Laura Pietan

St. Paul Public Housing Agency has been an independent governmental unit since 1977. Its historical roots are in the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of the City of Saint Paul (HRA), a unit of the City of Saint Paul established by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1947. The HRA's initial goal was to remove slums and construct low income housing in Saint Paul. The PHA was created by the Minnesota legislature in 1977 to assume administration of subsidized housing programs and ownership of the public housing properties in Saint Paul. The PHA is funded by federal housing subsidies, rents paid by residents, special purpose grants, and investment revenues. It receives no financial support from City or County taxes and makes a payment in lieu of taxes to defray the cost of city and county services. The PHA is governed by a Board of Commissioners. The seven commissioners are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. Two Commissioners represent public housing residents. Current Commissioners include Chairperson W. Andrew Boss, Kevin Lindsey, Tom Reding, Shirley Kane, Marty Strub, Maria Manzanares and Merry Xiong.