Old habits never die.
----- Original Message ---- From: Hinge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, June 9, 2007 9:35:48 AM Subject: [AsburyPark] Audit: Asbury agency should return $1.6M Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 06/9/07 BY NANCY SHIELDS COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU ASBURY PARK — The city Housing Authority should pay back at least $1.6 million to the state Office of Public Housing for mismanaging the maintenance of its housing units and for unreasonable employee compensation, according to a federal audit. The audit, issued May 24 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development' s Office of Inspector General, says the authority did not have procedures set to contain administrative costs, repair and improve properties in a timely manner and buy equipment such as interconnected smoke detectors at a lower price suggested by architects. "As a result $692,990 in capital funds was used for ineligible expenses, $721,701 was not obligated in a timely manner, and the funds were not available to address the authority's needed capital improvements, " the audit says. It also said the authority failed to reduce the salaries of employees who were demoted, and paid maintenance workers for ineligible and overtime expenses that exceeded budget limits. HUD asked that the authority repay $190,339 for excessive employee compensation. Rudolph Pierre, the authority chairman, characterized the report as unfair and said the authority is appealing the findings. "They are totally wrong," Pierre said of the federal auditors. "They're wrong by . . . making a recommendation to HUD to micromanage the housing authority." The audit states: "The authority does not have adequate controls in place to ensure that its preventive maintenance program is effective. "This inadequacy occurred because the authority's staff was not skilled enough to complete some repairs, and the repairs were not inspected to ensure that they were adequately completed." The inspector general's report said the audit was undertaken late last fall after a request by the HUD Newark Field Office director "who was concerned about the physical condition of the units and mismanagement at the Housing Authority of the City of Asbury Park." Eighteen of 20 units that were inspected Oct. 6, 2006, had violations such as unsecured and damaged fixtures, unhealthy plumbing problems, unsafe windows and doors, inoperable cooking equipment and damaged structural items, the report says. The audit points to management problems under the last two executive directors — Harold Phipps, who was hired in March 2002 and fired in December 2003, and Stanley Smith, who spent several months under an interim director, William Reid, before being officially hired as executive director in July 2004. Last week, Smith announced he was resigning as of July 31 for health reasons. Authority officials said he was on vacation in Bermuda this week and could not be reached for comment. Thomas Furlong, the authority's accountant, said a key item in the audit was the authority not meeting a May 30, 2004, deadline to have obligated or spent funds for certain capital improvements. "There was a change over from the time when Mr. Phipps left and Mr. Smith took over, and the housing authority tried to extend that deadline, and HUD didn't let them," Furlong said. The authority now contends that if it is penalized for not getting the money spent in time, it should have to pay just a small portion of the amount, and not the full $721,701 the inspector general is requesting. The audit says the authority asked HUD to extend the obligation deadline from May 30 to Oct. 30, 2004. The request said that "the previous executive director (Harold Phipps) has mismanaged the authority's public housing capital fund program and that the program's records were difficult to locate and understand." The types of contracts the authority entered into after May 30, 2004, were for roofing services and installation of fire and emergency systems that were being carried out too late, after the 24-month period when the funds were approved. "As a result, needed capital improvements were not made in timely manner," the audit says. The audit also says the authority paid $126,428 for interconnected smoke detectors instead of a more reasonable price determined by external architects and planners. It says, too, that in October 2004 under Smith, the security director's position was given to an individual from Orange. The person who had been security director was demoted to security guard but with no decrease in pay. In addition, the audit says that from April 1, 2003, through March 31, 2006, the authority made $65,312 in payments to its maintenance personnel for overtime hours that may not have been in accordance with the contract between the authority and maintenance employees. On Friday, a spokesman for the HUD Newark Field Office said his office and the Office of Inspector General will review the findings and the information provided by the housing authority. The Newark office will reach a management decision on the findings within 60 days of May 24, when the report was issued, the spokesman said. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting