DAYTON — The United Way of Greater Dayton ran deficits of more than $600,000 in 2006 and 2007 and ended fiscal year 2008 more than $1 million in the red.

Yet total compensation for then-chief executive Marc Levy grew 22 percent from 2005 to 2008 — from $182,665 to $222,633, tax filings show.

Charity Navigator, a nonprofit watchdog, gave the agency its lowest ratings for administrative efficiency and financial viability among major United Way organizations in Ohio in 2007, its most recent rating. Out of five stars, the agency received a one-star overall rating and three stars for efficiency.

Levy, who left Dayton in September 2008 to head United Way in Portland, Ore., said the Charity Navigator ratings did not consider “the severe economic challenges facing Dayton” at that time with the loss of thousands of jobs from General Motors and the highest home foreclosure rate in the country, Levy said.

“We did have reductions in staff during that period,” he said. “The budget for our United Way never went up faster than the dollars ... allocated to our (partner service) agencies.”

Allen Elijah, who took over as chief executive in 2008, said United Way is turning the corner financially while making “drastic administrative cuts.” Since October 2008, 11 of 40 full-time positions have been eliminated, he said. Elijah’s total compensation is $118,000, or a little more than half of what Levy was earning before his departure.

Gary Auman, who has chaired the United Way board since January 2008, said he expects the agency to “come very close to eliminating the deficit” this year.