Guide For Creating Asset Management Projects
Introduction
“Asset-based” or “project-based” management is a new approach HUD is taking to the management of Public Housing properties. In general project-based management requires PHA’s to organize their physical Public Housing properties into groups of units and buildings that maximize operational efficiencies, including the application of
management and other operational resources to those groupings.
The new project-based management groupings are referred to as Asset Management Projects (AMP). As part of the “project-based management” effort by HUD, all PHA’s operating Public Housing developments are required to organize the units and buildings in their Public Housing programs into an Asset Management Project. Each Asset
Management Project will have a unique number and those numbers will become a new data field in the PIC system.
Asset Management Projects (AMP) are groupings of Public Housing units and buildings that each PHA will create in order to begin operating their Public Housing programs like a commercial rental housing business. AMP’s are different from the current
“development number” designation that currently is used to group buildings and units in the PIC system. In addition to the current development designations, each PHA with a Public Housing program is required to further group their buildings and units into AMP’s in order to manage their Public Housing operation using the asset-based approach, as well as for purposes of reporting to HUD on the basis of project-based accounting. The goal of the asset-based or project-based management approach to housing, as stated in HUD’s recent guidance, is to promote efficiency and effective management of Public Housing properties. PIH Notice 2006-10 is HUD’s guidance for how PHA’s are to group Public Housing units and buildings into AMP’s. HUD has also added a function to the PIC system that requires PHA’s to assign AMP numbers to each Public Housing building in the PIC system. HUD has also published a Job Aid for adding AMP numbers to PIC and the deadline to complete that process is April 21, 2006.
The following Guide provides a summary of PIH Notice 2006-10 and the Job Aid for assigning AMP numbers in PIC. This Guide also provides a recommended procedure for creating your AMP numbers and assigning those numbers to your buildings in PIC.
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PIH Notice 2006-10: Guidance for Grouping Units into Projects
Revision to the Public Housing Operating Fund Program, published on September 19, 2005, requires PHA’s to manage Public Housing properties according to an asset or project-based management model. The primary goals of this program are to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness of Public Housing assets, and to provide HUD with a mechanism to monitor performance of the PHA at the property level.
In order to achieve those objectives, PHA’s are required to group Public Housing buildings into project or asset groups, and begin managing each of the resulting new project groups as unique or separate business entities. Since the current developmental numbering system was based on funding increments, and not necessarily on operational efficiencies, PHA’s must group their Public Housing buildings into groups that are
designed to promote operational efficiencies.
Note: According to the current scheme in PIC, each existing PIC building number must be assigned to an AMP. In other words, you cannot assign some units in one building to one AMP and other units in the same building to another AMP.
Under Section 990.260 of the rule, PHA’s that operate fewer than 250 dwelling rental units of Public Housing may group all of those units in a single asset management project. PHA’s may also group up to 250 scattered site dwelling units into a single project under this rule.
Project Grouping Factors
Factors to be considered when grouping units in asset management projects include: 1) Consideration should be given to whether numbers of very small developments
should be grouped as a single asset management project, whether an existing large or disaggregated development should not be broken into a number of smaller asset management projects, or whether a building in an existing
development should not be considered as a single asset management project or grouped with buildings from other developments into a single asset management project.
2) Asset management projects will become the new measurement focus within HUD. So for example a single physical inspection score under PHAS will apply to each new asset management project.
3) Starting with FYE June 30, 2008, PHA’s will submit year-end financials for each individual asset management project as well as entity-wide financial statements. 4) HUD believes that asset management project configuration should not have a
material effect on subsidy because all project characteristics are based on a building weighted average.
5) PHA’s with more than 250 units are entitled to an asset management fee of $4 per unit month. A PHA with less than 250 units that elects to group those units into a single asset management project will receive no fee, but if the PHA elects organize their units more than one asset management project it will receive a $2 PUM asset management fee.
6) PHA’s can prorate staff and other office expenses across multiple projects when appropriate to make efficient use of those resources.
7) For reporting purposes, PHA rental income for calendar years 2007 through 2009 will be frozen at fiscal year 2004 levels. Any actual gains in rental income in those years over the 2004 levels will accrue entirely to the PHA’s.
Guidelines for Determining Projects
1) The overall goal of project-based management is to promote efficiency and effective management in Public Housing. So the groupings of buildings into AMP’s should reflect each project’s distinct building, geographic and resident characteristics that promote efficiencies in the operation of the project. 2) Size: In general, no particular project size is regarded as optimal. Projects of
approximately 80 or more units usually generate sufficient income to support dedicated staff. As such they should be grouped as a single AMP. If such a group is adjacent to other buildings, you may want to combine them into a larger AMP.
3) Physical Proximity: Combining buildings into a single AMP that are not in close proximity does not make sense, unless they consist of small buildings or single-family homes that cannot be grouped otherwise. Also HUD’s Job Aid on setting up AMP numbers in PIC states that non-dwelling structures located in close proximity to dwelling structures, and primarily serving those dwelling structures, (e.g., the management office for a development) should be grouped with the dwelling structure.
4) Tenancy Type: Generally PHA may not want to combine properties serving seniors and/or disabled persons with family properties, if the senior and family properties are individually big enough to each be an AMP.
5) Building Type: Generally PHA’s would not group different building types (e.g., high rise and townhouse) into a single AMP, unless the properties are located close together, too small to manage separately or there are other compelling management considerations.
6) Facilities: The office, maintenance and tenant facilities in each existing property should be considered when creating AMP’s. For example, if only one of two nearby smaller properties has a management office, you may want to group them into a single AMP.
7) HUD will not allow groupings of geographically separate properties, that are managerially viable independently, simple to maintain the current centralized PHA management.
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Creating AMP Numbers In PIC
As described above, PHA’s are required to group Public Housing units and buildings into the new Asset Management Projects to achieve management efficiencies, regardless of the current organization or developmental numbering scheme. Once that process is completed, the PHA must assign a 6-digit number to each of the new AMP’s and enter those numbers in the PIC system. The deadline for assigning AMP numbers to all of your Public Housing buildings in PIC is April 21, 2006.
According to the current scheme in PIC, each existing building number must be assigned to an AMP. (You cannot assign some units in one building to one AMP and other units in the same building to another AMP.) Each AMP you have created must also have a 6-digit number assigned to it. You can use a numbering scheme that starts with “1” but you will have to add 5 zeros in front of the number in order to enter it in the PIC system. (For example, you could number your AMP’s 000001, 000002, 000003, 000004, etc.)
Download Building List From PIC
In order to make the next step easier, we recommend that you download from PIC a list of all of your development numbers and building numbers in an Excel spreadsheet. To do so, log on to PIC. Then select the Housing Inventory module and the Development sub-module from the popup sub-menu on the main PIC screen. Once the screen refreshes, click on the Reports tab. On the Reports tab, scroll to the bottom of the list of your Developments and place a check mark next to “Select/Deselect All.” Then click the Generate Report button at the bottom of the screen and a detailed building report will appear.
On the detailed building report, click the Excel button in the upper-right hand corner of the screen and the report will appear in an Excel spreadsheet. On the Excel screen, select File and the Save As option from the menu and save the report to a place on your computer that is convenient.
Once saved, delete everything on the report except for the first column (Development Number), second column (Building Number) and fourth column (building address). (If you don’t need the address to identify each building as you add the AMP number, you can delete the fourth column.)
Next, label the first empty column of the spreadsheet “AMP Number.” Then enter the new 6-digit AMP numbers next to the corresponding building number in the spreadsheet. Once you have entered all of your AMP numbers in the spreadsheet, proceed to the next step.
Assigning the AMP Numbers in PIC
Log on to PIC. Select the Housing Inventory module and the Development sub-module from the popup sub-menu, and the following Development tab will appear.
In order to assign the AMP numbers to a building, you must first select the Development that the building is located in. Click the down arrow next to the Physical Development dropdown box and select the first development you plan to work with. After the screen refreshes, click on the AMP Assignment tab and the following screen will appear.
On the AMP Assignment screen, you will see a list of all of the PIC buildings that are associated with the Development you selected on the Development tab. On the right-hand column of the building list is an AMP # field for each building record. You can enter the 6-digit AMP number you have prepared on your spreadsheet in the AMP # field on
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Note: If you are using an AMP numbering scheme that includes less than six digits (e.g., “1”, “2,” “3,” “4,” etc.) you can enter those numbers in the AMP # field and the PIC system will add zeros to the front of the number to make up the 6-digit required number. Enter the AMP number from your spreadsheet for each of the listed buildings on the AMP Assignment screen. When you have completed this task, click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
To assign AMP numbers for additional buildings, click on the Development tab. When the screen refreshes, select the development from the dropdown box that the buildings are located in. Then click on the AMP Assignment tab and you will see the list of
buildings for the selected development. Enter the AMP numbers for those buildings and click Save when completed. Repeat this process until you have assigned an AMP number for all buildings in all developments in PIC.
Note: You will be able to edit and change any of the AMP numbers you have entered on this screen up until the deadline of April 21, 2006. To do so, log on to PIC and return to the AMP Assignment screen. Enter corrected numbers in place of the existing numbers and click Save.
Non-dwelling Structures
HUD’s Job Aid on setting up AMP numbers in PIC states that non-dwelling structures located in close proximity to dwelling structures, and primarily serving those dwelling structures, (e.g., the management office for a development) should receive the same AMP number as the dwelling structure. Non-dwelling structures that are NOT primarily associated with a single asset management project should be given an AMP number of 009999.
Deadline
Remember: You must assign AMP numbers to all of your Public Housing buildings in PIC no later than April 21, 2006. If you fail to do so, HUD will assign AMP numbers to your buildings based on existing building groupings under the current PHA development numbers.
