Resolution 060748

..Title Urging the Congress of the United States and President George W. Bush to reverse the alarming trend of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, "HUD", dollars from being shifted away from Pennsylvania and negatively impacting on dollars received for affordable housing for families and senior citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ..Body WHEREAS, The availability of HUD dollars to the State of Pennsylvania is of critical importance for affordable housing for families and seniors citizens in the City of Philadelphia; and WHEREAS, The HUD Operating Fund Rule is redistributing public housing funds from the Northeast states to the South and Southwest states of the United States; and WHEREAS, While the State of Pennsylvania is loosing HUD dollars at a substantial rate, Texas and Florida is gaining HUD dollars at a substantial rate; and WHEREAS, While Pennsylvania housing agencies will lose a total of $40 million of HUD funding, Texas housing agencies will get an increase of $651 million funding and Florida housing agencies will receive and increase of funding of $502 million from HUD; and WHEREAS, In Texas, 92% of the housing authorities will get increased funding and in Florida 99% of the housing authorities will get increased funding. Pennsylvania housing authorities will get less money despite that Pennsylvania has more housing units to maintain than Texas and twice as many as Florida; and WHEREAS, While HUD is in the process of taking away local management of housing dollars and phasing in a new centralized management system out of Washington, DC, this new system will result in an inability to manage resources locally and threatens positive results produced by keeping decision making in the hands of local people, such as mixed income neighborhoods, increased housing values and increased local tax bases; and WHEREAS, The centralization of management in Washington, DC will negatively impact the speed and ease of obtaining elderly services , tenant background checks and local oversight of taxpayer dollars, just to name a few; now therefore RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby urge the Congress of the United States and President George W. Bush reverse the alarming trend of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, "HUD", dollars from being shifted away from Pennsylvania and negatively impacting on dollars received for affordable housing for families and senior citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ..End