minority business enterprises. During FY 1978, HUD awarded $489,887,595 in procurement orders to minority businessmen, or 50 percent in excess of the goal established for that purpose by the Secretary of HUD. The Minority Bank Deposit program’s annual average for FY 1978 reached $79,750,590, or 10 percent more than the Department’s stated goal. Both of these voluntary programs are consistent with the President’s statement of support for strong minority business enterprise as a deterrent to unemployment and a stimulus for community development.
The Office of Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations is headed by an Assistant Secretary who acts as the principal advisor to the Secretary on the Department’s relations with the Congress, State and local government officials, and other constituent and interest groups.
The Office is comprised of two sections: (1) Legislation and (2) Congressional and Intergovernmental Liaison.
Legislation personnel are responsible for coordinating the development of the Department’s legislative program, managing presentations before the Congress, and assisting that body in its consideration of legislative proposals and other matters of interest to the Department.
Congressional and Intergovernmental Liaison staff assemble the services and information furnished by HUD to Members of Congress, respond to Congressional inquiries, and serve as the primary point of contact for Members of Congress with respect to the operation of the Department’s programs in their districts. In addition, the Liaison staff promotes, coordinates, and facilitates communications between the Department and State and local governments.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration consists of eight offices and the staff of the Executive Secretariat.
The offices are: Organization and Management Information, Personnel, Budget, Finance and Accounting, Administrative Services, Procurement and Contracts, Automated Data Processing (ADP) Systems Development, and ADP Operations.
Services performed by these offices range from personnel actions and payroll preparation to the procurement of supplies and services. Examples of those essential management and supporting services of the Office of Administration are listed below.
Management
Planning and Control
Operating Plans. In FY 1978, the Operating Plans System continued to function as the major departmental mechanism for translating policies, budget and program strategies into a plan which matches organizational responsibilities with resource allocations. These plans are comprised of an integrated set of departmental priority objectives emphasizing key program delivery and management end products, workload and staffing components, and advice and guidance to field managers. Headquarters, Regional and Field Operating Plans for FY 1978 were built around five departmental goals developed by the Secretary and key staff members. The Office of Administration assumed the lead role in coordinating the requirements necessary for automation of the Regional and Field Operating Plan System (OPLAN). This system provides for the automated production of information on Operating Plan accomplishments and supplies up-to-date information on program performance to regional administrators, field office managers, and Headquarters principal staff.
Executive Management Reporting System. The Executive Management Reporting System, which completed its first
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full year of operation in 1978, is designed to enhance management’s capacity for pinpointing departmental progress in key performance areas under the Departmental Operating Plans.
Program and Budget Development Committee (PBDC). In 1978 the Department renamed and expanded the membership of its principal policy and budget-making committee. The former Management and Budget Review Committee (MBRC) was reconstituted as
Management principles, such as giving attention to data impact as program policies evolve, coordinating data requirements from all concerned departmental organizations, and institutionalizing data quality planning and improvement.
Mortgage Insurance Accounting Data Purification. The Department began the “massive purification” of 17 automated systems and various manual processes, which must precede the implementation of the integrated Mortgage Insurance
for Reporting and Data Inventory Control System. The RADICS contractor completed a major portion of the system in 1978, and the Reports Management staff expects to fully implement it by the end of calendar year 1979.
Reorganization
HUD succeeded in implementing a major part of the reorganization plan introduced in 1977, to address managerial and organizational deficiencies within the
the PBDC to include the participation of the regional administrators, as well as principal Headquarters officials. The Committee’s main function is to prepare proposals on the budget for the Secretary.
Consolidation of Collection, Depositing Points. The number of locations within HUD where funds are collected and deposited were consolidated. In addition, the depositing function has been separated from the accounting function to speed up check depositing (thus reducing interest costs for the Treasury), and to improve security over the remittances received in the Department.
Data Management
A series of Handbooks which document the policies and procedures related to management of the Department’s information resources was initiated by Administration. The thrust of these handbooks, in detailing the information life cycle, was to codify emerging Data
Accounting System. This effort places departmental records in agreement with those of HUD’s mortgagees.
ADP Billing and Resource Monitoring System. An interim system for monitoring the use of ADP resources was developed and implemented on July 1, 1978. The Interim ADP Billing and Resource Monitoring System (IBRMS) calls for monthly reports on ADP staff-hours, elapsed computer time and terminal connect time, according to application system. The information collected through IBRMS furnishes a rough measure of ADP resource utilization for each system and (by aggregating system totals by user area) for each user.
Cataloging and Managing Data Collection Efforts and Data Elements. Early in 1978, the Department began to incorporate an automated system known as RADICS to enhance its ability to catalog and manage its data elements and data collection efforts. RADICS is an acronym
Department. At the end of the year, all but five HUD offices were in conformity with the new structure.
The new field office configuration represents a more streamlined organization in terms of managerial and administrative overhead. The area offices now operate as the principal arms of the Department’s program delivery system.
From a personnel standpoint, the new field organization reduced regional office staff size, as well as the number of area offices. It also resulted in the conversion of insuring offices to service offices, a consolidation of administrative staff in collocated offices, and the transfer of other regional office staff functions to Headquarters and area offices.
The Office of Administration issued special personnel policies to ease the transition for field office employees caught up in the reorganization, including Civil Service Commission approval of an early retirement plan, waiver of qualification
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requirements where justified, and provision of relocating assistance via a commercial real estate firm.
In its entirety, the field office reorganization markedly reduced the number of HUD managers and supervisors while, at the same time, it increased the representation of minorities and women in the remaining jobs. Despite the extensive organizational activity, the majority of employees affected by the change were able to remain in their present geographic area.
Overall Recruitment Effort
In May 1978, HUD had 1,086 fewer employees than allowed under its personnel ceiling authorization, with most of these vacancies being in the field. In responding to this critical shortage, HUD intensified its recruitment by issuing interim merit staffing procedures and by aggressively pursuing all sources of qualified individuals, particularly women and minorities. By September 20, HUD had hired over 1,500 new employees and was able to report only 20 remaining vacancies against its permanent, full-time ceiling.
Housing Careers Program
A study of the characteristics of HUD’s underwriting work force raised serious concerns about the employment profile of the underwriting staffs, with respect to the representation of minorities and women, increasing average age, relatively high attrition rate among young professionals, and the lack of a career structure. To deal
effectively with these concerns, the Offices of Administration and Housing jointly developed the Housing Careers Program.
The Housing Careers program consists of four components: Paraprofessional, Housing Careers Entry, Occupational Mobility for Housing Professionals, and Mid-Career Internship Programs. The Paraprofessional program is designed to create advancement opportunities for employees who do not meet CSC qualification requirements for entry-level,
professional underwriting positions. A Housing Careers Entry program aims to recruit, select, and develop individuals who can fill entry-level underwriting positions for appraisers, cost analysts, mortgage credit examiners, and construction analysts.
A program in Occupational Mobility for Housing Professionals enables employees to compete for same-grade vacancies in underwriter occupations, even though they may not possess an entirely appropriate employment history. Finally, the MidCareer Internship program is suited for those underwriting employees who have demonstrated a potential to assume supervisory responsibilities.
Affirmative Action
During FY 1978, the Department developed a multiyear, Affirmative Action Plan characterized by five-year goals for the employment of minorities and women. One aspect of that plan predicts that by the end of FY 1982, women will constitute 15.2
percent of all HUD positions at GS-12 and above; Blacks, 15.1 percent; Hispanics, 5.5 percent; American Indians, 1.4 percent; and Asian-Americans, 1.6 percent.
For FY 1978 alone. 56 percent of all employment opportunities at GS-12 and above went to minorities and women. This staffing process changed the total HUD staffing picture at GS-12 and above to 14 percent women, 13 percent Black, and 1.5 percent Asian American.
Among Schedule C, noncareer executive level appointments between January 20, 1977, and November 1, 1978, 42 (27 percent) went to minorities and 75 (48 percent) were issued to women, including 15 (9.1 percent) minority women.
The Office of Administration launched a vigorous affirmative action campaign to hire America’s handicapped and disabled veterans. In the process, HUD increased its employment of severely handicapped individuals by over 75 percent, thereby doubling the goal that it had projected for the year. The Office also instituted measures designed to foster this affirmative action philosophy in the future. It established contacts with outside sources of handicapped and disabled veteran candidates. It conducted training for HUD’s operating staff, at Headquarters and in the field, to improve their performances as coordinators for hiring the handicapped. And, it developed and conducted a training module which acquaints supervisors with their responsibilities in employing and utilizing handicapped employees.
IDEAS
The IDEAS (Improving Departmental Efficiency And Services) program, established in 1977, continued to be a source of management and productivity improvements. In 1978, its first full year of use, HUD employees submitted ideas estimated to save the Department some $1.2 million. One of the most significant Ideas was a recommendation to adopt the use of small calculators to perform a variety of computations. Put in use to analyze
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mortgage credit and the costs and benefits of proposed solar heating systems, the calculators are expected to save $600,000 in reduced staff and time, in addition to delivering more accurate service to the public.
Cash management was improved by a recommendation that the Department’s fiscal agents be required to deposit Government public housing funds in interest bearing accounts. The estimated benefits from this Idea will exceed $600,000 per year.
Future improvements through the IDEAS program are already underway. The program was reorganized in July and each Regional Management and Budget office has by now established an IDEAS Officer. IDEAS currently under consideration by these Officers carry an estimated potential benefit of $ 1.5 million.
Administrative Support Services
ADP Systems Planning & Evaluation Three offices within Administration jointly developed the framework of a “long-range departmental ADP plan” for the period FY 1980 through FY 1988. The principal issues associated with the plan were resolved, and action was taken to procure the major equipment required to implement the plan.
The Office of Administration also sponsored an ADP Systems Evaluation Study when it hired a contractor to evaluate 49 of the Department’s applications system. The Office has received final reports on the first three phases of the four-phase study. Conceived as a ‘ ‘quick and dirty’ ’ review of HUD’s operational systems, this preliminary effort will be followed by a program of periodic system reviews scheduled to begin in FY 1980.
Computer Capacity Upgrade
A number of improvements to HUD’s inhouse computer capacity were undertaken during the year. Improved peripheral equipment was obtained, some at no
additional cost to the Government, and the UNIV AC 1108 computers were being reconfigured. New hardware permitted faster access to data and increased data storage and processor throughput.
In addition to the increased in-house computer capacity, HUD acquired commercial computer services for the purpose of supporting a major accounting system through the new GSA Teleprocessing Services Program.
ADP Systems Improvements/ Developments
Due to improved management of ADP resources, the Office of Administration was able to pass on significant productivity gains to the rest of the Department. As described below, those improvements are grouped into two categories: user-oriented and technical/management accomplishments.
User-Oriented Accomplishments. A complete redesign and upgrading of the system for processing premium collections on Small Homes Insurance was put in effect at an estimated annual net savings of $220,000. New accounts receivable activity resulted in significant manpower reductions, reduced overall processing time, a sharp reduction in loss or misplacement of data, and an improved inquiry and status reporting process.
In support of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977, the ADP staff planned, developed and implemented a new high priority system for qualifying small cities in the Urban Development Action Grants competition. This system generates the data needed to establish threshold values for the several demographic variables used in the qualification process, and furnishes reports demonstrating the effects of up to 50 demographic combinations on a community’s qualifications.
Additional modifications provided an automated link to the Field Office Reports Management System (FORMS).
The Office of Administration devised an automated process for the ranking of
“decision packages” scheduled for use with the initial application of zero base budgeting during the FY 1979 budget cycle.
Between February and April, the Assisted Housing Accounting System (AHAS) was implemented nationally in the regional accounting offices and at Headquarters. This system provides the regional accounting directors and the Office of Finance and Accounting with an automated control and recording of the Loan. Contract, and Budget authorities for HUD’s Assisted Housing programs.
The ADP staff also integrated the automated Section 8 Management Information System (MIS) with the Assisted Housing Accounting System (AHAS). AHAS feeds the Section 8 MIS on a daily basis, with a listing of all contractural commitments made by HUD for that Section 8 program. By May 1978, ADP personnel had installed this interface for all regions of the Department. Housing managers in the Department now have the current automated information they need to measure their commitment activity and accomplishments against preestablished departmental goals.
A Rent Schedule Information System capable of supplying rent schedule data on each Public Housing program also was developed and implemented by Administration personnel. This system enabled HUD to monitor increases in rental incomes over a three-year period. It also made it easier to select the most effective means of assuring that Public Housing tenants are paying appropriate rents.
A redesign and upgrade of the Federal Information Exchange System was completed. This system provides the Community Services Administration with an annual consolidated report of Federal outlays according to geographic location for selected HUD programs.
During the year, the Office of Administration converted the Section 8 system from a commercial network service to the HUD Teleprocessing Network at an expected annual savings of about $600,000.
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New Community Development Corporation
The system now possesses a single national data base.
ADP personnel developed yet another system to automate the production of management reports based on the work program summaries submitted by Comprehensive Planning Assistance Grantees. The data derived from these reports are an essential ingredient for the preparation of the Comprehensive Planning Assistance program’s annual budget.
In March 1978, computer experts devised a new system to record the liquidation of accounts receivable established for mortgage insurance premiums under the various HUD/FHA insurance programs. The on-line. Premium Liquidation System eliminated the manual handling of 500.000 individual receivable cards each month.
Technical Management Accomplishments. In a continuing drive for improved productivity, Administration vastly expanded its use of general purpose software packages during FY 1978. As an example. ADP personnel devised on short notice a new Comprehensive Planning Assistance System for use in conjunction with the annual budget process. With the aid of two general software packages (EDITOR and SCORE), they were able to meet the budget deadline with the commitment of fewer resources than in the past.
The Office of Administration funded and coordinated HUD’s participation in the Domestic Information Display Systems (DIDS). This effort, initially sponsored by the Executive Office of the President, the National Aeronautics & Space Administration and the Bureau of the Census, was a one-year, shared-cost experimental program to ascertain the value to policymakers of geographical and other visual displays in combination with a wide variety of data bases.
Other Support Services
Improved Telecommunications
During FY 1978, improved telecommunications techniques were
applied to the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) collection process. GNMA requires that issuers report monthly on the balance of each outstanding mortgage-backed security. The improvements permit security dealers to determine the current principal amount of certificates without contacting issuers. This practice enhances the liquidity of these securities which, in turn, enables GNMA to attract new sources of mortgage funds.
Similar techniques were introduced to expedite mortgagee approvals and recertifications, and the notification of payments received on delinquent mortgages.
Data Communications
HUD acquired improved data communications facilities to support its nationwide, departmental computer service. In keeping with advances in data communications technology and the entry into the marketplace of FCC-regulated Value Added Networks (VAN’s), HUD converted most of its dial-in access to VAN. This service offers improved quality and a better accounting and utilization of data for HUD planning.
Advanced Office Systems
The Office of Administration accomplished two important Advanced Office Systems objectives that will have long-term benefits to the Department. The first was the. completion of a special training program for word processing specialists. Over 50 management analysts from HUD’s field offices participated in an intensive, weeklong training program to learn how to conduct word processing feasibility studies and cost benefit analyses. Secondly, the responsibility for management and coordination of all word processing and other advanced office systems in the field was assigned to the appropriate regional director of management and budget. Subsequently, each of the Regions was able to improve its management of these functions, thereby controlling costs in this rapidly expanding technical field.
The New Community Development Corporation (NCDC) administers a program of Federal guarantee assistance to private and public developers for financing the land assembly and development costs necessary to carry out long-term, balanced new community projects. These communities are required to make substantial provision for low- and moderate-income housing and to meet other social, economic and environmental standards.
Since the NCDC was created in 1970, 17 new communities have been judged eligible for program assistance. Of these communities, 14 have been approved for guarantee assistance and three have received Certificates of Eligibility for grant and housing assistance other than guarantee assistance.
Many of the new community projects have experienced financial difficulties. As a consequence, the NCDC has approved no new projects for guarantee assistance since 1975, and instead has concentrated its resources on already approved projects. Such efforts have included strengthening those projects possessing a potential for new town development and taking steps to acquire and dispose of the nonviable projects.
Projects receiving loan guarantee assistance which are considered to have development potential for full-scale new towns are: Harbison, South Carolina; Maumelle, Arkansas; Shenandoah,
48
Federal Insurance
Administration
Georgia; St. Charles, Maryland; and the Woodlands, Texas. These projects and the three Certificate of Eligibility projects, Radisson and Roosevelt Island in New York, and Park Central in Port Arthur, Texas; are eligible for Community Development Block Grant assistance and HUD housing assistance. In 1978 the Department approved $20 million in grants from the Secretary’s Discretionary Fund of the Block Grant program for new community use, and committed an
additional 800 units of Section 8 housing to be constructed in six different communities.
Despite the difficulties, 1978 was a successful year for a number of the new communities in terms of production and growth. Overall land development for residential use increased by 46 percent over 1977. Sales of residential land increased by 17 percent to 2,000 lots, and land development for commercial and industrial use increased by 22 percent, or from 55 to 71 acres. Total population in the new towns increased by 16 percent to 31,248 persons, while project-related jobs nearly doubled from 6,310 to about 14,000.
A restructuring of program management took place in 1978 to enable NCDC to monitor new community projects and better manage and control program operations. For example, a new equal opportunity specialist was retained to monitor and document the equal opportunity activities of NCDC developers and increase
minority and female business participation in the program.
In 1978, the Secretary, acting on the recommendation of the NCDC General Manager, initiated a plan to continue these efforts to strengthen viable projects but to set a target date of January 1981, for the dissolution of the Corporation and the transfer of the remaining portfolio of projects to another HUD office.
Housing Costs and Regulations
During 1978, the NCDC General Manager was appointed by the Secretary to serve as Chairman of a Departmental Task Force on Housing Costs. This Task Force developed in its final report some 150 recommendations for dealing with the problems of increased land and housing prices, and the overregulation of the housing industry by local, State and Federal agencies. The Secretary also appointed the General Manager as Special Coordinator for Housing Costs, and as Chairman of a HUD Housing Costs Committee composed of eight senior departmental officials.
NCDC and the Joint US-USSR Agreement
In connection with the Joint US-USSR Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Housing and other Construction (see pp. 3-4), NCDC completed a final draft of the United States’ portion of the first substantive joint publication under this Agreement. Soviet officials have already approved, in concept, this draft of the forthcoming publication, which will focus on the standards used in planning new towns. During the year, officials of both countries completed first drafts of a second report as well, which will describe the management of new towns.
Two exchange visits were also conducted under the Agreement. In January, Soviet officials visited the United States, and in May, an American delegation went to the Soviet Union for a working group meeting.
The Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) administers three insurance programs - flood, crime and riot reinsurance - authorized by the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 and subsequent amendments. It also administers the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973.
The National Flood Insurance program makes insurance available in flood-prone areas and fosters local flood plain management measures to reduce flood losses.
The Urban Property and Riot Reinsurance program provides essential property insurance, such as fire insurance, to property owners unable to obtain such coverage through normal channels.
The Federal Crime Insurance program makes such insurance available at affordable rates.
FIA conducts studies on insurance availability problems, such as insurance redlining, and recommends various options for resolving them. This is done in conjunction with other Federal agencies, units of State and local government and the private insurance industry.
Flood Insurance
1978 marked a turning point for the operation of the National Flood Insurance program. In January, the program changed from a Federal/private insurance industry arrangement to a fully Federal operation. A private concern under contract with the Federal Insurance Administration now performs the insurance service functions within this program. This changeover resulted in an estimated $15 million in savings for 1978 alone.
The number of eligible communities rose to over 16,145, while policies in force increased from 1.2 million at the beginning of 1978 to about 1.4 million at year’s end. Insurance coverage, which amounted to $37 billion in 1977, reached $48 billion by the close of 1978.
FIA notified an additional 459 communities of their tentative
49
identification as flood-prone. The Administration makes these notifications, as required by the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, through the issuance of Flood Hazard Boundary Maps. FIA significantly reduced the time consumed in contracting and completing the flood insurance studies required to establish flood risk zones and the applicable insurance rates. This process is crucial to assuring strong flood plain management measures for guiding construction in the high hazard areas of these communities.
As of December 31, 1978, FIA had issued Boundary Maps to 18,679 of the estimated 20,000 flood-prone communities in the Nation. These maps were refined to display more precisely the contour lines of a given flood area.
Responding to requests received during the year, FIA withdrew some 1,729 Flood Hazard Boundary Maps due to technical deficiencies attributed to such things as changes in flooding characteristics, lack of legal jurisdiction and incorrectly drawn flood hazard area designations. The FIA also issued letters of determination amending maps in special flood prone areas for the benefit of individuals. By the end of 1978, 4,000 of these individual map amendments had been granted.
During 1978, FIA completed 687 flood insurance rate-making studies, and initiated another 2,115. In addition, FIA improved the planning, scheduling, and coordinating of its study efforts in tandem with the other Federal technical agencies, and sharpened its projections of the rate-making workload for both Federal agencies and qualified private firms.
FIA has developed a computerized National Priority List and a computerized Annual Procurement Plan that provide for the efficient control of the planning, scheduling, and updating of its study efforts. The Priority List, developed with the assistance of the State coordinates, ranks communities according to their flood risk potential. FIA may now target flood
risk areas and, thereby, furnish actual coverage and flood mitigation guidance to those most in need of it. The Procurement Plan enables FIA to effectively integrate its scheduling of the study program with the workloads of other Federal agencies.
Crime Insurance
The Federal Crime Insurance program, established by the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970, enables residents and businesses to buy crime
insurance at affordable rates. There were 50,000 insurance policies against burglary and robbery losses in force at the end of December 1978.
Crime insurance policy rates are uniform within entire metropolitan areas, and policies may not be cancelled because of losses incurred by the insured.
To establish eligibility for crime insurance, residents and businessmen need only to comply with the program’s requirements for the installation of a minimum protective device.
Residential burglary and robbery insurance is available in amounts up to $ 10,000, and businesses can purchase as much as $15,000 in burglary and/or robbery coverage. The Federal Crime Insurance program enables persons to readily obtain information about the program or to report their losses through a toll-free telephone number.
Crime insurance is available in each of the following jurisdictions designated as
critically lacking in crime insurance through a private carrier: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Plans were in progress to add the State of Washington to the list.
Urban Property and Riot Reinsurance
Under the National Insurance Development Act, statewide plans for fair access to insurance requirements (FAIR Plans) meeting HUD criteria are in effect in 25 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These plans provide property owners, in areas so designated by the State, with access to fire, extended coverage, and vandalism and malicious mischief insurance. FIA periodically reviews each FAIR Plan for compliance with Federal law and regulations.
Over $20 billion in insurance protection has been tendered by FIA through the Fair plans, and more than 400 property insurance companies are protected by HUD riot reinsurance contracts.
50
Office of Inspector
General
Federal Disaster
Assistance
Administration
The Office of Inspector General is responsible for HUD’s audit, investigation, fraud control and designated security programs.
Pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, the Inspector General reports directly to the Secretary, is operationally independent of other HUD office heads, and is responsible for keeping the Secretary and the Congress fully and currently informed about problems and deficiencies in the administration of the
Department’s programs and operations and the necessity for and progress of corrective action.
During 1978, the OIG issued over 900 external and 180 internal audit reports. It also monitored the issuance of more than 4,000 external audit reports prepared by independent public accountants who were engaged by HUD program participants to audit their financial operations.
Collectively, these reports contained over 8400 audit findings and represent one of the principal instruments through which HUD measures compliance by program participants with the applicable statutes, regulations and agreements making Federal funds available. Conversely, OIG’s internal audit reports assist management in ensuring that HUD’s controls, practices, policies and procedures are adequate and effective at all levels.
In 1978, OIG’s audit operations resulted in estimated cash savings to
HUD of over $8.3 million. These audits also resulted in numerous policy and procedural findings and recommendations, which enabled HUD to improve the management and execution of its programs. In addition, the OIG obtained price reductions totaling over $600,000 as the result of its pricing proposal evaluations.
The Inspector General furnished the Department with more than 1,600 investigation reports and referred an additional 830 cases involving criminal allegations to the Department of Justice for further investigation and/or prosecution. This activity resulted in recoveries exceeding $1.6 million, and fines, following convictions, of over $1.2 million. OIG also conducted 51 seminars on standards of conduct at HUD offices throughout the country to inculcate an awareness among HUD personnel of their responsibilities as departmental employees.
Over 3,600 Full Field Investigations and National Agency Checks were monitored by the OIG during 1978, under its program to determine the suitability, integrity, and character of HUD employees. The office also administered a document security program, involving more than 450 classified reports and papers.
OIG continued its joint audit/ investigation operational surveys of HUD field offices to detect fraud, favoritism, or administrative irregularities practiced by HUD personnel and persons or firms doing business with HUD.
During the year the OIG completed 11 operational surveys and opened 119 cases for further investigation and/or referral to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The assistance provided by HUD to disaster areas through the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration (FDAA), its constituent Agency, extends beyond the temporary housing of the homeless.
FDAA awards grants for rebuilding roads, bridges, utilities, and public buildings; provides funds for the unemployment that frequently accompanies disasters; and makes cash grants to individuals and families in disaster areas. The Agency also provides staff support to the President in evaluating requests from Governors for disaster assistance and coordinates all Federal assistance in the disaster area.
In 1978, the President declared 25 Major Disasters and 14 Emergencies, that is, crises of less widespread impact, often limited to one economic segment of a State’s economy. Acting on his own authority, the FDAA Administrator approved two Fire Suppression Grants. It is estimated that FDAA will provide $321 million in assistance as a result of these declarations, and that total Federal assistance, including low-interest loans, will reach $710 million.
The unusually severe winter and heavy snowfalls in the area of the Great Lakes and in New England necessitated Emergency and/or Major Disaster declarations for nine States. In addition to providing the usual forms of disaster assistance, FDAA paid out $70 million to remove snow from streets and highways. The scope of Federal assistance in these “winter weather” disasters exceeds any measures previously taken in the 25-year history of the program.
Floods have accounted for the bulk of Federal disaster assistance throughout the history of the program, and 1978 was no exception. There were 20 major disasters that involved flooding, sometimes accompanied by severe storms, tornadoes and landslides. The five other major disasters included four winter storms and a tropical storm in the Northern Mariana Islands.
51
Despite the large numbers of declared disasters, 75 percent of the Federal disaster assistance was concentrated in six States, and more than half of it went to just two: Massachusetts (winter storms) received more than $ 180 million in Federal aid, and California (floods) received more than $300 million. Arizona, Louisiana, Texas and Minnesota also received extensive assistance.
The FDAA instituted a number of program improvements, particularly in the
To increase the general public awareness of what to do in a disaster situation, FDAA in 1978 developed a variety of informational materials for release through local print and broadcast media. These included fact sheets and press releases, as well as recorded public service announcements, for use at the discretion of news editors and station managers. All broadcasters on the East and Gulf Coasts, for example, received special hurricane preparedness material. Other public
Generally, HUD personnel no longer administer this program; instead, FDAA grants funds to the States, whose officials run the program directly. The States, in turn, issue cash grants to families, who then contract to get the work done themselves. These changes have reduced delays and increased public satisfaction with the program.
Another innovation in the delivery of family assistance was the designing of a single application form for housing, family
area of disaster prevention. The President’s Executive Orders on flood plain management and the protection of wetlands, issued in May, supported the contention that structures should not be built or expanded in areas subject to frequent flooding, unless they can be protected from damage. FDAA is revising its regulations and policies to encourage advance planning and to discourage building in high-hazard areas, whether the hazard may take the form of hurricanes, earthquakes or other predictable cause. This new emphasis on prevention ties in with FDAA’s program, begun in 1974, to assist the States financially in the writing of comprehensive plans on how to cope with disaster situations. All States and U.S. Territories except the Panama Canal Zone have received these planning grants. FDAA is also readying special plans for catastrophic disasters, such as an earthquake or hurricane that devastates a major city.
information distributions covered tornado and earthquake survival, flood insurance, and individual and home preparation for winter weather. FDAA also assembled a “Preventive Action” album which details the actions citizens should take to protect life and property before and during severe weather.
1978 also saw the completion of a major public education package for use in Disaster Assistance Centers. Designed to allay the anxieties of applicants, the information package also cuts down on the sometimes false expectations of disaster victims who are processed through the Centers. The package consists of an eight-minute film explaining the application process and the types of assistance available, a poster series, and an illustrated brochure.
FDAA developed a new, streamlined approach to the task of performing housing repairs for disaster-area families whose homes had been rendered uninhabitable.
grants, and low-interest disaster loans. The new form, expected to be available in 1979, will replace the multiple application and verification forms in use in the various programs.
As the year ended, FDAA was preparing to leave HUD and become part of the new Federal Emergency Management Agency. This transition will merge FDAA with the Civil Defense Preparedness Agency, HUD’s Federal Insurance Administration, and several other agencies.
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Advisory Bodies to the Department
In 1978, four advisory committees assisted the Secretary with certain departmental activities: National Insurance Development Program Advisory Board, Task Force on Housing Costs, National Mobile Home Advisory Council, and Task Force on Tenant Participation in the Management of Low-Income Housing.
Task Force on Housing Costs
The Task Force on housing costs reviewed the factors affecting the cost of housing, weighed possible remedies the Federal Government - especially HUD - might take to reduce those costs, and recommended appropriate actions to the Secretary. Instituted on August 31, 1977, the Task Force was terminated on May 31, 1978.
Chairperson and Designated Federal Official Representative
William J. White
General Manager
New Community Development Corporation Department of Housing and Urban
Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Members
Fr. Geno C. Baroni Assistant Secretary for Neighborhoods, Voluntary Associations, & Consumer Protection Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Robert C. Bates
Executive Vice-President
Chicago Title Insurance Company 111 West Washington Street Chicago, Illinois 60602
Howard M. Benedict
President
The Benedict Companies 2830 Whitney Avenue New Haven, Connecticut 06518
Walter L. Benning
President
The Manufactured Housing Institute 1745 Jefferson Davis Highway
Room 5 11
Arlington, Virginia 22202
Barry P. Bosworth
Director
Council on Wage and Price Stability 726 Jackson Place, N.W.
Washington. D.C. 20506
Richard N. Brandon
Professional Staff Member
Senate Budget Committee
U.S. Senate
Congress of the United States of America
Washington, D.C. 20510
Mary E. Brooks
Director of Planning & Research
Suburban Action Institute 257 Park Avenue South
New York, New York 10010
Joseph Burstein
Counselor to the Secretary
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Edward T. Calnan
Executive Director
Department of Community Development
City of Lynn
Lynn City Hall
Lynn, Massachusetts 01901
Truland H. Carter
Executive Director
International Conference of Building
Officials
5360 South Workman Mill Road Whittier, California 90601
John Crosland, Jr.
President
The John Crosland Company
P.O. Box 11231
Charlotte, N.C. 28209
George W. DeFranceaux
Chairman of the Board
National Corporation for
Housing Partnerships
1133 15th Street, N.W.
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20005
Charles L. Dixon, Sr.
President
Charles Dixon Real Estate Company 2604 Prospect Avenue
Kansas City, Missouri 64127
Cushing N. Dolbeare
Chairperson
AD HOC Coalition on
Low-Income Housing
215 8th Street. N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
Carleton A. Dukess
Executive Vice-President
Continental Wingate Company, Incorporated
919 Third Avenue
New York. New York 10022
Robert Ethington
Director
Forest Products and Engineering Research Forest Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Independence Avenue
between 12th & 14th Sts., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20013
Robert A. Georgine
President
Building & Construction Trades
Department
AFL-CIO
815 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
53
Constance B. Gibson
Director
Division of Development & Management
New Jersey Mortgage Finance Agency 180 Raymond Boulevard
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Don L. Gilchrist
President
National Association of
Home Manufacturers
1619 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Bertrand Goldberg
President
Bertrand Goldberg & Associates
Marina City
Chicago, Illinois 60610
Daniel B. Grady
President
Sanfric, Incorporated
3910 Chapman Street
San Diego, California 92110
Mary A. Grigsby
President
Houston First Savings and Loan
P.O. Box 1370
Houston, Texas 77001
Theodore R. Hagans, Jr.
President
Fort Lincoln New Town Corporation
13 19 F Street, N.W.
Suite 704
Washington. D.C. 20004
Robert G. Healy
Senior Associate
Conservation Foundation
1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Patsy K. Hennin
Shelter Institute
72 Front Street
Bath. Maine 04530
Ralph J. Johnson
President
NAHB Research Foundation, Incorporated
P.O. Box 1627
Rockville, Maryland 20850
James M. Kinney
President
Guild Magazine Company
P.O. Box 81004
San Diego, California 92138
James L. Lashman, Jr.
Chairman
Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency
900 Holyoke Center
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Deborah Norelli Matz
Joint Economic Committee
The Congress of the United States
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Suite G-133
Washington, D.C. 20510
Richard Matuschek
Vice-President
Cresthaven Corporation
1404 Peninsula Drive
Traverse City, Michigan 49684
Chester C. McGuire
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and
Equal Opportunity
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, N.W.
Washington. D.C. 20410
Grace Milgram
Specialist
Housing Economics Division
Library of Congress
Deck B
Washington, D.C. 20540
David S. Miller
President
David S. Miller and Associates, Incorporated
23200 Chagrin Boulevard, 140-E
Cleveland, Ohio 44122
Mary C. Neuhauser
Mayor
City of Iowa City 1410 East Washington Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Donald C. Parker
Vice-President
LaClede Town 60 Ewing North
St. Louis. Missouri 63103
Gerald F. Prange
Vice-President
Technical Services
National Forest Products Association 1619 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Donald E. Priest
Research Director
Urban Land Institute 1200 18th Street, N.W.
Washington. D.C. 20036
James S. Robinson
Attomey-at-Law
2905 Elgin
Houston, Texas 77004
Donna E. Shalala
Assistant Secretary for Policy
Research and Development Department of Housing and Urban
Development 451 7th Street. S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Philip Sherburne
Director
Physical Planning
City of Seattle 306 Arctic Building
Seattle, Washington 98104
54
Lawrence B. Simons
Assistant Secretary for
Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Glenda G. Sloane
Supervising Attorney
Center for National Policy Review
Catholic University of America
Washington, D.C. 20064
Dr. Arthur P. Solomon
Director
Joint Center for Urban Studies of
MIT and Harvard University
53 Church Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Thomas H. Stanton
Director
Housing Research Group
P.O. Box 19367
Washington, D.C. 20036
Donald L. Stull
President
Stull Associates
431 Marlborough Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
H. Ralph Taylor
Executive Vice-President
Fort Lincoln New Town Corporation
1319 F Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004
Franklin A. Thomas
Attomey-at-Law
One East 53rd Street
New York, New York 10022
Joyce R. Whitley
Vice-President
Whitley and Whitley
Tower East 230
Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122
Dale A. Whitman Professor-of-Law Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602
Nadine Winter Council Member D.C. City Council District Office Building 14th and E Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004
National Insurance Development Program Advisory Board
Until its charter was terminated on September 30, 1978, the Board reviewed the general policies and advised the Secretary on the administration of the National Insurance Development Program. It rendered useful service as a sounding board for exploring problems associated with Federal riot reinsurance and crime insurance, as well as matters pertaining to the property and casualty insurance industry as a whole. Established in 1968 under Section 1202(a) of the National Housing Act, the Board met through 1972, when its charter elapsed. The Board was reestablished in September 1975. As part of the Annual Comprehensive Review of Federal Advisory Committees for calendar year 1976, the Board was recommended for termination on the grounds that the information which it furnished is available to the Federal Insurance Administration in the course of its regular business.
Members
George K. Bernstein Attomey-at-Law 1730 K Street Washington, D.C. 20006
John S. Bickley
Frank Park Samford Professor College of Commerce and Business University of Alabama
University Park, Alabama 35486
David Green
President
Motor Club of America Companies
484 Central Avenue
Newark, New Jersey 07107
Richard L. Grijalva
Area Vice-President
National Economic Development
Association
2302 East Speedway Boulevard
Tucson, Arizona 85719
Brenda J. Hamer
Special Assistant
Office of Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Ralph Herbert
President
Underwood Insurance Corporation
P.O. Box 54
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
Thomas Jones
Commissioner
State of Michigan Insurance Department
1048 Pierport
Lansing, Michigan 48913
RobbB. Kelly
President
Employers Mutual Casualty Company
P.O. Box 712
Des Moines, Iowa 50303
Wesley J. Kinder
Commissioner
State of California Insurance Department
600 South Commonwealth
Los Angeles, California 90005
David J. Lane
State Representative
State of Massachusetts
State House
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
55
Danforth Loring
President
Foster-Barker Company
1911 Douglas Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68102
Constance Newman
Former Assistant Secretary for Consumer Affairs and Regulatory Functions
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20410
Russell H. Perry
Chairman of Board
Republic Insurance Group 2727 Turtle Creek Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75219
Lloyd Raikes
Special Agent
Prudential Insurance Company of America 5757 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036
Richard L. Rottman
Commissioner
State of Nevada Insurance Department Carson City, Nevada 89701
Edward Rust
President
State Farm Insurance Group One State Farm Plaza Bloomington, Illinois 61701
Richard F. Walsh
Director
Economic Analysis Division Department of Transportation 400 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Francis Whaland
Commissioner
State of New Hampshire Insurance Department
State House
Concord, New Hampshire 03361
National Mobile Home Advisory Council
Established on April 9, 1975, the Council continued to serve as prior consultant to the Department on the establishment, amendment, or revocation of any mobile home construction or safety standard, and on departmental regulations issued under the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.
Chairperson
E.R.Jones
Chairperson
Division of Mobile and Manufactured Housing Standards
1645 Jefferson
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Designated Federal Official
John Mason
Acting Director
Mobile Home Standards Division
Office of Neighborhoods, Voluntary Associations and Consumer Protection 451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Members
Daniel Baird
Plant Inspector
Office of the State Fire Marshall
Rt. 2, Box 98
Marshall, Louisiana 71101
Louis Balius Director Champion Home Builders Co. Consumer and Legal Affairs 3820 Glen Hills Drive Hartland, Michigan 48029
Donald Barrow
Vice President of Product Development Skyline Corporation 2520 Bypass Road Elkhardt, Indiana 46514
Timothy Carlyle Chairman
Orange Co. Mobile Home Park Commission
28821 Shady Place
Laguna Beach, California 92651
Orville Cummings
Deputy Chief
Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles
Bureau of Mobile Home Construction Route 7, Box 427
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
John F. DePledge Product Manager Champion Buildings Product Prefinished Paneling One Landmark Square Stamford, Connecticut 06921
James Dyer President New Jersey Mobile Home Association Box 273, Route 72
Barnegat, New Jersey 08005
Richard Hauck
Section Chief
Minnesota Department of Administration Manufactured Structure Section
6319 Indiana Avenue
North Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429
Fred H. Jolly Director
State Department of Health Division of Housing & Environmental Health 301 Centennial Mall South
N.E. Comer
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
Paul Ray
General Sales Manager Weyerhauser Co. Wood Products Division Headquarters Building Tacoma, Washington 98402
56
Patricia Kish
Vice Chairperson
Mobile Home Advisory Board
1400 Douglas, Space 90
Anaheim. California 92806
Larry Landis
Associate Professor
Drake University 1809 44th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50310
Robert Leggett
Sanitarian
State Health Department 109 Palomino Parkway
Des Moines, Iowa 50315
Suzanne Lindamond
Assistant Professor
Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas 66506
Manuel Lujan
Mobile Home Corporation
6136 N. Bethel
Clovis, California 93612
Carol B. Meeks
Assistant Professor
New York State College of Human Ecology 201 Water Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
Leah McCartney
Member
Public Service Commission
1206 Swifts Highway,
Apt. 11
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
John Steele
Adminstrator
Department of Labor & Standards
Mobile Home Division
Star Route A, Box 17
Dripping Springs, Texas 78620
Raymond F. Tucker
Director
Guerdon Industries
Engineering Codes & Standards 9201 Trentham Lane
Louisville, Kentucky 40222
Vincent J. Wanzek
Vice President
Fleetwood Enterprises
Engineering Codes & Standards 5344 Grassy Trail Drive Riverside, California 92504
William White
Executive Director
Federations of Mobile Home
Owners of Florida, Inc.
3375 34th Street, North
St. Petersburg, Florida 33371
Task Force on Tenant Participation in the Management of Low-Income Housing
The Task Force, terminated November 4, 1978, was given a mandate to meet in sessions leading to recommendations for the comprehensive regulation governing tenant participation in the management of HUD-assisted, low-income housing.
Chairperson
Cushing Dolbeare
Consultant
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Vice Chairperson and Designated
Federal Official
Stephen Coyle
Special Assistant
Office of the Secretary
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Members
James F. Anderson
Acting Director
Office of Assisted Housing Management
Project Management Division
Department of Housing and Urban
Development
45 1 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Clorae Everteze
Representative
Massachusetts Union of
Public Housing Tenants
33 Broad Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
Dorothy Forbes
Executive Director
Housing Authority of the City of
Wilmington, North Carolina
P.O. Box 899
Wilmington, North Carolina 28402
Bertha Gilkey
Vice-Chairperson
St. Louis Tenant Management Corporation
1121 North 8th Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63101
Jesse Gray
Chairman
National Tenants Organization
348 West 121 Street
New York, New York 10027
Clyde T.J. McHenry
Executive Director
Housing Authority of New Orleans
918 Carondelet
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
Robert Node
Executive Director
Newark Redevelopment & Housing
Authority
57 Sussex Avenue
Newark, New Jersey 07103
57
William Ratzlaff
Executive Director
Housing Authority of the City &
County of Denver
P.O. Box 4226
Santa Fe Station
Denver, Colorado 80204
Joseph Smith
Director
Consumer Liaison Division
Office of Consumer Affairs
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410
Shirley Wise
Chairperson
National Tenants Organization, Eastern Regional Tenants Organization 1 1 Hill Street
Suite 800
Newark, New Jersey 07102
☆ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1980 0-315-028
58
February 1980
HUD-329-7-U
HD 7293 .A4844 1978
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