Massive Federal Cuts to Housing Authorities Result in Big Layoffs

[JPZenger]

The following excerpts of news articles describe how massive Federal funding cuts to public housing authorities have forced layoffs of 20 to 30% of the staff of many housing authorities. Some of the biggest cuts resulted from a new Federal funding formula that has diverted much of the Federal funding away from Northeastern cities. Another cut resulted because Congress never passed a housing appropriation bill, so that funds were "flat-lined" between 2006 and 2007, without any increase for inflation.

Particularly disturbing are the cutbacks in public housing police and security forces, at a time when violent crime is increasing again in cities.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/chester_county/164
22755.htm

Dec. 10, 2007 Phila. Inquirer

"Phila. Housing Authority delivers layoff notices to about 350

Citing severe federal budget cuts, the Philadelphia Housing Authority announced yesterday that it
was laying off about 350 employees, roughly 22 percent of its 1,600-person workforce....At a news
conference at PHA's Martin Luther King Plaza in South Philadelphia, Housing Authority Director Greene placed the blame for the layoffs on the Bush administration, which has reduced the budget for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development more than 20 percent during the last six years.

"In Washington, 'the Decider' has decided to abandon the nation's mission of serving the very low
income, those people who are elderly and those who are disabled," Greene said.

PHA's police force also will take a major hit. It is slated to lose 20 officers and about 10 other
security personnel, leaving it with 50 officers in all. Greene said that having fewer police officers - and a diminished capability to evict problem tenants promptly - could result in an increase in crime in PHA neighborhoods. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Johnson expressed a similar concern last week.

...Once the layoffs are implemented, PHA will have about half as many employees as in 2000.
HUD said it would fund all local housing authorities this year at 76 percent of
the amount a HUD-commissioned study says is needed for them to operate at an optimal level.
Last year, funding was at 86 percent. The authority in Newark, N.J., for example, has dismissed 300 workers, a third of its staff. "We're seeing the demise of public housing in America," said Maria Maio, the housing chief in Jersey City."

---
Here's an excerpt from an article in the Phila. Daily News:

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/16432905.htm

"FEDERAL HOUSING CUTS: KATRINA, ROUND TWO
NO WIND, NO RAIN, BUT LOTS OF SUFFERING BY THE POOR

Just as Bush first christened "surge" as a word destined to become an instant part of the lexicon,
we propose another word that should join the lexicon. This word would translate into the failure
of the government of a wealthy nation to respond adequately to the needs of the poor. To
illustrate, here it is, used in a sentence:

"Philadelphia is being Katrina'ed by budget cuts and changes in Housing and Urban Development rules that have led to the layoffs of 350 PHA workers this week."

What happened in New Orleans when the government first failed to intervene in a crisis, and
their ongoing missteps that have displaced thousands of families and left others with substandard
shelter, provides a frightening illustration of some of the problems that could come from the cuts
to public housing in Philadelphia and across the country.

Those cuts left Philadelphia with a $32 million budget hole. So far, PHA boss Carl Greene has
responded by laying off 350 employees from his 1,600-member workforce. That's not good for
anyone - some of those layoffs include maintenance and security - but it could get worse: the
closing of properties and the evictions of families from their homes.

Congress should also take some blame, not only for failing to pass a budget last year (the
failure of which flatlined housing budgets) but also for failing to provide any oversight or public
hearings on the issue. The housing cuts also coincide with another disturbing report. For the first time in a decade, a population count of the homeless was taken and just released in a report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The report notes that there were nearly 750,000 people homeless last January. How many more people must get Katrina'ed before government does the right thing?

---
From the Harrisburg PA Patriot:

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1168484106327430.xml&coll=1

Area housing agency joins protest of cuts
Jan. 11, 2007

Harrisburg Housing Authority offices were closed yesterday as the agency joined dozens of
public housing authorities across the country in a "Day of Silence."
The closings were held to protest a 24 percent cut in federal operating money this year for
housing authorities. The Harrisburg authority will lose about $3 million in federal funding this
year.

While the office was closed, Harrisburg Housing Authority Executive Director Carl Payne said
the layoffs of 22 authority workers will take effect next month. The layoffs are the result of the
loss of the federal money, Payne said. "The layoffs will be across the board," he said, and will include office staff and maintenance workers. The authority has 92 employees.

"The Bush administration has decided that the war in Iraq has priority over needs in this
country," he said. "The president wants to increase spending for the war by $100 billion, and if
that happens, it will be tough for us to get the funds we need to properly serve our residents.
"Shame on this country if we don't take care of our elderly residents," he said.

---

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07011/752913-53.stm

"If we don't have the money to pay police officers at night, what happens to security?" she asked.
"What happens to the maintenance of leaking faucets? Snow removal?" She added that more than 40 percent of the residents in public housing in the city work. The Allegheny County Housing Authority already has reduced its staff drastically over the past three years, from 280 to 165.

"What I'm hoping is that the climate in Washington has changed a little bit and that lawmakers
can find it in their hearts" to reverse the misfortune, said Mr. Aggazio, whose housing authority
oversees 3,200 public housing units at 36 sites, 10 of which are designated for the elderly. In nine
others, most residents are elderly.

"It is not a stretch to believe that if the current trend continues, many housing authorities will
simply go out of business," said Carl Greene, executive director of the Philadelphia Housing
Authority, who initiated yesterday's national protest.

-----
The following 2006 press release describes a $100 million cut in funding to the New York City
Housing Authority:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/downloads/pdf/pr_oct06_20_housingforum.pdf

[ClintonTyree]

1. And how many more billion dollars are we wasting on Iraq....

with Bush's "surge"? :banghead:

[porphyrian]

2. They're intentionally creating homeless to fill the ranks of the military.

Prove me wrong.