Millions In Weatherization Dollars Released

Governor Bob Riley $30.6 million in federal money will be used to cut home energy costs for low-income Alabamians

by AL Gov. Bob Riley's Office

Published: Fri, July 24, 2009 - 6:24 am CST Last Updated: Fri, July 24, 2009 - 6:35 am CST

The following is a press release from the office of Alabama Governor Bob Riley:

MONTGOMERY – Governor Bob Riley has awarded an additional $30.6 million in economic stimulus funds to help thousands of low-income residents across Alabama reduce their home energy costs. The grants also are intended to stimulate employment opportunities for the construction industry.

The Alabama Weatherization Assistance Program helps individuals cut their utility bills by making homes more energy efficient. The program gives priority to the elderly, those with disabilities and low-income residents with small children. Governor Riley previously awarded $9.26 million for weatherization, including $4.86 million in funding from the federal stimulus law, in late June.

“High home energy bills can break a family budget already stretched thin by job loss or other difficult circumstances,” Governor Riley said.

Houses that qualify for weatherization assistance will be modified to improve both energy efficiency and safety. Eligible applicants will have their houses tested to determine the most cost-effective measures needed. Depending on the results, a home weatherization project may include extra insulation for the attic, walls and floor, sealing leaks in ductwork, repairs and tune-ups to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and replacement of incandescent lights with more energy efficient compact-fluorescent bulbs.

The additional funding for the program comes after the approval of the state’s weatherization plan this month by the U.S. Department of Energy, the agency administering the national program. Approval of the plan means that more than 40 percent of the state’s nearly $71.8 million allocation from the stimulus is now available. The Energy Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administers the state program. The remaining portion of the weatherization stimulus funds will be made available at a later time.

Families with gross incomes of 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less are eligible to apply for assistance. A family of four can have no more than $44,100 per year in gross income. The qualifying cap for a family of two is an annual gross income of no more than $29,140.

Governor Riley awarded the additional funds to 15 community action agencies and other sponsoring agencies that administer the program locally across the state. These agencies receive applications from individuals who wish to be considered for assistance.

Below is a list of funds awarded, the counties served by each agency and contact information:

• $1,281,110 to Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama Inc. (Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale), 256-766-4330

• $1,663,678 to Community Action Partnership of Huntsville, Madison and Limestone Counties (Madison and Limestone), 256-851-9800

• $2,147,283 to Community Action Partnership of North Alabama Inc. (Cullman, Lawrence, Marion, Morgan, Walker and Winston), 256-355-7843

• $2,032,697 to Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. (Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and St. Clair), 256-638-4430

• $845,171 to Etowah County Community Services Program Inc. (Etowah), 256-546-9271

• $1,754,825 to Community Action Agency of Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Calhoun and Cleburne Counties, (Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Randolph and Talladega), 256-362-8147

• $4,023,313 to Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (Jefferson), 205-458-2626

• $774,867 to Community Action Committee Inc. of Chambers-Tallapoosa-Coosa (Chambers, Coosa and Tallapoosa), 256-825-4287

• $2,381,218 to Community Service Programs of West Alabama (Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa), 205-752-5429

• $1,969,359 to Elmore-Autauga Community Action Committee (Autauga, Chilton, Dallas, Elmore, Perry and Shelby), 334-567-7298

• $1,480,294 to Montgomery County Commission (Montgomery), 334-262-4300

• $1,608,446 to Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (Lee, Macon and Russell), 334-262-4300

• $3,048,468 to Organized Community Action Program Inc. (Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lowndes and Pike), 334-566-1712

• $2,116,037 to Community Action Agency of Baldwin, Escambia, Clarke, Monroe and Conecuh Counties Inc. (Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Marengo, Monroe and Wilcox), 251-626-2649

• $3,452,643 to Mobile Community Action Inc. (Mobile, Choctaw and Washington), 251-457-5700

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carl Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 4:05 pm

I can remember when they had those books of food stamps instead of cards they have now.Some places around stores they would catch you before you got in the door to the store and offer you 2 for 1 or more on the dollar value.I’ll have to admitt I fell for it once or twice when they gave me a real tear jerker for needing the money,but never had the nerve to use them,so I would end up giving them to someone I thought could use them.Wonder how they do it now with the EBT cards,assuming you need the card and ID?If there’s a way to work the system you can bet they will find it,the same with this program.

BamaBob Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 2:35 pm

Every time the govt gets involved with something it gets screwed up! We better hope and pray they don’t completely take over health care.

minimay87 Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 2:24 pm

A lot of times people say that have their child living with them and that is not the case at all. I remember when my husband and I had moved out on our own and had our daughter we decided to see if there was anyway we could get help with food since I had to quit my job to stay at home with the baby. I remember my husband talking about it to his mom on the phone and his mom kept trying to talk him out of it. Finally she told him that she was still claiming him on food stamps. However, even when he was still living with his mom she said that they could not get on them and that he needed to help foot the bill for the food. Every time I went over there there would be no food in sight. She apparently sold them and got more money off of them. People like that make me sick.

rolltide33 Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 2:19 pm

Exactly. I can understand some sort if income restriction but I do not heel that it should be as alow as it is. There are plenty of us hard working middle class Alabamaians that could use some energy efficient upgrades and just can’t quite squeeze it in the budget. Afterall, we do consume more energy and natural resources that the lower income class level.

carl Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 1:56 pm

The section 8 housing is where I see the greatest chance of abuse.Most are suppose to be single family housing and it ends up 10 to 12 people living there and that really ups the amount the household can make to qualify.A little negotiating betwen the landlord or slumlord and both sides comes out smiling and as usual we get the bill.Now if they would just alot every home owner a certain amount for weatherization it would seem a better deal instead of picking out who (targeted) gets the money.One home for each home owner,other wise landlords will be getting free upgrades for all their houses.

BamaBob Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 12:34 pm

This sounds like it is designed for scam artists! Some slum lord will get a tenant to buy one roll of insulation from one particular vendor and then charge the govt a fortune for the stuff. Probably repeat the process with the same roll of insulation over and over!

rolltide33 Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Most of this money will never get used to for it’s intended purpose. It will sit in the bank and accrue interest for the State and will later be re-allocated for something else.

rolltide33 Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 12:07 pm

I went to the Adeca webite and completed the prescreening. Low income renters qualify. This is a joke.

rolltide33 Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 12:05 pm

I forsee some landlord tenant abuse… Landlord to low income tenant “I will give you a free months rent if you apply and qualify to upgrade MY house.”

BamaBob Says:

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 12:04 pm

So, some slum lord can get all of his properties weatherized on the taxpayer’s dime? That sure doesn’t sound right!

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