FCHA solicitor directed to investigate policy help with ‘charge offs’
The solicitor for the Fayette County Housing Authority has been directed to investigate enacting a policy by which tenants owing a certain amount of money would be taken before a magisterial district judge for monetary judgments against them. The possible action was discussed Thursday at the monthly board meeting. The suggestion came after the board voted to “charge off” an amount of $17,353 in vacated accounts to collection loss for the period beginning Dec. 1, 2006, and ending Feb. 28. The “charge off” list includes unpaid items such as utilities, maintenance charges and rent.
Board member Beverly Beal said she would like to know when there won’t be any charge offs. “It seems like we have them all the time,” Beal said.
Board member James V. Bitonti asked Executive Director Thomas Harkless if there are any improvements in the amount of charge offs over the last few years.
Harkless said at the end of the 2005-06 fiscal year, the charge off amount was $48,600, which was a drop in an annual amount of $96,000 several years ago. Harkless said last year the average was $4,000 a month, but that figure has dropped to about $2,900 per month. “Every year it gets lower and lower and lower,” Harkless said. He said some charges would always be there, such as rental amounts to elderly tenants who die before paying the rent.
Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said she has compiled information dating back to 1997, which revealed charge off amounts of $78,000 for 2002; $82,000 for 2003; $56,000 for 2004 and $70,000 for 2005, for a four-year average of $72,000.
Zimmerlink suggested that the authority could possibly take the violators before a magisterial district judge if it exceeds a certain amount, such as $1,000, and asked the solicitor and executive director to look into doing that.
Zimmerlink said when she was a private landlord several years ago, she obtained a judgment from a tenant for non payment of rent and eventually got the money because the former tenant wanted to get a loan and the judgment came up on the credit report. She said although it was three years later, the former tenant paid the money.
Beal asked why hundreds of dollars in rent is owned. “Why do they let it get out of hand? Don’t they pay every month?” she asked.
Solicitor Jack Purcell said sometimes people are put on a payment plan, and may be given second and third chances. Zimmerlink pointed out that one outstanding rental amount stands at $2,600.
Purcell said if someone doesn’t pay their rent they should only be given one more chance.
Purcell said sometimes getting a judgment is “meaningless” because it is impossible to get money from someone who can’t pay. However, he agreed to research if enacting a policy would be possible.
During public comment, the board heard from Barb Peters, whose husband lost his job at the housing authority last month when the grant money to fund his position expired. Peters urged the board to “serve the poor and not pander to the privileged.” She said spending more than $20 million to consultants and having vacancies when one-third of the public housing units have been torn down and paying $200,000 annually to the executive director including benefits and a car allowance is “obscene beyond the pale of sanity.”
Peters urged the board to eliminate the $650 monthly car allowance Harkless is given. She also urged the board to meet with her, saying she has a roadway to reform plan.
The board later voted to eliminated the $650 per month allocation for Harkless, instead opting to give him use of a FCHA vehicle for personal use within Fayette County and for all FCHA use, starting June 30. Harkless previously used a FCHA vehicle, but received the $650 per month allocation beginning in 2003.