Applications abound for director slot

There were inquiries from as far away as California.

By LAURE CIOFFI

VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU

ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. — If inquiries are any indication, the Lawrence County Housing Authority should have a large pool to choose from for its new director.

Authority solicitor Lou Perrotta said the response to advertisements for the opening have been better than expected. He said he stopped counting after 25 inquiries. Calls about the position came from California, New Jersey and Ohio.

The application deadline is today, and all applicants are being evaluated by the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission, which will oversee testing for the job.

Perrotta said the length of time it takes to hire a new director will depend on the final number of applicants.

The authority has been without an executive director since January when longtime director Robert Evanick resigned. Evanick said at that time he did not have the confidence of the board of directors.

Poor finances

Evanick’s work came into question when board member Mike Mancuso recently learned the authority received a poor rating from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concerning its 2005 finances.

The finance reserves dipped below HUD standards, garnering the authority a poor rating in its most recent HUD report card.

Evanick received notice of the rating by e-mail in November and again in December, but he did not inform the board. Evanick said he believed it had been taken care of with cutbacks that were made late last year.

At Thursday’s meeting, the authority’s controller reported that the authority finances are about $200,000 in the black.

cioffi@vindy.com