Six years ago Mayor Anthony Staffieri revamped the Housing Authority Board. Executive Director Steve Nakano was hired. With an overall score of 100 percent the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) informed the Derby Public Housing Authority (DHA) that they were designated a High Performer for the sixth year in a row.
The DHA scored 143 points out of a total maximum of 145 points for all 14 indicators combined. The perfect score is a result of an additional component used to assess the DHA; the Family Self Sufficiency Program which resulted in a Single Family Home Ownership Graduate of the program.
SEMAP which is a management assessment program used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for housing choice voucher tenant based housing uses 14 indicators to determine performance level of Housing Authorities. Some of those indicators include timely and annual housing quality inspections, ensuring that all available housing choice vouchers are used and expansion of housing choice opportunities and sound determination of reasonable rent for each unit leased.
The DHA currently manages 278 housing choice vouchers and 106 state elderly housing units. A SEMAP score of 100% represents the highest performance level attainable by a Public Housing Authority. The DHA was at 63% Standard Performer five years ago.
“I am proud of the outstanding performance of the Derby Housing Authority and the leadership of our Executive Director, Steve Nakano, our Board Chairman, Joseph R. Romano and the entire volunteer Derby Housing Authority Board. It takes cooperation and dedication to public housing, the likes of which we have not seen in years. Our Housing Authority is a leader in Public Housing for the state,” Staffieri said.
“We try every year to improve upon our record. We will continue to work to maintain the high performance level we have achieved so that we can ensure our tenants and our units are maintained at the highest level. I am honored that HUD has seen fit again to reward the work all of us have done here in Derby,” Nakano said.
