What has changed at the DuPage Housing Authority?

The question now is, "What has changed at the DuPage Housing Authority"? The answer is, literally, everything! The transformation began in 2012 with DuPage County

Board Chairman Dan Cronin's separation of the Executive staff and appointment of a new Board of Commissioners to oversee operations of the DuPage Housing Authority (DHA). As an oversight body, HUD requires the Commissioners to develop policy and

monitor and establish controls for providing safe and sanitary housing to the program participants. Under the direction of Attorney Tom Good as chairman, the seven (7)member DHA Board is fully engaged in their responsibilities and recognize that the leadership and service of an involved and committed Board is essential to meeting the

housing needs of low income residents of DuPage County.

The first responsibility for any housing authority Board is the hiring of a qualified Executive Director of the Housing Authority, with overall responsibility for day to day operations - since without an effective Executive Director, the DHA could not be successful and without a positive working relationship with the Board, the Executive

Director (E.D.) cannot be effective.

In 2013 Kenneth Coles, an 18-year housing administration professional, was hired by

the Interim E.D. (at that time), first as the DHA's Program Manager, then promoted later that year to Program Director responsible for bringing all HCV program requirements into compliance with statutory and regulatory guidelines on the federal, state and local levels within the several municipalities and townships in DuPage County. When the E.D. retired at the end of 2014, the DHA Board hired Coles as DHA's

Executive Director effective January 1, 2015.

During his tenure at DHA, a leaner, more efficient and effective program management team has been installed, particularly with the promotions of Kristin Sartore, Malinda Smith and Mario Carrasco to Program Managers. They bring almost 50 years of

combined housing program administration experience to their positions. Noteworthy too is the hiring of Barbara Chen as Finance Director/CFO. Chen has an almost 20-year career in Finance with over 10 years as a Housing Authority CFO in Champaign, IL and

Orlando, FL, where both agencies hold special HUD designations as Move To Work (MTW) Agencies having unique operational policies with additional reporting

requirements. This designation is held by only 39 of over 3,500 agencies in the U.S.

Along with the DHA Board, DHA management and staff have been exceptionally diligent, especially over the past 3 years, all focused on dual goals of serving low income families in DuPage County and being an asset to the greater DuPage County

community.

A sample side by side comparison to FY2015, projected through 2017 makes the point:

OPERATIONS FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 NET CHANGE

Total Staff 33 31 32 -1

Total PBV Sites 7 11 11 +4

Total PBV Units 231 281 265 +34

Total DHA ACC HCV* 2759 2907 2949 +190

Avg Monthly Units Leased2418 2671 2830 +412

Total Port in 860 678 700 -160

Total Port out 110 90 100 -10

Remaining on Wait List1300 0 1500** -1300

*NOTE: Total # of DHA ACC HCV in use as of 3/31/16 was 2,728, projected to 2,850 by 6/30/16 or 98%

utilization of available vouchers.

**NOTE: Projected to be added when wait list opens for new applications in Summer 2016. Served all

1,300 applicants who remained on the Wait List from 2010; served 800 from Sept 2015 to Apr 2016.

 Increased revenue paid annually to the DuPage County community by almost

$2.5M, with a net increase of 250 additional families in just more than a 1-year

period

 Decreased average operating cost per unit while increasing the number of

families assisted and property owners funded

 Balance remaining on the mortgage on DHA office building paid in full;addressed all deferred maintenance and other capital expenses targeted to

improving the client experience. The message here is that in spite of the depth and breadth of the hole that the housing authority was in, DHA is now a High Performing agency (ending the previous FY) and

expects to continue to be so. The past is behind and there is no looking back!

The DHA staff has been phenomenal through all of the change and upheaval - and they can't be thanked enough. DHA still must continue to be innovative as an agency because there still remains this important job to do. There are plans to take time to

commemorate the good work of this agency in the early summer of 2017, when DHA celebrates the 75th anniversary of the organization of DuPage Housing Authority.

We hope you will join in!