Burns: City should flex power over Johnstown Housing Authority
Calls on mayor, council to ask for board resignations, install replacements committed to reducing public housing, closing out-of-town pipeline
Rep. Frank Burns June 1, 2026 | 2:15 PM
JOHNSTOWN, June 1 – Convinced that the recent violent crime wave and fiscal strain overtaking Johnstown is building public momentum for serious change, state Rep. Frank Burns is asking the mayor and city council to install new Johnstown Housing Authority board members committed to downsizing its huge public housing footprint.
Since council appoints JHA board members, Burns wants them to call for the resignation of the entire current board – which has shown no appetite for stopping the revolving door of public housing residents coming from outside Cambria County – and replace them with fresh faces committed to making what he views as a long-overdue change of direction.
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“I respectfully ask the Mayor and City Council to stand with me and publicly call for immediate leadership changes at the Johnstown Housing Authority so that meaningful reform can finally begin. You have the power to start the ball rolling on making a real difference.” – Rep. Frank Burns
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“As you search for ways to promote positive change for Johnstown, including making it a safer and more attractive city for residents and businesses, I respectfully ask you to join me in formally calling for the resignation of the current members of the Johnstown Housing Authority Board of Directors,” Burns wrote.
“That would pave the way for you to appoint new JHA leadership committed to working with HUD to right-size public housing in our region to reflect actual local demand, including the demolition of outdated and excess units that no longer serve the long-term interests of our community.”
Burns added, “For far too long, the City of Johnstown has borne the weight of failed housing policies that continue to place extraordinary strain on our taxpayers, public safety personnel, schools, hospitals and social service agencies. Our city simply cannot continue down this path.”
To emphasize his point, Burns reminded the mayor and council that Johnstown has a 31 percent poverty rate while:
- Approximately 80 families per month are moving into Johnstown for public housing opportunities, with the hope of securing a Section 8 voucher.
- Nearly half of Housing Authority units are occupied by individuals from outside Cambria County.
- Johnstown reportedly has five times the number of public housing units compared to similarly sized cities.
- The average annual income of individuals relocating to Johnstown through this system is approximately $12,500.
Burns also noted that official records indicate the Johnstown Police Department responds to calls at JHA properties an average of 18 times per day; the Johnstown school district reported over 800 students moving into and out of the district within a single year due to the transient nature of this population; and local hospitals, emergency responders, educators and taxpayers continue to shoulder burdens that a shrinking tax base cannot sustain.
“As the body responsible for appointing JHA board members, you should not be happy with the leadership that has allowed this to happen,” Burns wrote. “These policies have effectively created a loophole that allows individuals from larger metropolitan areas, including Philadelphia, to bypass waiting lists for public housing where they live — by simply relocating temporarily to Johnstown with the goal of obtaining a Section 8 voucher before moving back to where they originally came from.
“That might be good for them — but the negative consequences for our community have been severe.”
Burns said the city needs JHA leadership willing to acknowledge the scope of the crisis and take the lead with HUD, state officials, county leaders and local municipalities to reduce the JHA's bloated public housing inventory. He said closing the loopholes that incentivize abuse of the system and prioritizing local need is what's needed to stabilize neighborhoods that have been disproportionately impacted.
“The current system is unsustainable and is accelerating the decline of our city,” Burns wrote. “I respectfully ask the Mayor and City Council to stand with me and publicly call for immediate leadership changes at the Johnstown Housing Authority so that meaningful reform can finally begin. You have the power to start the ball rolling on making a real difference.”
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