The Guttenberg Housing Authority received $20,246 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of a grant program to aid agencies facing COVID-19-related budget woes.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Public housing agencies, like other organizations, have been impacted by financial disruptions from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” HUD General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Dominque Blom said in a statement.
“Supporting PHAs in this way is critical to serving HUD-assisted households. These funds stabilize PHAs so that they can meet the needs of residents and take steps toward long-term financial stability.”
PHA awardees facing shortfalls are defined as having less than three months of operating expenses held in reserve.
While PHAs of various sizes may have been eligible to receive funding, HUD is concerned with the ability of small and very-small PHAs to generate resources to supplement their public housing program, and therefore prioritized these PHAs in the distribution of funds
“The Coronavirus pandemic severely affected many public housing authorities in HUD Region II, New York, and New Jersey. Early on, HUD provided COVID-19 relief funding to assist with the emergency, and PHAs responded immediately to the needs of their residents providing additional services to keep them safe,” added HUD Region II Regional Administrator Alicka Ampry-Samuel.
“This new funding will help stabilize the authorities that needed additional funding, ensuring residents continue to live in a safe, sanitary, and stable housing.”
To establish that PHAs that receive shortfall funding take appropriate steps to ensure long-term financial solvency, HUD will undertake the additional monitoring of all PHAs that receive funding under this category.
Additionally, HUD has identified and informed the PHAs of recommended actions that the PHAs can take to improve their financial performance.
PHAs that receive shortfall funding are required to develop a plan identifying action items the PHA can take to improve their financial performance.
