Jun 10, 2011 By Amy Revak 3 min read

?The Fayette County Housing Authority heard on Thursday that although it still has to write off thousands of dollars in losses as a result of evictions and damages to property, the totals are dropping.

Director of operations Dave Huston said the loss amounts are sent to Credit Bureau Inc. of Geneva, N.Y., for collection, and anyone in arrears cannot participate in any program administered by the authority until the delinquent accounts are paid in full.

The authority approved a motion to charge the vacated accounts for Jan. 1 through May 26 in the amount of $16,033. That figure includes 26 people who owe amounts ranging from $201 to $2,172.

The costs include unpaid rent, court costs, maintenance and utility charges. Huston said the amount has dropped 27 percent in the last year.

Huston said the amounts have been steadily going down, but they will eventually get to a point where they won’t decrease further.

Executive director Thomas Harkless attributed the drop in losses to better policies. He added that there are not as many vacancies in public housing and people may realize that if they get evicted, they may not get back in.

Huston said $8,332 was recovered from losses in the last fiscal year.

The current vacancy rate of the housing authority is 3.55 percent, with 1,239 units available to rent and 44 vacant. Eight units are not available because for modernization work.

The authority also updated policies and approved several contract extensions. The revised admissions and continued occupancy policy for public housing and the revised Section 8 administrative plan for the Section 8 housing program were approved. The plans include updated federal department of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rules, as well as an oxygen-use policy, recreational equipment policy and procedures and the parking policy.

In other matters, the authority approved a $62,227 contract with TBI Contracting Inc. of McKeesport. It was the low bid received for the landscaping and beautification project at Marshall Manor.

The authority also approved the annual property and casualty insurance policies with the housing and redevelopment authorities Insurance Exchange (HARIE) for $302,379. The cost is an increase over the $271,713 premium for this year. The authority did take over the Heritage apartments in Uniontown and workers compensation rates also increased.

Harkless also reported that the Section 8 program is being subsidized by the central office, and steps must be taken to make that program pay for itself. He said a report written following an evaluation of the department showed it was overstaffed by one employee. The report also suggested changes to streamline the operations, such as closing the office to the public one day a week to allow for processing. Harkless said the items in the report will be addressed int he months to come.

Harkless said there are funding reductions in the proposed federal budget for the authority, including a 23 percent drop in operating subsidy; a 60 percent drop in capital funding; and a 20 percent drop in the Section 8 administrative fee.

A letter of resignation was received from housing administrator Edward L. Kalix. The position will be filled.

A contract was approved for a cost not to exceed $200,000 for copier equipment, supplies, maintenance and repair to Ricoh Americas Corp. through local dealer Ford Business Machines through April 21, 2012, and Mark IV Office Supply Co. and Apex Cleaning and Supply, both of Uniontown, were granted one-year contract extensions for office and cleaning supplies, respectively.