Housing authority urged to lower charge-offs
Realistically, it’s highly unlikely that the Fayette County Housing Authority will ever completely eliminate “charge offs,” since someone will probably stiff them for rent or utility costs, or move out leaving a damaged unit. But it makes sense, as advocated by board members Beverly Beal and Angela M. Zimmerlink, that the authority do all in its power to reduce that amount as much as possible. Toward that end, authority solicitor John “Jack” Purcell will investigate a possible new policy whereby the authority would take an offending tenant before a magisterial district judge in order to recoup those costs, once they exceed a predetermined amount, such as $1,000.
Zimmerlink suggested that threshold at last week’s meeting. It makes sense for the authority to draw a line in the proverbial sand at some point, for two reasons: One, it lets tenants know the authority takes its lease seriously; and two, it shows a stronger resolve to collect what it is reasonably owed from those who live in taxpayer-subsidized public housing.
Purcell has said in the past that the authority is willing to work with good tenants who, for one reason or another, fall behind on their monthly rent contribution, which amounts to 30 percent of household income. Purcell says some tenants are put on a payment plan, and are sometimes given second and third chances when they fall into arrears.
That makes sense only if the tenants don’t view the authority’s willingness to bend the lease as a de facto policy that means they don’t have to promptly pay their share of rent. While Purcell is correct in noting that a judgment against a tenant is “meaningless” if they have no means to pay, Zimmerlink is more correct in questioning why one outstanding rental amount was permitted to reach $2,600. Unless you’re living on Park Avenue in New York, that’s a lot of months of back rent by any standard.
Beal, who’s been a real stickler on this issue, raises a good point by asking, “Why do they (authority staff) let it get out of hand?” Perhaps Purcell has the best solution, in recommending that tenants who don’t pay their share of rent on time be given only one more chance before the authority launches eviction proceedings.
Zimmerlink says for the four-year period from 2002-05, the authority charged off an average of $72,000. Although Executive Director Thomas L. Harkless says the charge-off total’s been cut in half in the past several years, which is commendable, further improvement should be the authority’s goal.