HUD plans to reorganize its multifamily operations, Deputy Assistant Secretary Marie Head announced yesterday in a call with stakeholders and a press release. The changes involve consolidating its multifamily field offices into 10, made up of 5 primary and 5 satellite offices. Remarks from officials suggest the plan aims to reduce costs in a tough budget environment and increase efficiency of operations.
New York, satellite in Boston Projected savings estimated by HUD are $40-45 million. To put that in context, the President’s budget request for HUD in FY 2014 is $47 billion in gross discretionary spending, so the forecasted savings are less than 0.1% of HUD’s annual budget. Operational costs simply don’t loom all that large for HUD relative to the housing funds it disburses.
The planned new field office structure would have five multifamily hubs each with a satellite office:
- Atlanta, satellite in Jacksonville
- Chicago, satellite in Detroit
- Fort Worth, satellite in Kansas City
- San Francisco, satellite in Denver
Other changes announced:
- Seattle office would remain to specialize in health care properties
- OAHP will be renamed the Office of Recapitalization and will handle more preservation transactions with Margaret Salazar as Director
- Section 8 and Contract Administration operations will be folded into the Office of Asset Management
- No Reduction in Force is planned, but rather a long transition offering staff opportunity to relocate or retire with incentives.
- Additional changes in HQ staff and organization for specific portfolios and troubled properties
Negotiations with civil service unions and Congress are yet to come. Read more details in HUD’s press release.