The last unit at St. John’s Calabash Boom Town Homes is scheduled for closing later this week, bringing that affordable housing endeavor to a good conclusion after several years of difficulty, V.I. Housing Finance Authority Executive Director Adrienne Williams said during budget hearings Wednesday. She said VIHFA is moving forward with half a dozen housing projects and programs, incrementally advancing its goal of providing affordable homes in the territory.
"It has been a hard and arduous task to complete the sale process of all the units in this community, but with the commitment of the staff at the authority and the authority’s dedication to provide affordable homes on St. John, this is a welcomed end to this process which started in 2010," Williams said.
Despite being the most affordable new homes on pricey St. John, as of two years ago half the 24 Calabash Boom homes built through the V.I. Housing Finance Authority in 2010 remained unsold, draining vital resources from other home-ownership expanding projects. Last year that number was down to two units.
The Calabash Boom homes cost $425,000 each to build, had a list price of $295,000, and a qualifying first-time home buyer could get one for as low as $125,000.
Getting the units sold frees up money to build more units, Williams said.
Williams was before the Senate Finance Committee to discuss her agency’s fiscal 2015 budget request. The governor’s executive budget recommends a General Fund appropriation of $2.1 to the authority for Fiscal Year 2015 to supplement projected revenues of $1.79 million from land and home sales, leases and mortgages, and $890,000 from other miscellaneous sources.
Aside from its own budget, VIHFA oversees millions of dollars in federal grants for emergency shelter for the homeless, improvements to public housing, mortgage buy-down assistance and other federal housing initiatives.
"It is our fervent hope that this recommendation would not endure further cuts as it undoubtedly results in delays in the implementation of projects and severe curtailing of services," Williams testified.
Also on Wednesday, the V.I. Public Services Commission’s executive director, Keithley Joseph, presented that agency’s operating budget proposal of $1.7 million. The request is $93,000 more than last year, which PSC staff said was due to implementing previously approved pay raises for some employees.
The PSC regulates all public utilities in the territory, including electric and water, telephone and cable, ferry franchisees and the V.I. Waste Management Authority. The PSC has budgeted $874,000 for wages and salaries; $323,000 for fringe benefits, Social Security and Medicare taxes; 373,000 in "other services and charges"; $55,000 for utilities; $45,000 for supplies; and $43,000 for capital outlays.
Sen. Donald Cole, a former PSC member, pointed out the commission’s operating budget comes entirely from its regulated utilities in the form of regular, annual revenue-based assessments collected in the PSC Revolving Fund, not from the General Fund.
No votes were taken at the information gathering budget hearing.
