LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Virginia –
When the Department of Defense approved the 2006 Air Force budget, a lot was made of the cuts to programs and personnel. Another noticable change came in the form of a raise in the Basic Allowance for Housing rate. For the last few years, efforts to raise the BAH rate have not yielded great results.
Until last year, all services on the peninsula had equal approval for BAH submission. Two years ago, Langley became the “Primary BAH Housing Office” for the other military installations on the Peninsula.
In 2004, Langley housing management specialists Starlyn Kelley and Susan Pennington were named the peninsula housing survey representatives. According to a DoD class Mrs. Pennington took about conducting the survey, “properties were supposed to be adequate, quality and not on major thoroughfares.”
In May, when Mrs. Kelley and Mrs. Pennington started sampling areas to determine the median amounts of rent compared to the local civilian community, they took a great deal of time and consideration.
“We considered the more desirable, safe neighborhoods, so that while the service member is away their family can feel at home,” she said.
As a result of the housing members efforts, the annual survey showed an area that needed some attention. The housing office concentrated on improving the quality of some of the properties in certain pay-grades.
“We took the listing of available rentals in the local market, narrowed it down to the structural type and the amount of rent,” said Mrs. Kelley. “We took the average and personally looked at those properties ... when we got back we realized we needed to adjust our median amount and start over.”
“We concentrated on areas where we were not familiar ... we know everyone wants the Kiln Creek or Coventry areas, but it’s just not always possible,” said Mrs. Pennington. “It’s going to be a process ... one good year didn’t get us exactly where we wanted to be, but we’ll get there.”
Since the Langley housing office has acted as the Primary BAH Housing Office, last year’s BAH rates rose 13 percent on average, and this year’s rates rose nearly 20 percent.