Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Day 2 Audio: OHCS Budget Hearing, Includes a Couple of Hardest Hit Tidbits and Important Discussion on How OHCS Sets Program Priorities.

This is audio from day 2 of Oregon Ways and Means Subcommittee On Transportation and Economic Development hearing on the OHCS budget for the upcoming biennium. [Earlier day 1 hearing post with link to day 1 audio is HERE].

Hearing day 2 MP3 audio file is now posted to the Internet Archive HERE. You can stream the file from the web or download it; the hearing runs for 1 hour and 30  minutes and is 61 MB.

There will be a third hearing tomorrow, and then a 4th hearing on Thursday. There will be some public comment both tomorrow and Thursday. I will try, but no guarantees, that I will be able to record these sessions.

OHCS Program Priorities--How do they Determine?
End of discussion today [about 1 hour 18 minutes into the audio] included important discussion of how OHCS determines program priorities. From one of their budget documents I have reposted you will find detailed discussion AND listing of order of program priorities that begins on page 61 HERE. [Performance measures will be part of discussion tomorrow].

Hardest Hit News Items
Two pieces of information I had not heard before:
  1. To date [100+ days after application window closed] 70% of the servicers for the 6,000 accepted applications under the Mortgage Payment Assistance Program have agreed to participate. Staff continuing to work with other servicers to "educate" them as to benefits of participation. [ List of servicers who have agreed to date are HERE].
  2. Treasury has [FINALLY] approved Loan Refinancing Assistance Pilot Program for Deschutes and Jackson counties. Contract with Bend contractor being developed with expectation that 66 families a year may be helped. 
Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

No comments:

Post a Comment