UNIONTOWN – The Fayette Housing Authority will contract with a West-Chester based firm to undertake a job description/performance appraisal study and once this is completed, the authority’s executive director will undertake a salary comparison study. The authority, at Friday’s meeting, approved a contract with Peter R. Johnson & Comp., of 103 S. High St., to undertake a salary administration/performance appraisal program at a cost not to exceed $23,500. The study will only include job descriptions and interviews with 30 housing authority employees and development of the job appraisal system. Executive director Thomas Harkless, once the study is completed, will undertake the salary comparison study which was estimated to cost $9,000, bringing the total cost of the study to $32,500. Several board members raised concerns about the cost of the study and suggested Harkless is qualified to undertake the study himself. Harkless said the job performance appraisal will be important for the authority which is currently relying on the state Civil Service evaluation form which ranks employees. Evaluation forms created through the job performance appraisal will allow the authority to move towards more objective and subjective goals for employees. Under the first part of the study, the firm will come in and interview staff who fill out a survey and complete a job description. The consultant will then allow the supervisors to review the employee’s job description and allow the supervisor to define the employee’s actual job duties. Harkless said the study should be done by a third party rather than in-house. “People will tell consultants what they won’t tell anybody,” he stated. While the salary comparison study will not be done by Peter R. Johnson & Company, Harkless said it was needed to develop salary ranges for minimum through maximum performance once job descriptions were formulated. The salary structure would have been presented to the board which would have given approval or not. “Are there people over-compensated or under-compensated,” explained Harkless, adding that employers are urged to bring employees paid under the minimum salary up to the minimum salary standard and those employees earning the maximum salary, should have salaries frozen until the salaries move up to that maximum salary. The job descriptions would have been sent to other agencies for comparative salaries. Of the job descriptions, Harkless said, “They are generic, civil service descriptions.” Board treasurer Angela Zimmerlink was in favor of the whole study being done in-house because the study addresses only 30 employees. She suggested that Harkless undertake the study and the $32,500 could be used for other purposes. “With your experience you cited and using templates, that June 30 deadline can be met,” stated Zimmerlink. Harkless, while agreeing to do the salary study after the board approved the motion, said he could not undertake the whole study due to upcoming authority projects including the submission of the authority’s annual and five-year plan to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Harkless wants the study completed by June 30 for the start of the next fiscal year on July 1. Over the next 90 days, the board will be finalizing its annual and five-year plans which includes 300 units at six communities that are slated for demolition. Harkless also indicated that the board is seeking $2 to $4 million in demolition funds from the federal government which are awarded through a competitive selection and the authority will need to lobby elected officials. Harkless noted that when authorities request salary information from other authorities, responses aren’t as great. “I can follow up with the salary (study). If we do get responses, we can follow up.” Board secretary Beverly Beal said the authority needed to fair to its employees. Speaking about their salaries, she said Harkless is at the office everyday and knows what employees are doing. “How do these people tell us what we should pay employees,” she asked. Addressing the authority’s annual and five-year plan, Harkless said that representatives of Abt Associates, Inc. will be speaking with the board about the two plans which are submitted annually to receive capital funds used for remodeling. One task of Abt was to look at property management, said Harkless. He noted there is a 25 percent vacancy rate in the public housing with 417 vacancies and less than 100 applications were received. Harkless said that 40 of the 100 applicants will move into the authority’s units. Harkless indicated that the authority advertised for requests for proposals from developers to revitalize any of the authority’s 21 developments. In the next week, the qualifying developers will present proposals to the board. Harkless said the annual plans need to be submitted but can be amended to address either the demolition or refurbish of units. Before units can be demolished, residents in the communities and the county commissioners must approve the plans with board approval second. HUD must then approve the demolition plans. “All the things we’ve been talking about in the past two years, we’ll be starting.” Harkless said the actual demolition would not begin for three years until approval is granted, paperwork is submitted and consolidation and vacating of units is completed.

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