U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins recently sent a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steven Preston requesting that he examine any additional resources within the agency that could be used to help Maine’s public housing authorities.
In the letter, the Senators note that many of Maine’s 23 local public housing authorities are having difficulties coping with the rising cost of energy.
“This is a critical issue,” said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. “Maine’s public housing authorities are near the financial breaking point. With some agencies spending twice as much on heating oil as they had budgeted, many are left with huge shortfalls.
“It is our hope that we can work with the Secretary to find additional resources that could benefit Maine’s housing authorities and the low-income citizens they house.”
A full text of the letter follows:
Dear Secretary Preston:
We are writing to share our concerns about an emerging energy and financial crisis in the State of Maine for elderly, disabled, and working families who live in subsidized housing, for their landlords, and for local public housing agencies (PHAs). The long cold winters in the Northeast have become increasingly worrisome as fuel costs continue to rise and people across our state struggle to heat their homes through the winter months.
Twenty-three local PHAs own and manage 4,094 units of public housing for elderly, disabled and working families across Maine. PHAs are having an increasingly difficult time paying their bills due to the rising energy costs. While we understand that HUD recently increased operating subsidies for this year, PHAs will still fall short of meeting the growing need for heating assistance.
Landlords providing housing in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program encounter the same problems facing local PHAs. Many landlords throughout Maine provide heat on behalf of their residents. Unfortunately, due to funding shortfalls, PHAs are unable to provide landlords with additional funding to address rising heat costs. As a result, several landlords have abandoned their properties, and others are considering the option of no longer accepting HUD vouchers for their units. If PHAs were to grant landlord requests for additional heating assistance, PHAs would be forced to cut the number of people they are able to serve. We urge HUD to help avoid these consequences.
Maine PHAs have taken steps to help reduce energy costs. Some have replaced incandescent lights with Compact Fluorescents light bulbs (CFLs), and as light fixtures need to be replaced, they replace them with energy efficient fixtures. Others have begun to replace older appliances with Energy Star appliances, which will also help reduce electricity costs. While PHAs are doing their part to save on energy costs, these steps alone are not enough to avoid the realities that face cold weather states. We have outlined below several examples of issues currently facing PHAs across Maine.
• Bangor Housing Authority is allotted $2.36 per gallon for heating oil and has spent $4.16 per gallon. The Bangor PHA uses 300,000 gallons per year for their 563 units. This has left a hole of $450,000 in their budget. The Bangor PHA has also encountered individual oil companies that don’t want to lock in prices this year, making it increasingly more difficult to figure out costs.
• Presque Isle Housing Authority uses 100,000 gallons of fuel oil per winter and is allotted $2.50 per gallon and is limited to 82 percent of the total from HUD, which leaves the Presque Isle PHA with a gap of approximately $197,000 which they must take out of their limited reserves. The Presque Isle PHA has indicated that some private landlords have had to take out second mortgages to pay for last year’s oil. Some landlords have indicated that they will stop accepting HUD voucher tenants, due to the expense landlords cannot recoup from HUD.
• Ellsworth and Mount Desert Housing Authorities’ electric rates went up 15 percent in June. As an organization, they are trying to figure out what can be cut to make up for energy costs. They also have over ninety vouchers distributed to people who are still looking for homes.
• Westbrook Housing Authority has had a property abandoned where residents were still residing. The owner abandoned the property due to an inability to pay for the increased heating costs.
We share the concerns of our constituents, landlords and the PHAs all across the state of Maine. We fear that those who cannot afford to heat their homes or who are unable to receive assistance will take it into their own hands to provide heat by any means necessary or will suffer the cold. This could result in stove and wood fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, hypothermia and even death. To avoid these dire consequences, we urge HUD to take immediate action to help cold-weather states, like Maine, during this time of record high home heating costs. Given the crisis, we encourage HUD to examine any additional resources within the agency that may be available to assist Maine.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,