Audio clip
Eddie Holmes
Chattanooga Housing Authority officials said they hated laying off 24 people, but the cuts were necessary to balance the agency’s operating budget.
The housing authority is anticipating a $1.9 million reduction in operating funds this year from the federal government, officials said.
“If you don’t have funding, you can’t continue to pay staff,” said Eddie Holmes, the agency’s board chairman.
The layoffs represent nearly 10 percent of the housing authority’s staff and is the minimum reduction needed to balance the budget, according to news release from the agency.
The local housing authority is among several housing agencies across the country facing cutbacks, officials said. More than 100 housing authorities shut down for a day in 2007 to protest funding cuts.
However, the local agency’s layoffs could be the result of poor planning, said Alvin Nance, Knoxville Community Development Corp.’s president and chief executive officer.
“We’re not laying anybody off,” Mr. Nance said.
The Knoxville agency anticipated cuts and reduced its staff by 42 people nearly two years ago by offering options for early retirement and voluntary staff reduction, Mr. Nance said. He said the agency reduced its dependency on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds by 25 percent.
Bill Lord, the Chattanooga Housing Authority’s chief information officer, said he disagrees with Mr. Nance’s comment.
“He doesn’t know our situation,” Mr. Lord said. “Every organization is different.”
The federal government is giving housing authorities 83 percent of the funding for which they are qualified, officials said. The local housing authority has lost more than $5 million in operating funds since 2003, according to a news release.
Mr. Holmes said the local housing authority had used reserve funds to avoid layoffs, anticipating that more funding was coming. When funding cuts continued, agency leaders had to make a decision, he said.
CHA’s office closed early afternoon Friday after those receiving layoffs were notified.
Laborers and managerial staff were laid off, however, housing authority officials would not specify how many managers.
Jesse Lawrence, president of the citywide resident advisory committee, said the housing authority laid off some people who did not make a lot of money.
“One person was a resident employee. I can understand lack of funds, but some people make four or five times more than the resident employee who lives in public housing,” she said.
Ms. Lawrence and Dorothy Henry were among several public housing residents who complained that at least two managers laid off were people who worked closely with residents.
“They were people who worked for the tenants and they were effective,” Ms. Henry said.
CHA MEETS
Chattanooga Housing Authority will host its next board meeting at 11:30 a.m. March 25 at the agency’s office at 801 N. Holtzclaw Ave.
BY THE NUMBERS
* 24 — CHA employees laid off
* $1.9 million — CHA’s anticipated reduction in operating funds for 2008
* $5 million — CHA’s operating funds lost since 2003
Yolanda Putman has been a reporter at the Times Free Press for 11 years. She covers housing and previously covered education and crime. Yolanda is a Chattanooga native who has a master’s degree in communication from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Alabama State University. She previously worked at the Lima (Ohio) News. She enjoys running, reading and writing and is the mother of one son, Tyreese. She has also ...
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