NOHA will pay July rent for those on housing assistance

Northwest Oregon Housing Autority approves using $145,000 in reserve funds to cover rent for Section 8

By David Holley

The South County Spotlight, Jun 24, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

WARRENTON, Ore. – The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority board voted today to pay July’s rent for the 285 Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook county residents who were told they would lose housing assistance earlier this month.

The board will use about $145,000 in reserve revenue funds to pay for the assistance vouchers, which were slated to be cut July 1. Using the reserve funds merely delays the inevitable: the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority (NOHA) needs about $145,000 more per month through December to prevent cutting the 285 residents from the housing assistance program.

State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, has made it public said that she has secured $170,000 from the state to be used toward housing assistance. But that money, still not readily available, is for housing problems throughout Oregon, not solely in these three counties. Exactly how much might come to Columbia County is unknown.

Columbia County Commissioner Rita Bernhard said she plans to talk to Sen. Johnson today about whether any, or all, of that $170,000 could pay for residents’ August rent, giving NOHA that much more time to resolve how to pay rent for September through December.

“It's going to be a long process,” said Bernhard, who sits on the NOHA board. “We’re going to be able to get through at least this month.”

The Oregon Housing and Community Development Division has also provided $50,000 among the three counties, which will provide enough money to cover rent for about five people per county. Federal Section 8 subsidies can sometimes cover more than 90 percent of rental costs.

The NOHA board held a meeting Wednesday in Warrenton, about 10 miles west of Astoria, with state, federal and local officials to discuss solutions to this housing crisis. Midway through the meeting – moments after a disabled Seaside man described the drastic impact of losing his housing assistance – Bernhard suggested taking the emergency dip into NOHA’s reserve funds to pay for July’s rent.

“The NOHA board has to step up from where ever we can and pay for that first month,” Bernhard said.

The few dozen people in attendance erupted into applause. Much of the meeting had focused on longer-term solutions to the problem, such as how to find the $145,000 per month through December to pay rent for those with Section 8.

But with only a week left until the 285 county residents lose their federal housing funding – and anger brewing from those people who are affected – many at the meeting said the long-term planning could wait, as long as NOHA covered the housing costs for July.

“Let’s give it another month,” Bernhard said.

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