Sen. Celestino White Sr., who chairs the Housing, Parks and Recreation Committee, said he will challenge an "outrageous" housing policy in the committee's first public hearing in the 24th Legislature at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Senate chambers.
White said the tenants of public housing are being "short-changed" by the Virgin Islands Housing Authority's current rental policy. "While I was out of the Legislature, the VIHA not only threw the ceiling rent program out the window, but replaced it with a flat rent with a higher cap," he said.
During his tenure in the 20th Legislature, White said, legislation was passed allowing the VIHA to institute ceiling rents, with the understanding that there would be no increase in the cap.
"For instance," White said, "The ceiling rent for a two-bedroom apartment was increased from $511 to $568 a month, and a three-bedroom from $639 to $722."
White said the change in policy defeats the design of a home-ownership program, which is to assist tenants in saving money toward a down payment on a home or land.
Invited to testify are: Ira Hobson, commissioner of Housing, Parks and Recreation; Conrad Francois, executive director of the Virgin Island Housing Authority; and Claude Richards, executive director of the Housing Finance Authority. White's office said they had also had several calls from the public, mostly housing project residents, wanting to speak.
