SR-10-08-2013-13AOct. 8, 2013
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE - MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Councilmember McKeown
Date: October 8, 2013
13 -A: Request of Councilmembers Davis, McKeown, and Vazquez that Council
direct staff to make available a loan from the City's General Fund to the Santa
Monica Housing Authority, if necessary to assure that no Santa Monica
resident section 8 voucher renters are evicted due to the cut -off of Housing
and Urban Development Department funds as part of the federal government
shutdown, with the expectation the loan will be repaid once the HUD revenue
stream is renewed.
Oct. 8, 2013
Housing assistance in jeopardy if shutdown persists -Santa Monica Daily PressSanta Monica Daily Press
Housing assistance in jeopardy if shutdown persists
By Kevin Herrera on October 3, 2013 in News
10/4/13 11:45 AM
CITYWIDE — Roughly 1,100 households in Santa Monica that rely on federal funding
to help pay the rent may be in jeopardy of losing their homes if members of Congress
cant come to a solution within the next 30 days to end the ongoing government shut-
down.
While pundits do not predict the shutdown to last a month, nothing is certain, especial-
ly given the reluctance of some Republicans and Democrats to budge when it comes to
extending America's line of credit and funding the Affordable Healthcare Act, more
commonly known as Obamacare.
Thursday marked the third day of the shutdown.
City Hall has roughly $1 million in reserve, less than what is needed to cover rent for
Section 8 tenants for the month of November, said Jim Kemper with the Santa Monica
Housing Authority. Under the Section 8 program, also known as the Housing Choice
Voucher Program, the federal government gives money to local agencies, which in turn
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Housing assistance in jeopardy if shutdown persists -Santa Monica Daily PressSanta Monica Dally Press 1014/13 11:45 AM
pay landlords directly to cover 70 percent of a tenant's rent.
"We are basically covered for the month of October," Kemper said. "If they resolve this
soon, like what happened the last time in 1995, the money will start flowing again. If
not, it's a concern. The issue becomes a problem the longer the shutdown goes on."
The Los Angeles County Housing Authority issued a press release earlier this week
sounding the alarm. Section 8 provides assistance to over 23,000 households that in-
clude seniors, the disabled, homeless, mentally ill and the working poor. Because the se-
quester at the federal level required public housing authorities, including Santa Moni -
ca's, to draw down reserves from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment (HUD) earlier this year, the county's funds are nearly exhausted. It is estimated
that the county has roughly four months of reserves left.
By HUD's own definition, a public housing authority that has fewer than four months
of funding reserves is considered an "at- risk" agency.
"This shutdown and continued uncertainty will result in households losing their vouch-
ers and puts our most vulnerable populations at further risk," said Sean Rogan, execu-
tive director of the county's housing authority. "I call on Congress to take action to pass
a continuing resolution and stop the shutdown before thousands of families in Los An-
geles County face homelessness."
Rogan urged the public to call their representatives in Congress to encourage the pas-
sage of a resolution to end the shutdown.
When the Daily Press called HUD for comment for this story, we were immediately di-
rected to a voicemail, which stated that no officials were able to come to the phone be-
cause they were furloughed due to the shutdown.
"The county is trying to put a face on this," Kemper said of the press release. "This is
not just a policy thing. Landlords are not going to get checks and they themselves are
individual owners, mom and pops. It's implying that they will have no choice but to
start eviction."
Kemper said he doesri t think landlords will go that far if the shutdown persists because
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Housing assistance in jeopardy if shutdown persists -Santa Monica Daily PressSanta Monica Daily Press
eviction is a long process.
10/4/13 11:45 AM
Carl Lambert with the Action Apartment Association, which represents roughly 1,000
property owners in Santa Monica, said even if the shutdown is resolved, the damage is
done. Landlords already are leery of accepting Section 8 tenants because of the extra pa-
perwork and inspections they must endure.
"This will further discourage owners from participating," he said. "It will definitely
raise more eyebrows if the checks stop coming."
He said landlords participate in the program because of deed restrictions, which limit
the amount of money they can charge in rent. If they accept Section 8 tenants, however,
they typically get more each month thanks to the federal funding formula.
Kemper hopes that a resolution can be reached sooner rather than later. If not, the City
Council could consider dipping into the General Fund to cover the rents and then get
reimbursed later.
"Prolonging this is not good for anybody.... Maybe from a political standpoint, for
folks with political goals to achieve, but down on the ground level, no good comes from
turning programs on and off on that kind of a whim."
kevinh @smdp.com
About the author
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