Housing authority plugs hole in budget
HUD cuts: The county will take on some families, but ultimately, fewer will be served
By Kirsten Stewart
kstewart@sltrib.com
The Salt Lake Tribune
1/14/2005
Rebecca Montano has "a decent job" working full time as a pharmaceutical technician.
But the $2,200 that the single mother of four brings home each month isn't enough to feed, clothe and shelter her family. If not for federal assistance, the Midvale woman couldn't afford the ,000-plus rent on her three-bedroom house - she pays $660 - and says she "would be on the streets."
Montano was spared that fate - despite a housing budget shortfall - thanks to a bailout announced Thursday by Salt Lake City's Housing Authority.
But Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon warned the funding problem is far from solved. Accusing the Bush administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of slowly dismantling the Section 8 housing assistance program, the Democratic mayors called upon the U.S. Congress for help.
"There are still many, many families in this country who are unable to obtain Section 8 vouchers," said Anderson, who travels to Washington D.C. this weekend for a conference of mayors where he says public housing "will be at the top of the agenda."
Anderson said even with the bailout, Salt Lake City will now serve 90 fewer families. Meanwhile, there are about 8,100 people on the waiting list.
Corroon, who formerly worked for HUD, stressed "the city isn't alone."
Shorted about $740,000 in Section 8 funding this year, housing authority officials spent the past three weeks scrambling to find a way to avoid kicking as many as 131 families off the rental assistance program. The crisis was averted with money from the state and city and an offer from Salt Lake County Housing Authority to take on families.
Other housing authorities along the Wasatch Front also lost money on top of last year's cuts, resulting in salary and hiring freezes and less money flowing to landlords. These agencies also have bulging waiting lists.
Anderson and Corroon argue the shortfall was created by arbitrary rule changes and budget trickery. HUD blames the cuts on Congress, which directed the agency to base budgets on May-through-July leasing data. Salt Lake City happened to be underleased those months.
Linda Camblin, HUD's regional director in Denver, said the formula translated to a funding boost for two-thirds of the nation's housing authorities. The 4 billion Section 8 program is one of HUD's largest and received $300 million in new money this year.
Over the past two years, HUD, hoping to take advantage of softening rental markets and encourage families to become self-sufficient, moved to a block-grant-style funding scheme aimed at slowing the money flow to states.
But Salt Lake City Housing Authority director Rosemary Kappes said that leaves single mothers like Montano most vulnerable.
Contrary to popular belief, she said, only 16 percent of the more than 2,000 families that Kappes serves are on welfare. About 30 percent work, but live off an average annual salary of 0,804. The rest qualify as elderly or disabled and are protected from HUD's cuts.
Housing dilemma
The problem: Salt Lake City's housing authority was not using all of its available leases during May through July, the time frame federal officials picked to base 2005 budgets. The agency's budget dropped about $740,000, forcing officials to consider evicting 131 families.
The solution: With $50,000 from the city and state and Salt Lake County's agreement to take on 50 of the city's families, officials hope to handle the remaining shortfall through attrition. Still, fewer families will be served.