MERCER COUNTY Housing agency to get more funds

Some of the money will be used to improve services to senior citizens.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- It's been a good week for the Mercer County Housing Authority.
The agency found out it will get more subsidy money than anticipated this year from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and that its bid for several grants to improve services to its tenants have been approved.
L. DeWitt Boosel, executive director, outlined the good news for his board of commissioners Wednesday.
HUD had warned housing authorities in March 2003 that they would be facing lower subsidies for the 2003-04 fiscal year.
Mercer County put together a budget showing a 10-percent subsidy reduction, but when the final federal figures were presented in November, the authority learned the actual cut was only 5.3 percent, resulting in an additional $108,000 for the authority, Boosel said.
It was enough to turn the $2 million general fund budget from a $34,000 deficit into a $73,000 surplus, he said.
More good news
That was just part of the good fiscal news.
The agency scored 92 out of 100 possible points in a recent HUD evaluation of its operation and that will mean additional grant funds, he said.
The evaluation looks at the agency's administration and financial operations as well as a residents' survey.
The high score resulted in HUD giving the agency an unanticipated $219,445 grant for its capital fund which is used to finance building modernization and other facility improvements, Boosel said.
That fund has been short in recent modernization projects, he said.
There was more.
Boosel said the authority learned it has won a $200,000 Resident Services Delivery Grant from HUD to improve services to its senior citizen tenants over a three-year period.
About the grant
The grant will provide funds to hire one additional employee to work with older tenants, Boosel said, noting that a major focus is helping senior citizens find affordable prescription drug coverage.
The authority has had some success in finding pharmaceutical companies willing to provide free drugs to qualified individuals, he said.
The authority has also been awarded a $54,750 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to launch a Family Savings Account program.
The money will be used, Boosel said, to provide dollar-for-dollar matches, up to $2,000 over a two-year period, for qualified tenants who put money into the plan to save to buy a home, pay for home repairs, start up a business or finance education.
Finally, the authority has been awarded a $500 grant from the Mercer County Human Services Council to help expand its "Ask a Nurse" program for its senior citizen tenants, Boosel said.