Milwaukee's Housing Authority, HUD Agree to Improve Job Opportunities for Low-Income Residents

Low income residents of the city of Milwaukee, especially those living in public housing, can now heave a sigh of relief as they will be given more job opportunities and eventually afford their dream houses.

In a Voluntary Compliance Agreement reached between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM), the city agreed to change its hiring and contracting practices to increase hiring of public housing and other low-income residents, as well as contracting with businesses that employ low-income persons.

The change in its hiring practices was in compliances Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. The HUD found that the housing authority failed to comply with the said rule.

Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 requires that training, employment and contracting opportunities generated by certain HUD financial assistance be, to the greatest extent feasible, directed to public housing residents and to other low-income persons (whose family income does not exceed 80% of the area median income) and to very low-income persons (whose family income does not exceed 50% of the area median income) in the community.

“With Section 3, HUD investments are more than brick and mortar.  They form a pathway to opportunity and self-sufficiency," said HUD Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez.

“This voluntary agreement between the Department and the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee provides a ladder of opportunity for low-income people and for Section 3 businesses in Milwaukee,” said HUD Midwest Regional Administrator Antonio R. Riley.  “The measure of this Agreement lies in the access that residents and small businesses now have to the employment and training possibilities being extended by the Housing Authority, and for that we are optimistic.”

“HACM and HUD worked together to develop this agreement as a more detailed roadmap to achieve Section3 goals,” said HACM Secretary-Executive Director Tony Pérez. “The Housing Authority and HUD share the mission to foster economic opportunities for low-income residents and contractors, and the VCA will be a valuable tool in guiding our collective efforts to achieve that mission. We thank all those who came together and gave of their time and knowledge in crafting this agreement.”

HACM’s Section 3 initiative is part of a cadre of HACM programs that work to reduce the effects of poverty and improve quality of life for low-income residents.  These programs include workforce development assistance to increase wages and self-sufficiency, neighborhood initiatives to improve educational and health outcomes, and a leading emerging business enterprise program that builds the capacity of minority- and women-owned businesses to compete in the public and private marketplaces.

The agreement is the result of a HUD limited compliance review of HACM following community complaints about a lack of local residents or people of color at the housing authority’s Westlawn Redevelopment Project.  From 2009 to 2012, HACM received more $230 million dollars in funding from HUD, including operating subsidies, capital funds, modernization funds, development funds and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.  During the same period, HACM awarded more than $60 million in construction and other contracts as part of the Westlawn Redevelopment Project.

According to HUD’s compliance review, no Westlawn residents and no residents from other HACM developments were hired to work on the Westlawn Project.  The HUD review found that HACM was noncompliant with important Section 3 obligations, including that it did not provide employment and contracting opportunities to qualified HACM residents and Section 3 businesses, that HACM policies and procedures incorrectly exempted smaller contracts from the Section 3 contracting preferences, that HACM did not require contractors and subcontractors to post information about how to seek employment at the Westlawn Project site, and that HACM failed to notify HACM residents of training and employment opportunities related to the project.

Under the terms of the agreement, HACM commits to correct and revise its Section 3 Plan and seek public comment before submitting it to HUD for approval.  HACM will identify businesses interested in contracting with the housing authority that will certify they are eligible for Section 3 contracting preferential consideration.  HACM also will identify its public housing residents and others seeking employment who are entitled to a Section 3 hiring preference.  HACM and its contractors and subcontractors will consider job seekers with Section 3 preferences when filling vacancies and will explain decisions not to hire them in writing.  HACM will also expand training and outreach activities including the creation of a $50,000 Section 3 Fund to be used for training, outreach and other purposes related to Section 3.

With Milwaukee’s compliance of the HUD rule, residents of public housing in the city can be given more job opportunity and allow them to pay for the house’s mortgages or look for better communities.

To provide homebuyers and realtors wider options to buy or sell properties, Realbiz Media Group, Inc. RBIZ is offering them its patented “shoot-and-stitch” technology, which is the foundation of the company’s virtual tour software, was initially used in Kodak and Pentax digital cameras. 

The company’s mission is to empower agents with the right video marketing tools as homebuyer’s online shopping habits evolve. The company manages to achieve this through its roster of disruptive video technologies such as video content management system Microvideo App, its website-based marketing tool NestBuilder Agent, and its mobile video app called EzFlix.

The Microvideo App is a platform targeted at brokerage firms allowing brokers and their agents to collaborate in creating listing video microsites and executing marketing campaigns.

Nestbuilder Agent is a tool that is accessible through listing site Nestbuilder.com and allows agents to create professional agent profilesand virtual tours out of listing photos. These tours can be shared automatically to the agent’s network through social media platforms and email.

EzFlix is a smartphone app that allows agents to create, edit, and share their property videos through their tablets or mobile phones. It appears like a social network and is easy to use with drag and drop functionalities, and a timeline that keep all agents’ listing photos and videos in one place.

 “It is gratifying to see our services being adopted by key players in the real estate industry,” said Realbiz Media CEO William Kerby.

Realbiz Media Group, Inc.’s RBIZcreates virtual tour and video technologies for real estate agents. Nestbuilder.com, which serves home to 1.6 million video listings and virtual tours, is one example of a website that uses Realbiz Media’s virtual tour and video marketing platform. Agents using Nestbuilder.com simply have to record a video or use listing photos to create a virtual tourof a property, upload it to the site, and share it on social media platforms in real time for potential clients to see.

RealBiz Media also runs a digital video network. For more information on the company, please call this toll free number: 1.888.REAL.BIZ (888.732.5249) or email at support@rbm.zendesk.com.