Recovery.gov - Track the Money

The purpose of this program is to provide an additional $995 million to PHAs for capital and management activities as authorized under section 9 of the 1937 Act in accordance with four funding categories: (1) Improvements Addressing the Needs of the Elderly and/or Persons with Disabilities; (2) Public Housing Transformation; (3) Gap Financing for Projects that are Stalled due to Financing Issues; and (4) Creation of Energy Efficient, Green Communities.

The types of activities will vary dependent on the PHAs specific needs and assessments. Specific activities are those eligible under the Capital Fund, which include physical improvements such as new building systems (heat, water, electrical), structural systems (roofs, exteriors) and other renovation and rehabilitation work that corrects building deficiencies and improves living conditions for public housing families.

The NOFA provides specific details on the competition requirements, which includes priority for investments that leverage private sector funding and financing for renovations and energy conservation retrofit investments. The need to reduce energy consumption along with reducing carbon footprints has necessitated energy saving initiatives, including the use of energy-saving appliances such as those labeled Energy Star to protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. Other activities may include weatherization efforts and the use of fuel efficient heating and air conditioning systems.

Project/Activity: PHAs will provide improvements which address the needs of the elderly and/or persons with disabilities.
Description: These improvements are to include making units fully accessible in accordance with Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS). Improvements to non-dwelling areas must be made accessible and subject to ADA-compliance.
Funding: $95,000,000.00

Project/Activity: PHAs will redevelop public housing that is distressed and a blighting influence on the surrounding community.
Description: These grants should address the blighting factors of the public housing through either renovation of the public housing or through demolition and redevelopment of new public housing or a mixture of public housing and non-public housing on the site.
Funding: $100,000,000.00

Project/Activity: PHAs will use funds for gap financing for projects that are stalled due to financing issues.
Description: The purpose is to provide funding to positively impact the availability of affordable rental housing by filling the capital investment gap for redevelopment or replacement housing projects which are ready to proceed but are stalled due to the inability to obtain anticipated private capital.
Funding: $200,000,000.00

Project/Activity: PHAs will facilitate transformational energy efficiency and “green” retrofits to substantially increase energy efficiency and environmental performance of public housing properties.
Description: The funding is to facilitate transformational energy efficiency and “green” retrofits to substantively increase energy efficiency and environmental performance of public housing properties and thereby reduce energy costs, generate resident and PHA energy savings, and reduce Green House Gas emissions attributable to energy consumption. This will be accomplished by funding competitive proposals received from eligible PHAs that respond to one of the two options available under this category.
Funding: $600,000,000.00

Project/Activity: Deliver training, technical assistance, monitoring, enforcement, research and evaluation activities.
Description: HUD will hire staff, build systems and capacity and work with grantees to ensure effective and efficient implementation.
Funding: $5,000,000.00

(1) Data Collection and Reporting
a. Spend Plans: PHA plans identify how the grantee intends to use the funds. After award, but before gaining access to funds, the grantees must submit a plan on planned uses of funds. PHAs must submit a report (Annual Statement Parts I and II) which details the proposed tasks to be implemented, based on the funding awarded. The Field Office receives the report which is used to monitor the grant obligations and expenditures.
b. Financial Reports: HUD has two financial reports that will be generated and analyzed on a weekly basis. These include a Summary Financial Report that indicates the amount of funds for each program, and a Funding Notification Report, which shows the amount of funding by program for every jurisdiction, including local governments and some states.
c. Quarterly Recipient Reports: The cornerstone of HUD’s monitoring and evaluation system is the project and contract data collected from grantees. The Recovery Act specifically requires data collection fields for grantees and contractors. In addition to these data, HUD will also collect program-specific measures from grantees (e.g., number of units rehabilitated, etc.).
d. Sample Survey of Outcomes: HUD will generate a random sample of grantees and will survey them to identify outcomes.

(2) Ongoing Grantee Management: HUD categorizes grantees by risk, then monitors and allocates interventions, including training, technical assistance and if warranted, disciplinary action, accordingly. Recovery Act funds awarded through the competition will be considered a component of the PHA’s Recovery Act funds, and as such will be subject to the same monitoring and oversight strategy and approach as for the formula. Training and technical assistance will be provided through on-site review, including corrective action for areas of non-compliance. Actions for non-compliance include locking grants to prevent access until corrective actions are completed.

(3) Longer Term Evaluation and Research: HUD will (1) collect administrative data from all grantees on pre- and post-audit utility records, energy conservation measures and green measures, energy audits, final contractor bids; (2) conduct field evaluations on 10-20 projects focusing on verification of pre- and post-retrofit consumption (through independent methods, retrofit product selection, installation quality and performance, and building performance; and (3) release a report on energy savings and cost effectiveness in this program.

With respect to reporting, OMB has issued detailed guidance on the requirements for recipients of the Recovery Act funds. Specifically, each prime and first tier recipient is required to report specified information to HUD 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. This includes but is not limited to a detailed list of all projects and activities for which Recovery Act funds were obligated or expended, an evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity, and an estimate of the number of jobs created or retained. In addition to the overarching requirements of the Recovery Act, HUD has also identified a number of program-specific measures that will be collected through this reporting process.

HUD expects that the transparency requirements of the Recovery Act, specifically the requirement to publish both spending and recipient performance reports, will create accountability amongst its managers and grantees. That said, HUD will establish additional internal management controls to create a greater level of accountability for performance. The HUD Recovery Act program management team will work with the leads of the program and cross-cutting teams to prepare a bi-weekly program snapshot report for the steering committee to review with the Deputy Secretary and Secretary. Drawing from the program and risk management plans, the reports will include summary-level quantitative financial and programmatic performance measures and targets, key milestones, and issues or risks. Interim spending and performance targets will be set to ensure that annual objectives from the program plans are met. Performance data will be summarized by grantee risk category, as defined in the agency’s risk management plan. Performance measure targets and milestones that are missed, or that are in jeopardy of being missed, will be accompanied by an explanation of the reasons why, including any issues affecting progress and the specific plan for their resolution or mitigation. The report will also identify specific grantees with performance issues, and summarize the actions being taken to address them. In addition to the bi-weekly reporting, each program team will meet with the Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Steering Committee on a monthly basis to review a more detailed set of Recovery Act performance measures. On a quarterly basis, these monthly meetings will include updated grant recipient data described above.

This program does not invest in Federal infrastructure. However, for HUD’s programs that include construction or rehabilitation or are Federal investments in privately owned housing: New buildings and major renovations financed through formula grants are required to meet local energy codes. New construction and major renovations financed through some competitive grant programs will, in the case of single family homes, be built to the standard for Energy Star for New Homes (15 percent more efficient than the 2004 International Residential Code); or in the case of multifamily buildings to exceed ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers) Code 90.1 2007, Appendix G, by 20 percent. HUD’s competitive program requirements also ensure that new construction and major renovations follow sustainable design and green construction principles to (1) optimize energy efficiency and performance; (2) employ integrated design principles (and controls); (3) protect and conserve water; (4) enhance indoor air quality; and (5) reduce environmental impact of materials used.