'Affordable housing' works in Butler County

April 8, 2006

BY PAT LITOWITZ
PLITOWITZ@NCNEWSONLINE.COM

(Sixth in a series)

Here's advice to low-income wage earners wanting to purchase a home -- don't look to HUD for help.

"(The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) is really not a player in new, affordable housing," said Perry O'Malley, executive director of Butler County's housing authority. "They have no money, no funding.

"The expansion of subsidized housing has stopped many years ago, almost two decades. But what has replaced it is the concept of affordable housing."

Beginning in 1996, O'Malley branched out from the authority's traditional approach in helping low- to moderate-income individuals and families.

"In the affordable housing concept, you're basically using low-income housing tax credits, which are sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service," he said. "Well over 90 percent of the new construction or major renovation of low-, moderate-income housing developments have been an outcrop of the IRS's tax credit program."

O'Malley approached community leaders to start nonprofit agencies that would target specific housing needs, such as those for seniors, working families, the disabled, victims of domestic abuse and homeless adults.

The defunct Affordable Housing of Lawrence County, created in August 2003 by the Lawrence County Housing Authority, was started with a $200,000 authority loan.

O'Malley said Butler's authority used encouragement, not its own funds, to start nonprofit organizations.

"We enabled and fostered them," he said.

For example, the partnership of O'Malley's agency and a nonprofit group resulted in the construction of three high rises.

"There's no HUD money to do that," he said. "Our propose is to expand and provide affordable housing for our low-income population."

The federal housing agency does offer annual awards for senior and disabled housing. However, the funding is limited, the competition is widespread and there are few recipients.

HUD's Pittsburgh region, which includes Lawrence County, covers 29 counties. This year, $1.4 million has been set aside for disabled housing and another $1.4 million for seniors.

"The process is very rigorous," said Maria Bynum, a HUD spokeswoman based in Philadelphia. "Even nonprofit organizations and sponsors who have had lots of experience in putting applications together will be working hard to get it in (by May 26)."

Three or four organizations in each category can expect funding, she said. It's financial limitations such as those that have O'Malley looking for money elsewhere.

"HUD regulations actually encourage housing authorities to think out of the box and become more entrepreneurial," he said. "That's their way of saying the money's drying up, and get out there and look around."

O'Malley said the resources to build affordable housing are available.

"We're trying to inform housing authorities that you have a lot of authority to serve your community separately from your basic core programs from HUD. "Get in the game. Go do something. Help the community. Make things better for people."