HUD Ignores Public Comments, Institutes Mandatory Executive Compensation Reporting Requirements for PHAs

On August 29, despite strong opposition from NAHRO and others, HUD published Notice PIH 2011-48, requiring all PHAs to report salary information for their top five compensated employees. This requirement will go into effect in September, with PHAs required to complete a new HUD-52725 form in conjunction with their 52723 submissions. PHAs that do not receive Operating Fund subsidy are also subject to this requirement, and will receive the 52725 form at the same time.

HUD first declared its intention to collect this information through an April 26, 2011 notice published in the Federal Register. A second notice was published on July 11, 2011. In addition, Assistant Secretary Sandra Henriquez presented HUD’s plans to require every PHA in the country to report to HUD the compensation packages of their top five paid personnel in testimony before the House Appropriations THUD Subcommittee. The Assistant Secretary further informed Congress that the Department would amend the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) with all PHAs to require this reporting, and that HUD will begin posting this information on its website.

At present, it does not appear that HUD intends to amend the ACC, but has threatened to impose financial sanctions for noncompliance. NAHRO submitted detailed comments responding to each of these notices. NAHRO is considering additional measures to push back against HUD’s initiative.

HUD’s new notice also reinstates requirements around salary comparability studies, arguing, somewhat unspecifically, that “previous HUD guidance and sound administrative practice call for PHAs to set executive compensation, particularly for executive directors, at a level within the range of that provided to comparable executive employees.” HUD directs PHA Boards of Commissioners or equivalent authorities to “explicitly consider comparability in setting or making significant changes to the compensation of PHA executive directors or other chief executive officers.” The notice states that “while PHAs normally need not provide the specific information utilized for this purpose to HUD, they are required to retain this information and provide it to HUD if requested in a particular case.”

In addition to responding to HUD’s earlier notices concerning compensation reporting, NAHRO also submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act for the names, titles, and compensation packages of the top five paid personnel in every HUD field office, as well as the names, titles, and compensation packages of every HUD employee (including political appointees) whose annual compensation (exclusive of benefits) exceeds $100,000. HUD has not yet responded to the request, but once NAHRO receives the requested information, we will make it publicly available through a dedicated website.

To read NAHRO’s comment letters, go to www.nahro.org/nahro-comments-pha-employee-compensation-reporting and http://www.nahro.org/PHA_compensation2.

PIH Notice 2011-48 is available online at http://portal.hud.gov/huddoc/pih2011-48.pdf. A copy of the new HUD 52725 form, along with instructions, is available at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=52725.xls.