[FoCHAT] CHATNews: Appeals for the most needy applicants; LA workforce

[Melanie Ehrlich]

 July 12, 2009
Dear CHAT Member,
1. There is much work yet for Road Home to do to fix their mistakes or close unclosed grants (including from those who are in the sold-home category and seem to have extraordinary delays in grant processing, even by Road Home standards). There is more than $1 billion available to do this work, if the money is used first and foremost for applicants in distress who deserve much better treatment. Many waiting applicants are in very bad situations because of broken promises by Road Home on top of their great losses from the hurricanes/floods.
Here are just a few comments made anonymous from applicants who recently took our survey. (the link to it is at http://chatushome.com )
Respondant A. I just discovered there was an error. They have the wrong house. If you go to my application and click on the house, a photo of a house 2 blocks away appears. That address gives alot more info, wrong info. Denied funds.
Respondant B. We have not gotten anything from Road Home. I'm 80 years old and my brother is 72 years old and we both live in a senior citizen complex in another state. We are both in ill health. He has had two strokes and I can no longer take care of him. We need help. I just took him to the hospital last night (07-05-09). He has Alzheimers. We are old and it seems we may never get back to our home. It is as though the world has thrown us away. People with money are getting their houses fixed but we don't have money. We live in the 3rd ward in New Orleans and our house is just sitting there wasting away along with our health. We just want to make it back to New Orleans before we die.
 
2. If you have been shortchanged in your grant with Road Home not following its own rules, making mistakes in your application, or not giving you a chance to appeal or a fair chance to appeal, you can try the following.
We have been told by some applicants that this new, underpublicized reopening of appeals is not providing what is promised. However, LRA said that they received 300 requests under this new policy that they are “considering.”  LRA’s statement that want “to ensure fair treatment” is still at their website. So if you want to try it, you are welcome to contact us at chatlra at yahoo.com, our blog at http://www.chatushome.com/blog/?p=55#comments,  or our survey (link at http://chatushome.com) to tell us what happens.
 
v   The LRA and Gov. Jindal should do the ethical thing and make sure shortchanging mistakes are corrected
v  by re-opening appeals to those shut out of it
o      For Progress in this regard as of Feb. 2009, see http://lra.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&pid=106
o      The LRA website (but not more visited Road Home website, despite our requests) states the following:
“ For many months we have heard of people who believe their Road Home appeal was lost in the shuffle, or that they were never able to exercise their right to appeal because their case was stuck in the "resolutions" process, which ended earlier this year.
In order to ensure that all applicants received fair treatment under the Road Home, the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Office of Community Development will review these cases to ensure that homeowners received due process under the Road Home and that cases did not fall through the cracks.
For your case to be considered, you can do one of three things:

Email info at louisianarecoveryauthority.org with "Road Home Appeal" in the subject line, 
Call us at (225) 342-1700 to find out how to request an appeal or 
Mail a letter to the Louisiana Recovery Authority, ATTN: Ty Larkins, 150 Third Street, Suite 200, Baton Rouge, LA, 70801.” 
 
v  Appeals need to be made fair, independent, and governed by explicit standards 
v  All applicants who ever unsuccessfully disputed their grant amount need to be told that:
o  they can get a copy of their file & use the new LRA option to re-open appeals
v  Applicants need and are entitled to a full copy of their file (including JIRA notes) sent in a timely fashion
·         so that they can find the source of any shortchanging in this maize-like set of rules and appeal it under a fair system
 
 
3. 16% of Louisiana’s Workforce is employed by the State of Louisiana
http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/uptotheminute.cfm?recid=25154&userID=0&referer=dailyUpdate
City Business June 8, 2009
COMMENTARY: Louisiana has little to show from spending spree
by Mark Singletary Publisher   Excerpts
….
Based on data from Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Legislative Fiscal Office, state revenues rise or fall $12 million for each $1 change in the price of a barrel of crude oil. The difference in state revenues between $38 oil and $140 oil is $1.2 billion. 
The difference between the lowest price in the past year, $38 a barrel, and the current price, around $70, would mean an additional $456 million for the state budget. 
Louisianians grew accustomed to spending the extra oil and gas money rather quickly and, because of that, our state budget is too big and too volatile, especially when compared with our neighboring states. 
Louisiana spends more than $6,500 per resident each year. That number is based on 2007 data from the Tax Foundation, an independent research center. We rank 10th in per-capita spending when compared with other states. 
Florida and Texas, ranked 49th and 50th, spend the least per resident. It’s fair to assume that quality of life issues aren’t tied directly to government spending. Most polls show Texans and Floridians are fairly happy about where they live. 
Our closest neighbors all spend less than we do, as well. Mississippi, our dirt-poor closest neighbor, ranks 13th at around $6,400 per resident, and No. 29 Arkansas spends $5,300. 
The highest spending states can be generally classified as sparsely populated or overtaxing to the point of being burdensome. 
And then there’s Louisiana, where an anomalous 16 percent of the work force is employed by the state. We tax ourselves excessively, yet we accept sub-par services from state government. 
Most of the states on the high tax list can take pride in good roads, good schools and functional rapid transit systems. 
We can’t do that. 
…When our state is rolling in cash from high oil and gas royalties, the bulk of our nation is moaning and groaning — and not planning trips to visit our great restaurants and hotels. 
The countercyclical effects of high energy costs make us feel poor, too. When we feel poor, we accept mediocrity from state government because we assume they feel poor, too. 
It’s up to us, the consumers of state government services, to demand more from the onerous taxes and the high royalties Louisiana collects each year. 
If we don’t demand better, then we’ll never get better. It really is up to us.• 
Publisher Mark Singletary can be reached by at 293-9214 or by e-mail at mark.singletary at nopg.com. 
 
http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/2009/jun/25/1052/
June 25, 2009
BusinessReport.com
B.R. still gaining jobs
The number of non-farm jobs statewide may be falling, but metro Baton Rouge is still adding jobs, according to the latest numbers from the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Preliminary numbers show there were 376,000 jobs in metro Baton Rouge in May, compared with 374,700 in May 2008. Statewide, the number of jobs fell by 15,700, to 1.93 million. The Capital Region was the only metro area in the state to add jobs in May, thanks to gains in the construction and retail trade sectors. The local unemployment rate was 6%, compared with the state average of 6.3% and the national average of 9.4%. Houma-Thibodaux had the lowest unemployment rate in the state, at 4.3%
 
4. COX 10 TV’s Airing of the May 27 CHAT Meeting Focused on Our Complaint to the HUD Inspector General 
Thanks to Carleen Dunn and COX 10! 
Wed., June 10, Noon-1:30 PM; Fri., June 12, Noon-1;30 PM; Sun., June 14, 10:00-11:30; Mon., June 15, 8:00-10:00; Thurs., June 18, 8:00-10:30; Sat., June 20, 11:00-1:00;  Mon., June 22, 12 - 2 PM; Fri., June 26, 8-10 AM; Wed., July 1, 3 PM; Thurs. July2, 2:30 PM; Fri., July 3, 3 PM; Sun., July 5, 9 AM; Mon., July 6, noon; Tues., July 7, 1:30 PM; Wed., July 8, noon; Mon., July 13, 4 PM; Wed., July 15, 3 PM; Thurs., July 16, 3:30 PM. 
  
5. News from Rebuilding Information Station/ chartoutreach at uno.edu
 Thursday, July 16 6 PM  Build Smart Learning Center  1001 S. Broad St. 
(Art Egg Building under the Broad St. overpass)  “Solar Hot Water Workshop”
Presenter: Scott Oman, Gulf South Solar
The Build Smart Learning Center is sponsoring an informative presentation on how to make the intense summer sun work for you!  Learn more about how solar thermal hot water systems can meet your home hot water demands and heat your pool.                                    http://all4energy.org/events/solar-hot-water-workshop
 
Saturday, July 18  10 AM – 3 PM  Greater New Orleans Housing Fair
Dillard University 2601 Gentilly Blvd.   
The Greater New Orleans Housing Fair will provide attendees with valuable information on mortgage financing, pre-purchase counseling, housing insurance, assistance with building permits, banking services, licensed contractors, foreclosure prevention, weatherization, and many more topics. For further information on this event, contact the Finance Authority of New Orleans, (504) 524-5533.
 
Best wishes,
Melanie Ehrlich
Founder, Citizens’ Road Home Action Team (CHAT); http://chatushome.com
 Member, LRA Housing Task Force (last meeting  February 6, 2009, over 5 months ago despite the Chairman’s public promise at that meeting to hold meetings every 3 months at the latest; there is still over $1 billion left in Road Home Homeowner funds; only $8 billion disbursed plus almost $1 billion in contractor costs vs. a total of about $10.4 billion in funding)


 
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