The Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority may be eligible to receive additional money to pay this year's high utility bills.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has earmarked an additional $105 million to help pay for the utility bills of public housing authorities and resident management corporations. On average, HUD estimated that many utility bills are 18 percent higher than what housing authorities projected last year. There are 3,100 housing authorities nationwide.
Charlotte Knoche, director of vigilance assistance programs for the local authority, said she was unsure how hard the agency would be hit because it based its utility budget on the 1999-2000 heating season for this year. The authority pays utility bills for 250 apartments.
"All housing authorities will be coming up in the red because of the colder climate this year," she said.
To be eligible, agencies must demonstrate their utility rates were at least 20 percent higher than previously estimated. Other criteria also are used. Applications must be submitted by April 30.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.