Thursday, June 5, 2025–9:00 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Six Rome City Commissioners and Northwest Georgia Housing Authority CEO Justin Jones answered questions from the public during a town hall on Thursday sponsored by One Community United and The People’s Agenda.
Many of the questions had to do with the housing authority and its finances.
Jones told the audience that the housing authority has made very few cuts, but one exception is Project SOAR, which is a program for 15- to 20-year-olds focused on developing pathways to college.
“That program was funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development between 2017 and 2019,” he said. “There were only nine housing authorities in the country that received that funding. The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority was the last housing authority to have that program. The prior director did not find grants for that money. It was funded out of our pockets.”
According to Jones, there are some financial challenges the housing authority is facing that they weren’t necessarily aware of.
“We didn’t have financial statements or a CFO for approximately 18 months to two years,” he said. “We are working with one of the best CPA firms in the industry to correct that and find out exactly where we stand.”
Jones said that every decision that he and the housing authority board make centers around how to further the core mission of affordable housing and how to do that at the highest level.
Johnson also gave an update on the vacancies at John Graham Homes.
“When I came here last July, we were at about 20 percent occupancy at John Graham Homes,” he said. “As of today, we are at roughly 50 percent. So, we are actively renovating those properties and moving folks in. We received proposals today to get another 20 units in livable condition. That contract will be signed at our next board meeting, which will be held on June 26.”
It’s the goal to have those units fully occupied by the end of the year.