The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to over time restructure its Office of
The department issued a report Wednesday saying the restructuring includes “consolidating multifamily hubs nationwide and closing 16 smaller offices” and will take place over the next two and a half years, starting this fall.
Field employees, who currently work in 50 offices around the country, will be consolidated into ten offices that will report to five multifamily hubs. The hubs will be in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Worth and San Francisco; with satellite offices in Boston, Jacksonville, Detroit, Kansas City and Denver.
HUD released a press release saying it would ensure “all notification requirements for both union and non-union workers are satisfied” and “every affected employee will be offered the opportunity to continue working for HUD, though in some cases in a new location or role.”
Maurice Jones, HUD’s deputy secretary, said in a statement, “The current organizational model for HUD is not sustainable from a financial and a service delivery point of view.”
HUD’s multifamily unit estimates that the plan will generate up to $40 million to $45 million in annual savings once implementation is complete.
Marie Head, deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing programs, issued a statement saying the restructuring of her unit is the first since 1998.
In addition to the multifamily restructuring, HUD’s Office of Field Policy and Management is closing 16 of its 80 field offices this year in a cost-cutting move that is estimated to save the agency between $110 million and $150 million over a 10-year period. The closures, which are expected to be completed early in fiscal year 2014, will affect approximately 120 employees.
The small offices that are closing are located in Camden, N.J.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Springfield, Ill.; Cincinnati; Flint, Mich.; Grand Rapids; Mich.; Shreveport, La.; Dallas; Lubbock, Texas; Tucson, Ariz.; Fresno, Calif., Sacramento, Calif.; San Diego and Spokane, Wash. HUD will retain at least one office in each state. Following the closures, several affected states will still retain more than one office, including California, Texas and New York with three offices each, and Florida and Ohio with two each.
“We looked at where our staffs are and where they need to be in order to make certain we can achieve the greatest possible impact on the people and the places we serve, especially given today’s tough fiscal climate,” said Pat Hoban-Moore, HUD’s assistant deputy secretary for field policy and management, in a press release.
All employees affected by both the multifamily restructuring and the field policy management office closings will be eligible for relocation assistance, or they can elect to take voluntary separation incentive pay or voluntary early retirement. “Every employee is being offered a position with the agency,” HUD said.
Jones said, “Realistically, there is no way to make the kind of structural changes we are talking about without there being some impact on our staff, but…we are committed to taking all necessary steps to reduce the negative impact they will feel.”
