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.""