15 - Waiver of Housing Authority PILOTNo. 15
TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem & City Council
FROM: Grayson Path, City Manager
SUBJECT: Waiver of Housing Authority PILOT
DATE: March 28, 2022
BACKGROUND:
On March 7, 1950, the City of Paris and the Housing Authority entered in to an agreement that in
essence created the Housing Authority within the City. In short, the Housing Authority agreed to
provide the services they do, and the City would fulfill initial roles in the agreement to make them
successful. Those initial roles by the City have all been fulfilled, but our continued goal is their
success on behalf of our residents who are income -eligible to live in these facilities. A term of the
agreement is the Housing Authority would issue a "Payment In Lieu of Taxes" (PILOT) in the
place of property tax. This is calculated by formula from HUD. Some years the City receives a
payment, some years we do not. Recently, it has amounted to about $4k a year. Again, the purpose
is to cut their cost so that they can divert more Federal Funds to assisting residents with low cost
living arrangements. The PISD, County and PJC all receive a PILOT through the City
proportionate to each entity's tax levies.
In August 2021, the City initiated a project to convert Booker T Washington and George Wright
to 911 -based addressing. Prior to this, both sites had non -conforming addressing unique and
specific to their sites which created conflicts for our first responders. Thankfully, over the years
the City was able to develop a means of converting a call location in to something that allowed us
to arrive on scene. But, working with the ATCOG who manages our 911 -addressing, we agreed
that it was time to make the change and convert both facilities in to a setup that fit within our 911
system. When seconds matter in an emergency, this change allowed for much faster responses. It
also had the secondary added benefit of assisting residents with deliveries.
Given the large number of residents impacted by this, the Housing Authority and City partnered
together to provide a massive education campaign which included multiple letters, door-to-door
education, numerous morning and evening public education meetings, assistance with making
contacts for address changes, and delaying the official change for several months to give residents
time to make the changes to their personal billing and addressing with companies, banks, Texas
Motor Vehicle, pharmacies, Social Security, etc. It was a large undertaking.
The official date for the changeover was January 1, 2022 and we are pleased to state that it was
extremely successful. While inconvenient, the residents found the reasoning understandable and
made the necessary changes.
STATUS OF ISSUE:
The Housing Authority incurred some expenses to this project. As it was City -initiated and one
that we strongly pushed for public safety, they have requested a waiver of this year's PILOT to
reimburse them for the signage expenses necessary to update all of their buildings as well as the
staff labor tied to educating the residents and making the changes both physically and in their
system.
To our knowledge, a waiver has never been granted by the City, although the City Manager is
aware that communities do allow waivers for case-by-case appropriate reasons. In addition, there
have been years when the City would receive no payment under the HUD formulas, so it is not
unheard of to receive nothing. We would however only waive the City's portion of the PILOT.
The City itself would receive no reimbursement for its hours and expense with this project.
The intent and spirit of agreements between Housing Authorities and Cities is to create a housing
opportunity for residents of extremely low income levels. The City itself does not finance any of
this, that is performed by HUD. Nevertheless, it is the intent that the City to cooperate with the
Housing Authority to assist with their overall mission. This project was not one they budgeted for.
If the City approves a Waiver, it must be clear that this is a one-time waiver. All future requests
will be on a case-by-case basis.
I: i Ka"
To our knowledge, the 2021 PILOT is approximately $4,000.00 based on recent year's
calculations. The total cost estimates for the project are as follows:
A. Admin costs:
a. 16.25 hours of input linking Housing System to HUD systems at Finance
Manager's rate of pay of $34.34 per hour = $558.03
b. 6.25 hours of input linking Housing System to HUD systems at Executive
Director's rate of pay of $48.08 per hour = $300.50
c. 2 hours of file maintenance for the Public Housing Caseworker at $19.57 per hour
= $39.14
d. 4 hours X 3 Maintenance Men for hanging 26 signs on buildings @ combined rate
of pay $24.76 per hour = $297.12
e. 4 hours Executive Director (for placement on buildings) hanging signs @ $48.08
per hour = $192.32
f. 18 hours of meetings @ Executive Director rate of pay $48.08 per hour = $865.44
B. Signage Costs
a. Signs from Forrest Signs = $1456.00
C. TOTAL COSTS: $: 3.708.55
OPTIONS:
1. Approve of a waiver of the full amount of the City's 2021 PILOT, estimated at about
$4,000.00.
2. Approve of a portion of a waiver of the City's 2021 PILOT (example: costs for signs).
3. Do not approve of a waiver of the City's 2021 PILOT.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve of a waiver of the full amount of the City's 2021 PILOT, estimated at about
$4,000.00.
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS,
APPROVING A WAIVER OF THE PARIS HOUSING AUTHORITY "PHA" OF
THE CITY OF PARIS' 2021 PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES ("PILOT");
MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE
SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, on March 7, 1950, the City of Paris and the Paris Housing Authority of
the City of Paris (commonly referred to as "PHA") entered into an establishing agreement
that created a housing authority for the provision of low income housing within the City;
and,
WHEREAS, a term of the establishing agreement is that PHA annually remit a
"Payment In Lieu of Taxes" ("PILOT") in lieu of ad valorem tax, the amount of which
payment is calculated by a formula from United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development; and,
WHEREAS, in August of 2021, the City initiated a project to convert PHA properties
Booker T. Washington Homes and George Wright Homes to 911 -based addressing to
expedite the City's provision of emergency services; and,
WHEREAS, the change -over required an intensive campaign to inform residents of
the changes, including but not limited to multiple letters, door-to-door education,
numerous meetings, assistance with making contacts for address changes, and giving
residents several months to make the changes to their personal billing; and,
WHERAS, PHA, in addition to incurring expenses related to the educational
campaign, incurred expenses related to new signage at the complexes; and,
WHEREAS, PHA has requested that the City waive this year's PILOT to reimburse it
for the signage expenses, staff labor, and changes in their system, which expenses were in
the approximate amount of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00); and,
WHEREAS, the City Council hereby finds that it is in the best interest of the City of
Paris and its citizens that the City Council approve a waiver of PHA's 2021 PILOT in the
approximate amount of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PARIS, TEXAS:
Section 1. That the findings set out in the preamble to this resolution are hereby
in all things approved.
Section 2. That the City Council agrees to waive PHA's 2021 PILOT in the
approximate amount of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) to offset costs for 911 address
changes.
Section 3. That the waiver of PHA's 2021 PILOT is a one-time waiver, and future
requests by PHA for PILOT waivers will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Section 4. That this resolution shall be effective from and after its date of passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 28th day of March, 2022.
Paula Portugal, Mayor
ATTEST:
Janice Ellis, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Stephanie H. Harris, City Attorney