Canton Housing Authority 5-Year Report

CHA making the most of limited resources

Submitted by the Housing Authority

The Canton Housing Authority’s executive director serves in many capacities at the state level, which has helped get funding for many important projects.

On the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (MassNAHRO), he serves as the vice president for Small Housing Authorities and as chairman of the Small Housing Authority Task Force. He is also a MassNAHRO board member and a member of the housing, modernization and energy committees.

In addition, he serves as president of the Southeastern Massachusetts Executive Directors Association (SMEDA), which represents 71 housing authorities in the region.

Biennial Rent Re-certifications: The executive director obtained a waiver from the state to allow Canton tenants to only come in every other year for their rent redetermination. On the off years, the tenants’ rent goes up the same percentage as Social Security. This saves time and energy for both the tenants and the administrative staff. Canton was one of the first and the few to take advantage of this regulation change. In the years since, many authorities have contacted Canton’s executive director to find out how to implement this system, as many are now changing over.

The executive director converted an existing computer software system to be able to perform both the wait list and the work order system — saving the Housing Authority thousands of dollars per year.

The Canton Housing Authority was the only one in the state that was included in an ARRA-funded solar panel project. The project also included Logan Airport and Bridgewater State College. The panels will be installed this spring/summer and will help cut down electrical usage at the Hemenway. Canton was chosen because of the executive director’s work on the MassNAHRO Energy Committee.

The Housing Authority worked with the town and the Board of Selectmen on the creation of additional space for the Senior Center. It gave up a maintenance room in exchange for funds to create additional space in other areas of the Housing Authority. The additional space in the Senior Center is now being used for recreational activities. The authority also worked with the town DPW to repair several retaining walls at Hagan Court and to clear trees and branches at all Housing Authority sites in an effort to prevent power outages during storms.

The executive director researched and secured a new contract for electricity and gas, resulting in a savings of 28 and 10 percent, respectively.

The Housing Authority has worked with Norfolk County Sheriff Michael Bellotti and his community “work crews.” They have helped clean and paint apartments, building hallways, and community rooms. They have helped with landscaping, gutter cleaning and snow removal.

From 2000 to 2006, the authority received no “emergency funds” from the state to take care of modernization repairs and capital improvements. From 2006 to 2010, the executive director secured over $1.5 million in such funds for the following projects:

* Roof replacement and laundry vent installation (Brayton Circle — Barrier-Free Family Housing) – $71,000

* Deck replacement/concrete stair repair (Hemenway School Apts. — Elderly Housing) – $689,522

* Roof replacement (Hemenway School Apts.) and concrete stair repair (Pequit St. — Family Housing) – $311,140

* Furnace replacement (Pequit St.) – $140,000

* Window replacement (Brayton Circle) – $116,762

* Roof replacement (Howard St. — Family Housing) – $11,000

This award was managed by the Housing Authority staff directly through a pilot program (Accelerated Emergency Response) that allowed for quicker turnaround and less oversight by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Again, Canton’s executive director was one of the few to take advantage of the pilot program early on.

* Boiler replacement (Hemenway School Apts.) – $151,400

* Electrical work/circuit breakers (Concord Ave. – Family Housing) – $5,000

* Window replacement (Concord Ave.) – $7,500

* Elevator repair (Hemenway School Apts.) – $6,250

Prior to 2000, emergency funds were spent on roof replacement and additional parking spaces at Hagan Court and Rubin Court.

Going forward, there will be no more emergency funds. Through the work of DHCD, MassNAHRO and the Modernization Committee, a new system of “formula funding” will be established. It will ensure that each housing authority in the state will be guaranteed a set amount to be spent annually on modernization repairs and capital improvements.

Canton’s executive director also served on this “Mod Squad” that helped develop the formula funding system. Unfortunately, the funding is terribly inadequate for the work that needs to be done. As an example, Canton will receive a total of $570,324 to be spent over the next three years. There is another $108,634 that will be set aside for “emergencies” and ADA compliance. However, the independent company hired by DHCD to do a comprehensive capital assessment of the Canton Housing Authority found that there was over $4.5 million worth of work that needed to be done — and that was two years ago. The board will be working with the executive director and the maintenance staff to determine how best to spend the very limited formula funding over the next three years.

Some factual information:

* The Housing Authority has 249 state public housing units (no federal). Of those, 204 are set aside for elderly housing and 45 are family and barrier-free units. The authority also administers eight MRVP vouchers (Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program) and 20 Section 8 vouchers. It receives no operating subsidy from the state and relies strictly on the tenant rents — which averages $377 per month and includes heat, hot water and electricity for all elderly units. Families pay their own utilities.

* The authority has five board members; four are elected and one is appointed by the governor. They serve five-year terms.

* The authority has seven employees: four maintenance staff, two administrative staff, and the executive director. One maintenance staff is assigned to each of the three elderly complexes (Hagan, Rubin and Hemenway) and one is assigned to the families, including Brayton Circle (barrier-free units). The family units are scattered throughout the community. The wait list for families can be several years, while the wait for local, emergency applicants is more like one to two years. The same applies for “non-elderly”/ handicap applicants (under 60). However, the wait for “elderly,” local applicants is only one to two months.

* The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. but is closed to the public on Wednesday until 12:30 p.m. The authority has an answering service, and one maintenance man is on call each week for all emergency calls.

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