The Capital Area Finance Authority is searching for a new executive director after Mike Airhart stepped down in late December.
Airhart led the 43-year-old organization, formerly known as the East Baton Rouge Mortgage Finance Authority, for two and a half years, during which time he oversaw the agency’s name change in 2015—a rebranding that also included an effort to vastly expand CAFA’s scope and mission.
Two years later it’s not at all clear how much of that ambitious plan the agency has achieved.
“We’re established in other parishes in the region, as planned, and there are a few products we pushed out the door,” says Board Chairwoman Cheri Ausberry. “But we weren’t able to get into a lot of the development deals like we wanted just because of the way things worked out. But we will continue to pursue them.”
Created in 1974, the original mission of the finance authority was to help mostly low- and moderate-income homebuyers in East Baton Rouge Parish by issuing bonds and using the proceeds to provide low-income mortgages as well as assistance with down payments or closing costs. Over the years, the agency has provided more than $1 billion in below-conventional-market-rate funds to more than 16,000 households.
But as it became easier for qualified buyers to secure financing from conventional lenders, the agency needed to find a new revenue stream. In 2014, it received approval from the Louisiana Bond Commission to expand both its geographic boundaries and its product offerings.
At the time of the rebrand, Airhart said CAFA hoped to operate as a general finance authority for the nine-parish region, much as the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority or the Louisiana Community Development Authority do for the entire state. Ausberry says CAFA is still interested in financing large-scale projects, particularly those that benefit the region as a whole.
“We still want to finance development deals and get into projects like schools and urban projects that help improve the community,” she says.
Longtime CAFA executive Vickie Theriot is serving as interim executive director until a permanent replacement can be found. Ausberry says CAFA expects to begin the search for a new director soon.
—Stephanie Riegel
