HUD provides valued support where it is needed

by Lin Robertson

HUD’s Contractor Industrial Relations Specialist Irenis Jones-Green launched a successful two-day training conference that benefited local government agencies, developers, and the community as a whole on June 15-16, 2022, with the help of multiple federal training partners as well as City of Mountain View staff.

HUD Regional Administrator Jason Pu, along with Mountain View Mayor Lucas Ramirez, welcomed all in attendance. Mr. Pu spoke about his commitment to helping the homeless and providing affordable housing for those who live and work throughout the Bay Area. Under the City Council’s leadership, Mountain View is also working with their subrecipients, including developers and non-profit organizations throughout Silicon Valley, to address homelessness and provide affordable housing to their constituents.

There were a number of speakers who delivered much needed information about Davis Bacon prevailing wage regulations, apprenticeship rules, Section 3 requirements, and Section 504 outreach and reporting procedures. Inter-agency collaboration between HUD and the USDOL facilitated a better understanding of compliance responsibilities that awarding agencies need to pass on to contractors that are awarded HUD funded projects.  From bid documentation to the Notice of Completion, the audience was also introduced to the new Section 3 best practices that can impact targeted low-income communities who we hope will benefit from housing and other community development projects. 

HUD officers also introduced important information about the Fair Housing Act and corresponding Section 504 regulations.  While local agencies may have policies on file that address how to meet the accessibility needs of the disabled in affordable housing and other facilities, HUD reminded everyone of the importance of updating procedures and public notices used when reaching out to impacted communities.

We congratulate HUD and the City of Mountain View for the successful delivery of this two-day conference with dynamic speakers that not only answered questions they received from the audience during the training, but who will continue to provide support to local and state agencies charged with implementing HUD’s compliance rules.  The conference facilitated a better understanding of how to ensure that journeymen and apprentices receive the proper Davis Bacon prevailing wages.  

It also informed their audience about how Section 3 vendors and workers can benefit from economic opportunities when Public Housing Authorities and local contracting agencies implement local projects.  And last but not least, we also learned how to assist the disabled to gain access to housing and other facilities throughout the Bay area.

Lin Robertson began her career by launching the Aruba Foreign Investment Agency in her native Aruba, a Caribbean island nation off the coast of Venezuela. Coming to California in 1998, she worked with the San Jose Office of Equality Assurance and in 2005 founded The Labor Compliance Managers, where she is managing director. She is also senior producer for International Media TV and a freelance writer for the SF Bay View newspaper. Lin can be reached at lin.tlcm@gmail.com. 

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