Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994 TAG: 9403250077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some residents have opposed the increases. They say the increases make the fees unaffordable for those on limited incomes. Others wonder why they should have to bear repair and replacement costs at all.
"There is some concern," said Jamie Booker, president of the Lansdowne Park Resident Council and of the Joint Resident Council. "Some prices are not fair to bear on the elderly or low-income people who live there."
David Baldwin, the authority's director of housing, said the fees have remained level for more than 10 years. An increase is needed to cover rising costs, he said.
"Costs have increased for us substantially, and we have not passed that increase on to our residents," Baldwin said. "We find that we just can't afford to maintain that kind of discrepancy. We're doing something that really should have been done all along."
The fees should have been re-examined every few years, if not annually, Baldwin said.
"Unfortunately, since it wasn't done and we're doing it now, it's going to have some impact on residents," he said. "It may mean some charges are going to increase a lot."
The increases vary.
Replacing a toilet seat would be $13, up from $7. The current fee did not include labor costs. The materials cost has decreased, Baldwin said.
Two ice trays, which had cost $2, would cost residents $8 to replace - $6 of that for labor.
Replacing a steel screen door would cost $330, up from $126. The current fee included $114 for materials and $12 in labor. The proposed fee includes $285 in materials, $18 in labor, plus overhead costs.
A new key would cost $8, up from $1. The proposed fee includes $6 for labor.
Baldwin stressed that the fees are not for general upkeep but for repairs or replacement of items damaged or lost by residents or their guests.
"It's just like in any kind of housing rental situation, private or public," he said. "If an occupant damages something and needs to get it repaired, we would charge them for the repair."
As for labor costs on such items as replacement keys and ice trays, Baldwin said the authority likely would have no problem with residents picking up the items themselves from the authority office. Cost allowances would be made under those circumstances, he said.
"The way we have set up charges of those kinds of items was with the thought that our staff would actually be delivering those things to residents' apartments," Baldwin said.
Booker, who said she recognizes that some fee increase was needed, wonders why so much, so quickly.
"It would have been better if they gradually raised the prices over the next five years," she said. "All of a sudden, they're doubling everything."
The housing authority, with the help of a group of college students, distributed comment forms to all public housing residents two weeks ago. Residents' comments - due today - may result in changes in some proposed fees, Baldwin said.
"We're keeping an open mind about this," he said. "We'll evaluate the comments we receive and probably make some adjustments.
"We knew this wasn't going to be an easy thing to do or an easy thing for residents to accept."
by CNB