×

City cuts top planning job to trim budget

By William Kibler

bkibler@altoonamirror.com

City Manager Ken Decker has abolished the job of community development director in an ongoing effort to find $1 million in savings so the city can pass a 2021 budget without a tax increase, in accord with instructions from City Council.

The elimination of the post led to a warning Wednesday from retired city Planning Director Larry Carter that it risks erosion of the city’s average annual allocation of about $1.7 million in Community Development Block Grant funds, due to the potential for failure to adhere to the federal program’s complicated accounting requirements. That responsibility is being delegated to financial employees not familiar with the program, according to Carter.

Elimination of the post that was occupied until Friday by Carter’s successor Lee Slusser won’t mean that CDBG allocations will be mishandled, because the planning office employees who actually deal with the money remain in place, said Decker, who said that Carter’s saying the responsibility will be reassigned to the city’s regular finance office is “speculation.”

Among issues that could complicate shifting responsibility for CDBG funding to people who aren’t used to it, according to Carter, are:

– The CDBG fiscal year begins July 1, rather than Jan. 1, like the city’s.

– CDBG accounting is based on cash, rather than the accrual system, like the city’s.

– There are multiple city projects going on at once, funded with money from various years’ allocations.

– The program requires the city to “zero out” all money from each project, with unspent money forwarded to subsequent projects.

– Federal approval is needed for all such transfers.

The current planning office staff is “proficient and experienced in operating this complex program,” Carter said. Transferring responsibility “to city departments and personnel with no experience with the CDBG program complexities, and not meeting the transfer and fund amendment requirements will jeopardize the program funding.”

He’s not worried, because he has worked with CDBG funding since the 1990s, and city staffers have been talking about the “transition” with the Pittsburgh office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which administers the CDBG money, Decker said.

“We’re certainly not changing anything precipitously,” the manager stated. “I’m confident that the people on board will continue to do yeoman duty.”

The CDBG rules, like many federal rules “are silly and burdensome,” Decker added.

But they must be complied with, he acknowledged.

Slusser’s post was targeted because it’s on the higher end of the salary scale, Decker said.

“When you’re a million dollars short, you need every nickel,” he said.

Altoona Housing Authority Executive Director Cheryl Johns praised the work of the planning office staff on CDBG projects that have benefited the authority.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today