Oregon Gets Another Shot At HUD Contract

Last month I reported on the curious tale of a Seattle suburb beating out the state of Oregon for a $4.2 million HUD contract to oversee Section 8 apartment complexes. Oregon's Department of Housing and Community Services protested the award, which went to the housing authority in Bremerton, Washington. Oregon DHCS found out it lost the bid in early July, just days after the legislature put the finishing touches on its 2011-13 spending plan. The agency's budget had immediately sprung a $4.2 million hole, and was gearing up to lay off 14 employees.

It turns out, lots of other states and agencies on the losing ends of bids protested too. And today, HUD announced it will re-open the bid process in Oregon and 41 other states. Oregon DHCS spokeswoman Lisa Joyce says the agency is pleased that it will have another chance to win the bid. She says it "provides confirmation of what we've said all along, which is that the bid process was flawed."

Bremerton Housing chief Kurt Wiest was not immediately available for comment. But the upheaval could have a silver lining for his agency, too. In the recent round of bidding, Bremerton lost--to the state of Wisconsin--its contract to oversee Section 8 apartment complexes in the state of Washington.

Here's the statement from HUD:

"All along, it has been HUD's intent to structure these agreements to improve service and to seek significant cost savings on behalf of the American taxpayer. Facing a large number of protests from unsuccessful applicants that could have dragged on for months, HUD recognizes the overriding need to ensure lower income tenants do not experience any interruption in service and to guarantee timely payments to building owners. It is in the best interest of the Department, and more importantly the families living in HUD-assisted housing, that we solicit new proposals in selected states."