Housing study details what workers earn

Fast-food cooks, waiters and waitresses are the lowest-paid employees in Whitefish, earning annual incomes that are below the federal poverty level, a new housing study indicates.

The city's housing needs assessment tracked incomes for a range of Whitefish workers and calculated how much those workers can afford to spend on rent or mortgage payments.

Fast-food cooks earn a median hourly wage of $6.42, based on 2006 data, putting them at the bottom of the income spectrum in the resort town. With an average annual income of just $13,353, those cooks can afford monthly housing payments of $333 a month, the study said.

Their annual income puts them between low income and very low income, according to 2008 federal Housing and Urban Development poverty guidelines.

Wait-staff workers didn't fare much better in the survey. They earn $7.52 an hour or $15,641 a year, and can afford to pay $391 a month for housing.

The conundrum for many Whitefish workers is that rent is high and real-estate prices are among the highest in Flathead County.

Fair-market rent in the county, established by HUD to determine reimbursements for rent-subsidy programs, is $505 for a one-bedroom dwelling and $623 for a two-bedroom home or apartment. That means Whitefish's lowest-paid workers couldn't afford even a one-bedroom apartment if they were living by themselves without government housing assistance.

The survey indicated that 59 percent of renters in Whitefish live in single-family homes, at an average monthly cost of $875. High costs were a common barrier for renters, the study said, noting that 74 percent of the renters who responded to the survey said their rent was too high. A shortage of rental units, high deposit requirements and pet restrictions were other challenges for renters.

Rising energy costs are contributing to high housing costs and will squeeze workers even more, the study said, because economists predict energy costs will continue to climb.

POLICE officers, firefighters and teachers - the kinds of workers Whitefish has wanted to make sure can afford to live in the community - fell in the middle of the income range. Firefighters earned slightly more than police officers in 2006, with an average annual income of $36,857, compared to $36,171 for police officers. Elementary teachers earned $36,410.

Financial analysts were the highest-paid employees included in the study, earning $26.69 an hour, or $55,515 a year. Construction laborers were paid a median hourly wage of $11.79; janitors earned $9.34 an hour; bank tellers earned $10.80 an hour.

Insurance agents were near the top of the pay scale, at $21.09 an hour. Registered nurses earned $24 an hour, while licensed practical nurses earned nearly $10 less an hour, at $14.48.

One of the goals of the housing study, completed by former Whitefish Planning Director Bob Horne and Kate McMahon of Applied Communications, was to re-examine the city's existing voluntary affordable housing program and assess the feasibility of a mandatory program.

Whitefish has toyed with the idea of mandating developers to provide a certain percentage of affordable housing as they build new subdivisions. The study indicated the voluntary program isn't providing enough affordable units to meet housing needs and suggested that a mandatory program would be justified.

The study also noted that much of Whitefish's affordable housing stock currently is below average. More than 1,800 units are in below-average condition, not including rental units in multifamily buildings. Of the 270 mobile homes in the database, 84 percent were below average.

Statistical information gathered in the study will be used to design housing programs, support grant applications and provide the legal foundation for any regulatory action the city of Whitefish may choose to take.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com