Bourne Housing Authority

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor report reviewing certain activities of the Bourne Housing Authority from January 1, 2008 through September 30, 2010.

“In accordance with Chapter 11, Section 12, of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted an audit of certain activities of the Bourne Housing Authority for the period January 1, 2008 to September 30, 2010.”

Auditors checked whether the housing authority had proper oversight systems and followed the rules for its programs.

“The objectives of our audit were to assess the adequacy of the Authority’s management control system for measuring, reporting, and monitoring the effectiveness of its programs, and to evaluate its compliance with laws, rules, and regulations applicable to each program.”

This matters because the authority handles public housing operations, including tenant selection, rents, spending, contracts, reserves, and property upkeep.

“To achieve our audit objectives, we reviewed the following:”

For an ordinary resident, the key issue is whether available land could eventually become affordable homes for qualified families.

“These homes will be awarded to qualified families through a lottery.”

The audit found no major problems in the areas tested, except that the affordable housing land issue from the prior audit was still unresolved.

“PRIOR AUDIT RESULT UNRESOLVED - AVAILABILITY OF LAND TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS”

The report does not give a specific next step; it says the study is done, but the authority still lacks development funding because of economic conditions.

“However, due to current economic conditions the Authority has been unable to obtain funding for development of this property.”

The main significance is that Bourne has about 2.5 acres that could be used for more affordable housing, but the project has not moved forward because funding is missing.

“Our prior audit found that the Authority had approximately 2.5 acres of land on which it could build additional affordable housing units.”

A feasibility study means a review of whether a project can realistically be done before seeking developers or funding.

“The Authority was awarded funding under the Community Preservation Act to allow for a feasibility study, followed by the issuing of a “request for qualifications,” to develop affordable housing on this land.”