Even though the city of Johnstown received money to help fix up older homes, residents haven't been able to use the funds because there aren't any codes officers.

Lawrence Ernest is still waiting for help from the city. He said he bought a home months ago that needs a new boiler and other repairs. City officials told Ernest he would qualify for a $20,000 grant to fix it up, but he has to have a city codes inspector give the OK before the city grant money can cover the costs.

The city hasn't been able to hire new codes enforcement officers because of a hiring freeze, but council decided recently to temporarily life that freeze to hire one codes staffer, which could help people like Ernest get the process moving. There are still there other openings in the codes department.