Audio clip
Bill Lord
The Chattanooga Housing Authority laid off at least two more employees since the agency removed 24 people from its payroll on Feb. 29.
Housing officials say the layoffs are to balance the agency’s budget after federal funding cuts. However the housing authority sent an e-mail advertising a job position this month.
“We’re going to move forward,” said Bill Lord, housing authority chief public information officer. “Natural attrition will occur, and we hope that those who were laid off would apply for positions as they become available.”
The housing authority advertised for an accounts payable specialist on March 3.
Mr. Lord said the advertisement was pulled because “it made sense in our budget not to fill that position.” Officials were considering the position before the layoffs, but it did not get posted on some Web sites until after the employees were dismissed, he said.
No more layoffs are expected, he said.
Housing authority officials believe the local agency will receive 83 percent of the funding to which it is entitled next fiscal year, as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates. That amount of funding would let the housing authority continue with its current staff, Mr. Lord said.
About 10 percent of the housing authority’s staff was eliminated because of the budget shortfall, officials said. It will be at least September before housing officials know for sure the amount of funding they will receive from HUD, officials said.
No new job positions will be added to the agency in the immediate future, but some jobs may come available through people retiring or voluntarily leaving the agency. Laid-off former employees are encouraged to apply as jobs become available, Mr. Lord said.
Housing authority officials are anticipating a $1.9 million reduction in operating funds for next fiscal year from the federal government. The housing authority has lost more than $5 million in operating funds since 2003, housing officials said.
“It’s not as if we have a dart board throwing at names (of people to be laid off),” said Eddie Holmes, chairman of the housing authority board. “It is a difficult decision, but you have to look at it from a budget perspective.”
The agency first tries to make sure that resident needs are provided, Mr. Holmes said. It also considers seniority and the needs of the agency before deciding on layoffs, he said.
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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