Carver Housing Authority

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor report on the Carver Housing Authority, covering selected operations from July 1, 2009 through December 31, 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 Authority for the period July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010.”

Auditors checked whether the housing authority had proper controls, followed laws and regulations, and fixed problems found in an earlier audit.

“The objectives of our audit were to determine the Authority’s compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations and to review and analyze its management controls and practices over the following areas and functions for the purpose of determining their adequacy: (1) tenant selection; (2) preparation and reoccupation of vacant units; (3) rent determinations; (4) collectability of accounts receivable; (5) site inspections; (6) payroll, travel, and fringe benefits; (7) disbursements; (8) inventory controls over property and equipment; (9) contract procurement; (10) cash management and investment practices; (11) Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) approved budgets versus actual expenditures; (12) level of need for operating subsidies and operating reserves; and (13) administration of modernization funds to determine, among other items, the existence of excess funds.”

The unresolved problems involved basic housing conditions, including damaged doors, siding, supports, paint, mold, and mildew.

“During our prior audit, inspections of selected Authority housing units revealed 21 instances of noncompliance with the State Sanitary Code, including shattered glass in sliding doors at several units; missing, warped, and broken shingles on exterior siding; rusted and rotted support posts and door frames; and flaking paint, mold, and mildew on the exterior of buildings.”

For tenants and residents, the key issue is whether public housing units are safe, decent, and sanitary.

“The Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Property Maintenance Guide, Chapter 3(F), requires that inspections of dwelling units be conducted annually and upon each vacancy to ensure that every dwelling unit conforms to minimum standards for safe, decent, and sanitary housing as set forth in Chapter II of the State Sanitary Code.”

Aside from the unresolved sanitary code issue, auditors found adequate controls and compliance in the areas they tested.

“Based on our review we have concluded that, except for the issue addressed in the Audit Results section of this report, for the period July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010, the Authority maintained adequate management controls and complied with applicable laws, rules, and regulations for the areas tested.”

The auditor recommended that the authority keep using 2012 state formula funding to fix the remaining code violations.

“The Authority should continue its efforts to use fiscal year 2012 DHCD Formula Funding Program funds to correct the remaining instances of noncompliance with the State Sanitary Code in order to provide its tenants with safe, decent, and sanitary housing.”

This matters because the same problem from the previous audit was mostly still not fixed: only one of 21 issues had been corrected.

“Our follow-up review revealed that although the Authority had taken corrective action to repair a sliding glass door at one unit, the remaining 20 instances of noncompliance with the State Sanitary Code still existed.”

“State Sanitary Code” means minimum legal standards meant to keep housing safe, decent, and sanitary.

“The Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Property Maintenance Guide, Chapter 3(F), requires that inspections of dwelling units be conducted annually and upon each vacancy to ensure that every dwelling unit conforms to minimum standards for safe, decent, and sanitary housing as set forth in Chapter II of the State Sanitary Code.”