Stoneham Housing Authority

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of the Stoneham Housing Authority covering July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012.

“This report details the audit objectives, scope, methodology, findings, and recommendations for the audit period, July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012.”

Auditors reviewed how the housing authority bought goods and services, including renovation work, and whether it followed state housing procurement rules.

“The objectives of our audit were to review and analyze the Authority’s internal controls over its procurement of goods and services, including those for the modernization/renovation of its housing units, and to determine whether its procurement activities were efficient and in compliance with the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD’s) procurement guidelines and laws, rules, and regulations applicable to state-aided housing programs.”

The issue matters because state housing money is supposed to pay only for real, properly documented costs, and the audit found questionable billings that the authority may need to repay.

“As a result, the Authority owes these funds to DHCD.”

For an ordinary resident or taxpayer, the report is about whether public housing renovation money was tracked carefully and spent according to the rules.

“In September 2011, DHCD dedicated $2 million from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) to assisting housing authorities in their efforts to reoccupy state-aided family public housing units that have been vacant for 60 or more days and require capital repairs in excess of $2,500.”

Apart from the overbilling issue, auditors said the housing authority generally had adequate controls and followed procurement requirements in the areas tested.

“Based on our audit, we have concluded that, for the period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012, except for the issue addressed in the Detailed Audit Results and Findings section of this report, the Authority maintained adequate internal controls in the areas tested and conducted its procurements in an efficient manner in compliance with DHCD guidelines and laws, rules, and regulations applicable to state-aided housing programs.”

The authority and DHCD were told to decide how much of the questioned $7,488 should be paid back, and the authority was told to improve review of future billing records.

“The Authority, in collaboration with DHCD, should determine how much of the $7,488 in questionable billings that we identified should be reimbursed.”

The audit points to a recordkeeping and billing problem: hours were duplicated, added incorrectly, or missing service dates, making some labor charges questionable.

“The errors we discovered included timesheet hours posted to multiple work sites, mathematical errors in computing billings, and cost records that did not show the dates when work was performed.”

DHCD means the Department of Housing and Community Development, the state agency that reimbursed the housing authority for eligible costs.

“Our audit found that the Stoneham Housing Authority overbilled the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) by $7,488 for in-house labor costs (wages and fringe benefits) related to the renovation of nine vacant housing units.”