Housing Authority meets benchmark
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on July 28, 2017 6:46 AM
The Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro will receive nearly $100,000 in increased federal funding after being recognized as a high performing agency by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Goldsboro authority was recently designated as a high performer public housing agency for the 2016 fiscal year, making it the third consecutive year the agency has achieved the performance designation.
Anthony Goodson, chief executive officer of the housing authority, said the federal designation reflects well on the agency and its mission to provide quality public housing in Goldsboro.
"It makes us really proud to achieve high-performer status as an agency -- it means we are operating at an optimal level, that we meet the HUD's standards on physical inspection, and that we have exceptional financial controls over our agency's funding," Goodson said. "This means we, as property managers, (will be able to) provide quality, affordable housing to our residents and their families."
The high performance designation will result in the housing authority receiving a near 5 percent increase in capital funding this year from HUD, a total of $97,598, which allows the agency to make improvements to its properties, said Jacqueline Kannan, public relations officer for the authority.
"All money will be used to improve the lives of our residents," Kannan said.
The process of achieving the federal designation involved an evaluation of four areas, including the physical condition of public housing buildings, financial management of the agency, operational management and its administration of capital funds.
The housing authority achieved a score of 91 out of a possible 100, and received perfect scores for its finances and capital fund administration.
Agency scores include 34 out of a possible 40 for the physical condition of its properties, 25 for financial management, 22 out of 25 for operational management and 10 for the capital fund evaluation, Kannan said.
In addition to increased funding, the housing authority will also be able to seek approval to become a Moving to Work designated agency, Kannan said. If approved, the housing authority would be able to design a new self-sufficiency program to help residents become employed at a level where they can move out of public housing.
The Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro provides 1,225 public housing units, mostly apartments, to approximately 2,700 people. Public housing units are located at West Haven Apartments, on Oak Street, Fairview Apartments, on Edgerton Street, Lincoln Apartments, on Slaughter Street, Elmwood Terrace, on Hinson Street, Little Washington, on Whitfield Drive, and Woodcrest Terrace, on Waters Street.