Public Comment

Commentary: Saving the Berkeley Housing Authority

By Eleanor Walden
Tuesday August 01, 2006

Suzanne La Barre wrote an interesting report on the July 25 City Council meeting pertaining to the crisis of the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA). While the governing body of BHA (the nine City Council members and only two appointed members at large), assumes the posture that it just now recognizes that new governance is essential to the stability of the agency, the cry of “Shocked! Shocked!” sounds a bit hollow given the history. Let’s see if we can round up the usual suspects! 

In the early 1980s, the governing body of BHA went from an independent board to the City Council. On the third Tuesday of the month they meet for about half an hour before the council meeting. Did it take 20 some-odd years for the members of the board to conclude that it “had too much on its plate ... to adequately oversee Housing Authority staff and operations”? Then, since 2003, HUD designated BHA a “troubled” agency, for various administrative and managerial inadequacies, including a backlog of inspections and re-evaluations, and housing quality issues. In the past three years what part of “troubled” did they not understand? Is it that HUD funds BHA for $27.4 million a year and is now threatening to take its money elsewhere? Is it that the plight of poor people is generally underrated, especially when those doing the rating do not have to worry about having a roof over their head? 

Last Tuesday, according to Daily Planet reporter Suzanne La Barre, more than three-dozen tenants “flooded” the City Council meeting. That public response to the housing crisis was stimulated by an ad hoc handful of people from the community who had the courage to make an appearance and get media attention. I submit that it also got the City Council’s attention. Councilmember Spring submitted a two part motion: that the council adopt a resolution in favor of turning the authority over to another body, and secondly that an announcement be sent out to all Section 8 and Public Housing tenants from BHA inviting people to a public meeting for 2 p.m. Aug. 26 at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Ms. La Barre correctly reports that the council did not vote on the resolution because it was not on the agenda, but she did not cover the fact that they unanimously adopted the motion to send out notices and have a public meeting of tenants. 

The aforementioned citizens who now call themselves the Committee to Save Berkeley Housing Authority, with Councilmember Spring, initiated that meeting. Committee members worked on the wording for the notice and began to secure speakers and arrange an agenda for the Aug. 26 meeting, the intended purpose of which is to activate Section 8 and public housing tenants to act in their own behalf by petitioning their Federal representatives and demanding that HUD protect affordable housing. Housing Director Steve Barton seems to have a different viewpoint on the scope of this meeting. He sees the meeting as “informational,” having the new BHA manager describe, “what is going on.” Would it be too rude to ask how she or he will know “what's going on” being appointed only as of July 31, having the job for less than a month that has seen three new directors since the beginning of the year? 

Mr. Barton also proposes “the Section 8 tenants … can (be) invited to a meeting with the Section 8 Resident Advisory Board.” What Mr. Barton did not say is that the Section 8 Resident Advisory Board (RAB) does not exist in any sort of meaningful way; it does not have elected board members, and it lacks four out of the five board members needed to constitute an official body, and it has not officially met for two years. It is not the intention of the people who activated this grassroots campaign to turn the public meeting over to a non-existent, bureaucratic-front organization. We expect that when the dust settles the public meeting will take place in the manner and with the intention with which it was proposed and voted on by the City Council. 

 

Eleanor Walden is a member of the Rent Stabilization Board.