Capital Assistance Program

(1) The purpose of 760 CMR 11.08 is to establish an RCAT Program pursuant to M.G.L. c. 121B, § 26C based on best practices to allow LHAs to work collaboratively and to provide capital, maintenance and repair planning and technical assistance to LHAs to facilitate the capturing of economies of scale through increased collaboration relative to, but not limited to, bulk purchasing, capital planning and capital projects. (2) All LHAs may participate in the RCAT Program, and each LHA with 500 or fewer state-aided public housing units is required to participate in the RCAT Program unless granted a waiver by the Department. Such waivers shall be granted only when an LHA demonstrates that it does not need the technical assistance offered under the RCAT Program based on its past performance under the performance-based monitoring and assessment standards of M.G.L. c. 121B, § 26B and such other criteria as may be set out in RCAT Program waiver guidelines issued by the Department. Prior to seeking a waiver, an LHA shall notify tenants and provide opportunity for resident participation in accordance with 760 CMR 6.09: Tenant Participation. (3) The Department shall designate three RCAT Regions, each of which shall be served by a single HHA which will administer the RCAT Program for that RCAT Region. In designating the RCAT Regions, the Department shall take into consideration the geographic area, the number of LHAs, and the number of state-aided public housing units within each RCAT Region. (4) Upon establishing the three RCAT Regions in which the RCAT Program shall be administered, the Department shall develop and issue a request for proposals, inviting LHAs to submit proposals to serve as the HHA for the RCAT Region in which they are located. The Department's request for proposals shall establish criteria for selection of the HHA, including without limitation: (a) the LHA's past experience in developing and implementing capital and maintenance plans and projects; (b) the LHA's past experience delivering technical assistance or other programs that require collaboration with other LHAs and DHCD; (c) the experience and qualifications of the LHA's executive director and other employees; and (d) the LHA's past overall performance, including findings under the performance-based monitoring and assessment standards of M.G.L. c. 121B, § 26B. 11.08: continued (5) Each RCAT shall be employed by and work out of an HHA and consist of a director and project management and capital planning staff to work directly with LHAs to provide RCAT Program technical assistance. All RCAT directors and project managers must meet minimum qualifications as established by Department program guidelines and be hired in consultation with the Department. (6) A portion of the aggregate Capital Funds available in any fiscal year for the RCAT Program shall be paid as an HHA Administrative Fee to each of the three HHAs selected by the Department pursuant to 760 CMR 11.08(4). The Department shall establish, through written guidelines, criteria for determining: (a) the HHA Administrative Fee; provided, that fee shall be no less than 5% nor more than 10% of the annual HHA Capital Assistance Program Budget; and (b) minimum and maximum percentages of the HHA Administrative Fee to be applied to a salary increase for the executive director, as well as criteria for performance bonuses. (7) Each RCAT shall have an RCAT Advisory Board consisting of 11 members. The HHA for each Region shall appoint one of its own LHA Board (or substantially equivalent body) members to the RCAT Advisory Board for that RCAT Region. The Department shall also appoint one RCAT Advisory Board member, who shall have at least five years of experience as the manager of not less than 200 units of privately owned housing. The remaining nine members of the RCAT Advisory Board shall be elected in accordance with the following procedures: (a) The Department shall call for nominations not less than 90 days prior to the election, by written notice to each LHA in an RCAT Region and by posting on the Department's website written guidelines for the nomination and election process, including preferred qualifications for RCAT Advisory Board members. (b) Each LHA Board may nominate a maximum of two candidates. Each candidate must be a member of the LHA Board. If the LHA Board nominates two candidates, one of the candidates must be a Tenant. (c) The Department shall, not less than 45 days prior to the election, make available to all LHAs a voting system through which each LHA Board may cast a maximum of nine votes for the RCAT Advisory Board members representing its RCAT Region, in accordance with the Department's written guidelines. The Department shall tabulate the votes and the Tenant candidate receiving the most votes of any Tenant candidate shall be the first elected member on the RCAT Advisory Board. The next elected member shall be the candidate receiving the most votes other than the initial Tenant elected member, and the remaining seats shall be filled in a similar manner, by the candidates receiving the next highest number of votes, until nine members have been elected. In the event of a tie for the ninth seat, the Department shall select between the tied candidates based upon the qualifications of the tied candidates and the diversity of experience, expertise and perspectives represented on the board. In the event that no Tenant candidate receives any votes, the Department shall appoint a tenant from the participating LHAs in the region as the tenant member of the RCAT Advisory Board. (d) In the event that an elected RCAT Advisory Board member resigns or dies during his or her term, the Department shall fill the vacancy by appointing the candidate who received the next highest number of votes after the last candidate to be elected under the procedures described above. The Department will repeat this process, continuing with the candidate with the next highest number of votes, until are seats are filled. Provided, that if the resigning or deceased RCAT Advisory Board member was elected as a Tenant member, then the Department shall appoint a Tenant member to fill the vacancy. If the Department is unable to fill any vacancy through the process described above, the Department may appoint any person meeting the preferred qualifications set forth in its guidelines to serve as the replacement RCAT Advisory Board member. The person appointed to fill any vacancy shall serve for the balance of the original term of the resigned or deceased member. (e) Each RCAT Advisory Board member shall serve a term of three years from the first day of the month following the month in which the Department announces the result of the election conducted pursuant to 760 CMR 11.08(7)(c). There is no limit on the number of terms for which a member may be re-elected. 11.08: continued (f) Each RCAT Advisory Board shall meet on a quarterly basis with the RCAT director, the HHA Director, and the Department's designee to review and discuss reports submitted by the RCAT and HHA Directors as well as issues of program performance and coordination. The first such meeting for each RCAT Advisory Board shall take place not later than 60 days following the announcement of the results of the election conducted pursuant to 760 CMR 11.08(7)(c). Quarterly RCAT Advisory Board meetings shall be held in a location that is accessible to the public, including people with disabilities. Each RCAT Director shall provide at least three weeks' notice to its participating LHAs of all meeting times and locations. Each participating LHA shall provide notice of quarterly RCAT Advisory Board meetings to their residents and LTOs in accordance with the requirements for additional resident participation in 760 CMR 6.09: Tenant Participation.