According to housing officials, reported annual incomes at Hilltop range from $2,991 to $50,083. Nearly half the residents report earning less than $10,000 a year and most of the rest are under $30,000 a year. Rents range from $53 a month to $1,059 a month. About 60 percent of residents pay less than $200 a month.
Last month, Spann made his case at a joint meeting of the Housing Commission, which is the county's housing authority, and the Housing and Community Development Board, a policy advisory group.
"We can't maintain a 94-unit property over 30 years old on these rents," Spann said. "If we try to do that, [residents] will be displaced" eventually.
Some members sympathized with Spann's situation but also worried about the effect of rent increases.
"My concern is you'll have displacement of people," said commission Vice Chairman William A. Ross.
Spann sought to assure the board and commission members that was not the case, saying evictions already have accomplished any displacement likely to occur.
Patricia Sylvester, a board member, suggested developing "safety mechanisms to help truly needy folks." Some residents are elderly and others have health problems.
"We are still housing the poorest of the poor," she said. "We shouldn't be charging more than 50 percent of their income for rent."
Commission members suggested a graduated transition to higher rents to minimize the impact on tenants, saying the residents shouldn't be penalized for how the county has administered the complex over the years.
"They're in this position because we let them be," said Paul K. Casey, the board's vice chairman. He suggested initially raising rents to half the intended final amount, and then adding 10 percent more each year.
Spann proposed using rents established by the state under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program. If they are adopted, rent for a one-bedroom apartment would range from $439 to $879 depending on family income.
A three-bedroom unit would rent for $610 to $1,220 a month, once full rent is reached. A four-bedroom townhouse would rent for $680 to $1,360.
Ebb said she has a four-bedroom townhouse where she lives with her four grandchildren, ages 19, 18, 17 and 15. She pays $227 a month in rent, she said, and barely has enough from her $1,089-a-month Social Security check to get by.
"By the time I pay rent, gas and electric, and telephone, it's not enough to pay for groceries. I only have Medicare" for health insurance, she said.
larry.carson@baltsun.com
