Housing authority reports its finances in good shape
♦ The agency is projected to show a profit despite some rent write-offs due to the pandemic.
The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority got a mixed bag of financial news Wednesday.
The operating budget for 2021 shows the housing authority projects profits almost across the board. At the same time, the agency is dealing with a number of tenants who have not been paying rent. The authority can’t evict them under current U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rules related to the pandemic.
The authority approved the write off of $5,488.86 in unpaid rent and fees for the months of February and March. Housing Director Melvin Scott explained that much of that is from people who did not pay their rent due to the COVID-19 situation and have moved out.
Financial consultant Jack Blosky said his firm has closed out financial records for 2020 and that a lot of the writeoffs have been double what they normally are.
“It’s been tough for everybody,” Blosky said. “It’s definitely a trend all over the country.”
One tenant at the Ashland Park Apartments owes over $5,000, Executive Director Sandra Hudson said.
“She works, she makes really good money. She just chose not to pay her rent,” Hudson said. “We can’t do anything until July 1.”
Blosky went through the 2021 budget with the authority Friday and reported that the public housing division anticipates a profit of more than $190,000.
The Section 8 portion of the budget is projecting a profit of a little more than $100,000 and the Central Office Cost Center expects to turn a profit in excess of $1.5 million.
“Even though most authorities have been struggling, the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority has been able to hold its own,” Blosky said.
Part of the increase in net revenue relates to an increase in the operating subsidy from HUD, which Blosky said may be an indirect effort to address revenue shortfalls experienced by many public housing agencies.
The bulk of the profit at the COCC relates to developer fees the authority is getting for several construction projects, including the acquisition and complete overhaul of the Ashland Park Apartments.
The cash balance for the housing authority through the end of March was $1.77 million, almost $40,000 higher than it was at the end of December.
Modernization Director Howard Gibson said the lengthy process of renovating the Park Homes apartments off Reservoir Street could be complete by the end of next week.
Construction of the new Sandra D. Hudson Villas apartments off Spring Creek Street is moving on schedule, he said, and proceeding much more smoothly than the renovations at Park Homes.
Also, final bids are being taken for two one-bedroom duplexes and two two-bedroom single family homes at Joe Wright Village off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in North Rome.
When those homes are complete, the gated public housing community will still have space for four more homes.
“We’re staying very busy,” Gibson said.