Home / News / Foreclosure / HUD Secretary Outlines New Direction for Agency
Print This Post Print This Post

HUD Secretary Outlines New Direction for Agency

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan unveiled a new strategic plan for the federal agency in an address to all HUD staff nationwide on Wednesday. Donovan says the[IMAGE]

plan will serve as the agency's roadmap toward accomplishing its mission to ""create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and affordable homes for all.""

Donovan ""outlined five specific goals"":http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-099 intended to guide HUD's activities through fiscal years 2010-2015.

Among those objectives is strengthening the housing market by reducing foreclosures. In partnership with the

[COLUMN_BREAK]

Department of Treasury, Donovan said HUD will assist 3 million homeowners at risk of losing their homes by the end of fiscal year 2011.

In addition, the agency will continue its efforts to help communities purchase abandoned and vacant foreclosed properties.

Donovan also pledged to increase the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) capital reserves to above the 2 percent minimum threshold.

Donovan said HUD recognizes that it cannot accomplish the goals of its strategic plan without changing the way the agency does business. He said HUD plans to work now to affect change by building capacity within the agency; improving performance management and accountability; decentralizing decision-making to empower staff; and simplifying programs, rules, and regulations.

""This strategic plan isn't just a paper exercise to produce a set of marching orders, but a real attempt to express what we want our agency, our homes, and our neighborhoods to look like in the years to come,"" Donovan told his staff. ""The plan sets out clear goals and defines success as we take HUD to its fiftieth anniversary in 2015.""

About Author: Carrie Bay

Carrie Bay is a freelance writer for DS News and its sister publication MReport. She served as online editor for DSNews.com from 2008 through 2011. Prior to joining DS News and the Five Star organization, she managed public relations, marketing, and media relations initiatives for several B2B companies in the financial services, technology, and telecommunications industries. She also wrote for retail and nonprofit organizations upon graduating from Texas A&M University with degrees in journalism and English.
x

Check Also

Senate Hearing Tackles National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sharrod Brown recently held a hearing to discuss the future of the National Flood Insurance Program, featuring a panel of experts highlighting the many repercussions of an expiration in the program.