2009 HUD Partners Surveys

OMB Approval No.: 2538-0116
Expires: 02/29/2012

HUD Survey of Mayors
This brief, confidential survey solicits your opinion—as a spokesperson for your community—of the service being
provided to you by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Please answer the questions by
placing an “x” in the box of the response that comes closest to describing your experiences with HUD. If you deal with more
than one HUD program, office, or employee, please take all of your experiences into consideration when answering the
questions.
Your responses will remain strictly confidential. Neither you nor your community will be identified in reporting the
survey findings to HUD or anyone else. The survey is being conducted by Silber & Associates, an independent and nonpartisan research organization.
Please complete the questionnaire this week and return it in the enclosed envelope. If you need assistance, please
telephone Silber & Associates toll-free at 1-888-SILBER-1 (888-745-2371) or e-mail support@silberandassociates.com.

1.

How frequent have your community‘s contacts been with HUD during the past twelve months?
Very frequent (PLEASE GO TO Question 2)
Somewhat frequent (PLEASE GO TO Question 2)
Not very frequent (PLEASE GO TO Question 2)
On behalf of your community, are you in a position to assess and comment on
None at all
the performance of HUD’s organization and programs?
Don’t know

Yes (CONTINUE)
No
Don’t Know

2.

PLEASE FORWARD TO APPROPRIATE PERSON, OR RETURN
QUESTIONNAIRE IF THERE IS NO SUCH PERSON

During the past twelve months has your community had contact with:

Yes

No

Don’t Know

a. HUD personnel in HUD’s Washington DC Headquarters office
b. HUD personnel in one or more of HUD’s field offices
c. HUD personnel in a specialized HUD Center or Hub (such as Real Estate Assessment
Center, Section 8 Financial Management Center, Multifamily Property Disposition Center, HUD Homeownership
Centers, FHA Resource Center, HUD Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives))

d. A contractor working for HUD (such as a Section 8 Performance Based Contract
Administrator)

3.

4.

HUD has several different responsibilities. On one hand, it provides various forms
of support (for example, funding, technical assistance, information) and, on the
other, it has a regulatory responsibility (that is, it makes rules, assures compliance
with those rules, makes assessments). In your community’s relationship with HUD,
would you say HUD is mainly providing support to you, mainly regulating you, or
doing both about equally?

Thinking first about HUD programs with which you currently deal and then about
how HUD runs those programs, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you, in general, with:

a. The HUD programs you currently deal with
b. The way HUD currently runs those programs
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5.

Listed below are different ways to think about your relationship with HUD.
For each item, indicate your level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction at the present point
in time. Check “Not Applicable” if the situation does not apply to your agency (for
example, if you do not currently receive information from HUD).
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you, in general, with…?
a.

The quality of the information you currently receive from HUD

b.

The timeliness of the information you currently receive from HUD

c.

The timeliness of decision-making by HUD (such as requests for waivers, rulings,

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and approvals)

d.

The quality of guidance you currently get from HUD

e.

The consistency of guidance you currently get from HUD

f.

The clarity of HUD rules and requirements that apply to your agency; in
other words, how easy they are to understand

g.

The responsiveness of the people with whom you currently deal at HUD

h.

The competence of the people with whom you currently deal at HUD

i.

The extent to which HUD employees have the knowledge, skills, and ability
to do their work

j.
Your ability to reach the people at HUD whom you need to contact
k. The timeliness of HUD information & technical assistance for implementing
provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008—such as those
related to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, housing counseling, or
the FHA mortgage insurance program
l. The quality of HUD support & technical assistance related to implementing
provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (see k above)
m. The quality of HUD support & technical assistance related to addressing
local and regional foreclosure issues
n. The quality of HUD support & technical assistance related to improving the
energy efficiency of housing supported by HUD programs
6.

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HUD provides training and technical assistance through different methods. For
each method listed below, please indicate how useful or not useful you’ve found
it. Check “Have not used” if that applies.
a. HUD-sponsored conferences
b. HUD-sponsored satellite broadcasts
c. HUD-sponsored training programs conducted by contractors
d. HUD’s Webpage
e. HUD’s Webcast training
f. HUD participation in panel discussions and training sessions set up by nonHUD groups

7.

HUD has increasingly relied on electronic transmission to communicate with its
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partners. Based on your experience in the past 12 months, please indicate how
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effective or ineffective each of the following has been as a tool for HUD to convey
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important information to you, such as notices and guidance. Check “Have not used” ect
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if HUD hasn’t communicated with you this way.
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a. HUD listserves (automated mailing lists of subscribers to which HUD sends e-mail
messages)

b. HUD’s Website postings
c. HUD’s E-mail (individual correspondence to or from a HUD employee)

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8.

During the past 12 months, has your community received assistance from HUD to
help you reach out to faith-based and community organizations?

s
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N

If yes to Question 8 above, answer Question 9. Otherwise, skip to Question 10.
9.

How satisfied or dissatisfied have you been with HUD’s assistance in helping you
reach out to faith-based and community organizations?

10. How important or unimportant is your community’s five-year Consolidated Plan
when it comes to deciding which low-income housing or community
development activities to pursue? Check “Have not developed” if
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you haven’t developed a Con Plan.
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11. Grants.gov (formerly eGrants) is intended to be a simple, unified electronic storefront
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use, usefulness etc.? Check “Have not used” if you haven’t used Grants.gov.
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14. In general, would you describe your community’s current relations with HUD as being
very good, good, poor, or very poor?

15. At present, taking everything into consideration, how satisfied or dissatisfied are
you with HUD’s overall performance?

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12. At present, taking everything into consideration, how satisfied or dissatisfied
are you with the overall performance of the HUD field office with which your
community generally deals?

13. How satisfied or dissatisfied have you been with your direct interactions with
HUD Headquarters in Washington, DC, over the past 12 months? Mark “No

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16. Please indicate the title/position of the person (or persons) who answered these questions:
Mayor/Town Supervisor/Chief Elected Official

Deputy Mayor/Chief of Staff/Senior Assistant to the Mayor

Other City/Departmental Senior Official

Other City/Departmental Employee

Other Member of Mayor’s/Supervisor’s Immediate Office
Other:_______________________________________________
17. Taking into account all the jobs and positions in your employment history, how
many years, in total, have you interacted with HUD as part of your job?

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18. Which field office or offices does your community interact with on a regular basis? Mark all that apply.
REGION I
REGION II
REGION III

Bangor
Albany
Baltimore

Boston
Buffalo
Charleston

Burlington
Camden
Philadelphia

Hartford
Newark
Pittsburgh

Manchester
New York
Richmond

REGION IV

Atlanta
Knoxville

Birmingham
Louisville

Columbia
Memphis

Greensboro
Miami

REGION V

Chicago

REGION VI

Albuquerque

REGION VII
REGION VIII
REGION IX

Des Moines
Casper
Fresno
Anchorage

Cleveland
Indianapolis
Ft. Worth
Okla.City
Omaha
Fargo
Las Vegas
San Diego
Portland

Columbus
Milwaukee
Houston
San Antonio
St. Louis
Helena
Los Angeles

REGION X

Cincinnati
Grnd. Rapids
Dallas
New Orleans
Kansas City
Denver
Honolulu
Sacramento
Boise

Jackson
Nashville
San Juan
Detroit
Minneapolis
Little Rock
Shreveport

San Francisco

Seattle

Salt Lk. City
Phoenix
Santa Ana
Spokane

Providence
Syracuse
Wash., D. C.
Wilmington
Jacksonville
Orlando
Tampa
Flint
Springfield
Lubbock
Tulsa
Sioux Falls
Reno
Tucson

We welcome and appreciate any comments you may have about HUD. PLEASE PRINT. Use extra paper if needed.
PLEASE DO NOT IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR ANYONE ELSE BY NAME.

Thank You for Completing the HUD Survey of Mayors.
Please return your completed questionnaire to:

HUD SURVEY, c/o Silber & Associates, P.O. Box 651, Clarksville, MD 21029-0651.
A prepaid envelope is enclosed for your convenience.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SURVEY?

CALL: 1-888-SILBER-1

4

FAX: 1-410-531-3100

E-MAIL: SUPPORT@SASurveys.COM