AUGUSTA (AP) — A year after claiming waste in the development of public housing projects, a Maine State Housing Authority board member says those costs are down by 25 percent.

Board member Bruce Poliquin, who is also state treasurer, says the average development costs of new housing, rehabilitated buildings and historic structures will drop from $197,000 per unit this year to $150,000 per unit for projects to be approved next year.

A year ago, Poliquin cited waste in spending for some public housing projects, saying per-unit development costs exceed costs of singlefamily homes. That became a theme in his push to eliminate waste and cut costs in state government.

Poliquin says savings in housing costs were achieved by eliminating unnecessary “green” regulations, and rewarding developers who come up with their own money-saving plans.