When Rep. Geoff Davis voted against the Democrats' Omnibus spending bill, he, as well as other Kentucky representatives who opposed the bill, became the focus of some criticism from public housing authorities.

The Omnibus spending bill set the budgets of many departments of the government, including the public housing authorities.

The bill, which altered the formula for distributing Section 8 housing funds and resulted in a decrease of Section 8 funds for the Housing Authority of Maysville, also provided a $6,000 increase for the operating budget of the housing authority. The bill would also revise the formula for Section 8 housing renewals to be based on voucher management system leasing and cost data for the most recent one-year period for which complete and verifiable data are available, according to information provided by Justin Brasell, Davis' chief of staff.

However, Brasell said the decision to oppose the bill was not made because Davis opposed the increase for the operating budget, or even because it cut funding for Section 8 housing. While those were part of the bill, Brasell said there were other aspects of the bill to consider.

"That was just one part of the bill," explained Brasell.

Davis opposed the bill on the grounds that it spent $463.5 billion of American taxpayers' money with only one hour of debate. Furthermore, it was a closed rule, so amendments to the bill could not be filed, and the bill contained numerous hidden earmarks.

Davis was quoted in a press release denouncing the "unexpected funding cut" to housing authorities which he acknowledged would "only worsen the already poorly funded public housing system."

For some, Davis' vote did not match his comment.

Bruce Hanna, executive director for the Maysville and Vanceburg housing authorities, said he would have liked to see Davis vote for the bill. While the $6,000 increase in operating funds would still not bring the housing authority to 100 percent of the funding that is needed to sustain the public housing program, Hanna said it would help.

"All it does is it means we strangle a little bit less than we did last year," Hanna said.

Hanna said the bill allowed housing authorities 83 percent of the amount needed to run the public housing program. He gave an example of how the subsidy is not sufficient to cover the costs of the housing authorities, citing Vanceburg Housing Authority's utilities cost for one month. The electric plant bill was $11,406.64. The subsidy for the month was only $11,142.

"I wonder if the congressman would like to write us a check for $264.64 for the utilities for the residents for the rest of the month?" Hanna asked. "He was the one who did not want us to even have 83 percent of subsidy. We still have salary, benefits, telephone, maintenance costs, Administrative Office of the Courts fee, maintenance materials, accounting fees, etc. to pay. I wonder if he would like to help us pay for these costs as well, since he seems to think we can operate on air."

While the 83 percent of funding is not the 100 percent Hanna would prefer to see, he said the increase was better than nothing.

"Nobody proposed anything better," Hanna said. "Why not vote for what's on the table?"

Brasell said Davis has "been a friend to the affordable housing community" and has held a consistent view. Furthermore, Brasell said for anyone to say Davis was not for affordable housing was "absolutely asinine."

"I think what we have is a fundamental misunderstanding," Brasell said about the situation. "It wasn't just the housing funds that caused Geoff Davis to vote against the bill."

Brasell did note the significant decrease in Section 8 funding as a problem not assuaged by the operating fund increase. Brasell said the Maysville housing authority received the cut of more than $70,000 because that was how much the authority had in unobligated funds in 2006.

"So while Maysville wasn't spending the full amount before, it still has the same number of vouchers to pay for … and rent, utilities, etc. could and will go up," said Brasell. "But there are no longer any extra dollars … to cover these costs."

However, Hanna said the Section 8 funding decrease would "not hurt us very much since we only receive a small fee," that of $36.94 per unit per month. Furthermore, Hanna said the operating fund increase would have helped the Section 8 program out as it cannot stand on its own.

Brasell said if Davis had been given the opportunity to amend portions of the Omnibus spending bill, he would have been in favor of keeping the operating fund increase, and making changes to other areas.

Despite Davis' opposition, the Omnibus spending bill did pass and was signed into law in mid-February. The housing authority will receive the operating fund increase.

Contact Misty Maynard at 606-564-9091, ext. 274.