A federal review shows that Mercer County Housing Authority is generally doing a good job providing job opportunities for its tenants and low-income residents in the area.

But the authority could be doing an even better job.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent a three-member team from its Office of Economic Opportunity to review the authority's attempt to meet Section 3 requirements to find employment and training for residents and others.

Under Section 3, the federal government wants to see contractors who are awarded authority contracts, and subcontractors hired by the contractors, give public housing residents and others a chance to secure jobs with the companies, should a position open during the term of the contract.

The federal government has set a goal of 30 percent of new hires by contractors and subcontractors to come from those who would be most affected by their work.

In a letter sent to the authority, HUD revealed its findings.

"Basically, they're commending the authority for instituting programs and providing opportunities for low-income individuals in our county," Authority Executive Director L. DeWitt Boosel said.

But, HUD offered a number of recommendations for ways that the authority can do a better job, he said.

"Some I think we can do more easily," Boosel said. "Some I think are going to be more difficult."

The most difficult would be to hire a full-time Section 3 coordinator. Boosel said such a position would command a high salary and be too costly to the authority.

Boosel said he also thinks it would be hard to get contractors to contribute money to the authority's Section 3 program.

In the past, the authority has held training programs for contractors on Section 3, but HUD wants it to do that more regularly, Boosel said.

Boosel said recommendations such as developing a data base of skilled and unskilled residents, a shadowing program with contractors that do not make Section 3 hires, and a form to certify that people qualify for the Section 3 program could be done.

"I think we can do most of it," Boosel said. "We have tried to informally do it ourselves."

The HUD team said in December they were conducting an "assistance review," not an audit, and deficiencies found during the review would not necessarily lead to a compliance review.