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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-2008 CHA MINUTESCaldwell Housing Authority Minutes of "Special" Meeting October 10, 2008 Board Members Present: Estella "Zamora, Patricia Benedict, Dana Schuck, Sid Freeman, Andy Rodriguez Staff Present: Mike Dittenber Members Absent: Jim Blacker Guests: Locations: Sunrise Cafe In order of business: Roll call and call to order Estella called the meeting to order at $:00am 2 Opening Comments Mike provided the Board with some additional information for the special meeting. He asked if he could take a few minutes to share some thoughts before the discussion. He shared with the Board some thoughts and historical trends relating to Housing Authorities and wanted to dispel the notion that CHA would necessarily have the same financial difficulties as other for -profit businesses. Mike suggested that the Board move forward and approve a budget based on operational needs rather than fear of the unknown. Mike then explained that he would implement a financial management strategy that would be implemented to cut cost if the budget became out of balance with projected income. Sid thanked Mike for the explanation. It did relieve some of his concerns, but thought CHA may still be impacted by a decrease in government subsidy. Estella commented that the Board should be confident in its approach and not be fearful about the economy. Mike then went through the proposed budget and explained how he arrived at both the income and expenses in the budget. He explained that the rent increase was consistent with the budget and that without the approved increase; CHA's progress toward improving the place may be delayed. Mike explained that the board could consider rent increases and salary increases separately, but needed to consider the entire budget. Patricia thanked Mike for the explanation and thought the Board had a better understanding of the budget. Mike then explained about the rent increases and how it would impact the families in each of the different sizes of units. He also explained how those who qualified for rental assistance, their rent wouldn't be going up, but the actual subsidy contribution by RD would increase. Andy suggested the rent increases, although justified, might be out of balance. He suggested increasing the rent of the medium 2 bedroom unit by $19 rather than $14; increasing the medium 3 bedroom by $43 rather than $58; increasing the large 4 bedroom by $56 rather than $106; and increasing the large 5 bedroom units by $35 rather than $85. Patricia asked if the rents were calculated from the actual market rents or the government approved market rents. Mike indicated he used actual market rents in Canyon County to calculate rent increases. After everyone expressed satisfaction with the rent increase, Mike directed everyone's attention to the CHA salary table. He indicated that he had inherited a salary table that was outdated and likely reflected information from 2005 when the last ED collected salary information from other organizations. Mike indicated the staff was 18 -20% behind market when he started. NOTE: Approximately 40 minutes of discussion took place regarding salaries. There was far too much specific information and comments to accurately record. The following is a brief summary of the conversation. There was much discussion about the appropriateness of pay raises during troubled economic times and the benefits and disadvantages of not giving pay raises. After much discussion, the general consensus was that pay raises were appropriate and the 6 -8% pay raises were consistent with local salaries. At approximately 9:25, Andy asked Mike to leave the meeting for a few minutes. Mike was invited back to the meeting at 9:40. Andy indicated there was some discussion about Mike's performance and requested salary. At 9:50am, Andy made a motion to approve annual pay increases, including the Directors salary; Seconded by Patricia, and unanimously approved by all those present. At 9:55am, Sid made a motion to approve the 2009 proposed budget, Seconded by Andy, and unanimously approved by all those present. 10:00am, meeting adjourned.