Housing authority adopts underfunded budget
The Fayette County Housing Authority will likely be required to tap its reserve funds to meet its expenditures over the next year due to a budgetary shortfall of more than $800,000.
Tom Harkless, authority executive director, advised the board of the possible need as the panel adopted the 2013-14 budget at its meeting Thursday.
The approved spending plan shows an income of $15.2 million and expenditures of $16 million for the fiscal year.
Harkless said that while federal funding has declined, the authority has continued to meet its obligations.
“Over the past three years, our expenses have only increased on average of 1.62 percent, but our operating subsidy has decreased by 13 percent. Fortunately, we’ve been able to absorb the increases in contracts and gas prices that have jumped tremendously over the past three years,” he said.
However, the time has come when the authority will be required to tap its reserves, he added.
“That’s why it is there,” said Harkless. “We are facing hard times; everyone is, as it is industry-wide.”
Natalie Sharpe, authority financial director, attributed the funding instability to the federal continuing budget resolution.
“This (budget) is an estimate,” she said. “Everyone agrees on what we should be getting, but the (funding income) fluctuates from week to week. It is very hard to do a budget when the estimates are a moving target.”
According to the budget, the authority will spend $3.65 million in administrative expenses, which includes salaries for the administrative staff, legal expenses, auditing fees, advertising costs and other items. Nearly $2 million is earmarked for property maintenance, $1.5 million for utilities and $58,000 for security and law enforcement.
More than $2 million will be spent by the authority to meet employment benefits costs and insurances with more that $1.8 million set aside for equipment replacement, property modernization and other related improvement expenses.
In other matters, the board also conducted the following business:
n Extended the contracts for Chuck’s Quality Painting of North Versailles; Cohen and Grigsby law firm of Pittsburgh; Davis and Davis law firm of Uniontown; Eastern Elevator of Pittsburgh and Sleighter Engineering Inc. of Uniontown.
n Renewed its property and casualty insurance policies with Housing and Redevelopment Insurance Exchange of Scranton.
n Approved a lease agreement with Southwestern PA Area Agency on Aging for office space at a cost of $37,394.