Governor Deval Patrick on Thursday will propose eliminating the state’s troubled patchwork of 240 public housing authorities and replacing them with six regional agencies in an effort to eliminate waste and corruption from the housing program for low-income and elderly people, state officials say.
Public housing, which shelters more than 300,000 people in Massachusetts, has been buffeted by controversy for more than a year since the Globe reported the inflated $360,000 salary of Chelsea’s housing director. Several other directors were forced to resign amid allegations of abuse of their position.
Comments
I have some minor points to make. Stop calling Housing Authorities...Authorities. They are simply management entities, not authorities, no different from any real estate offices throughout the State. As an authority under HUD and with HUD's authorizaton, they infringe upon the civil rights of tenants with these obligatory inspections, twice a year. The second one is done by a HUD official who inspects a certain amount of apartments at random. These inspections would not be tolerated in the private sector, nor should they. They are in violation of our constituional rights against unwarranted search. It doesn't matter whether your apartment is in immaculate condition or not. The inspectors come anyway into public housing apartments to inspect ....what" They don't even tell you for what. If foul odors are emanating from an apartment, that would obviously be a legitimate reason to enter the apartment to inspect, but if there is no probable cause or reason for entry without a search warrant, this breach of the civil rights of public housing tenants, treated as third class citizens, should come to an end.
Your getting government subsidized housing, getting a bargain compared to market rates. I would put up with yearly inspections if I could get such a deal.
I agree that tenants may feel intruded upon and everyone has a right to privacy, but there should be inspections. I am sure something could be worked out.
If it were a safety inspection only - that shouldn't take long. Tenants should get at least 24 hours notice. Make sure the smoke alarms are in good working condition, make sure the radiator baseboards are clean and not a fire hazard, things of that nature.
Good for Patrick that he's actually proposing something rational to address this absurd public program. But isn't it worth noting that this joke of system has been in place for decades with virtually no modification or scrutiny? This system has ONE THOUSAND "politically appointed commissioners"? ONE THOUSAND? How in the world does that make any sense other than as a corrupt way to pay off politically connected cronies? This is JUST HOUSING folks! It doesn't take layers of "managment" to administer competently. And people rant, endlessly, about the private sector "greed"? How is this not the WORST type of greed, where resources are squandered, allegedly in the name of serving "the poorest" among us, simply to provide endless opportunities for graft and cosy sinecures? Where is the liberal outrage when it comes to these examples of public employee greed and exploitation of the poor? Again, good on Patrick to even ADMIT the process is horrific but how many more examples of contemptous mismanagement of taxpayer monies remain out there? If public employees are happy to rip off PROGRAMS FOR THE POOR how many other public programs are run with similar (if not worse) characteristics?
This situation sounds like it is ripe for change. And I agree with you about giving props to Patrick for taking this on right now. But hold your horses for just a minute when you start comparing this situation to private sector greed or "greed" as you put it. Trust me, my friend you don't need to put quotation marks around the word greed within the context of the private sector here in the United States and throughout the world. Corporations are multi-national now. There is no allegiance except to the corporation. The wealth in private hands is enormous. Let's just look at one example. The Walton family. Six people - six Waltons have more wealth than 30% of Americans. That would be around 93 million people. These six people have more wealth than 93 million Americans combined. You might say, "Yeah, but where's proof that they are greedy?" I would just add, "well..."
No solution to HA problems is perfect but this might be step in the right direction except...it's not clear if there will be a good feedback loop for conditions at the local level. This is one of the functions of local boards. jjag might be under the impression that HA Commissioners are paid...they are not. Also, most commissioners are elected to these unpaid posts and I would hazard that people run for these seats so that local people are being responsive to local concerns. Stephanosky's concerns are understandable but off base. If you accept a public subsidy then you should expect that there will be inspections to determine if the public's investment is being properly used and cared for. Even in the private sector owners and managers have a right to enter a unit for legal reasons with proper prior notification. Finally, in Lynn there was a squalid HA development called America Park run by a corrupt manager and his allies, among them the Hells Angels. Under the Dukakis administration, hrough a creative public-private-tenant partnership, the whole place was torn down and Kings Lynn rose from its ashes.
A state the size of Texas is the only state with more of these agencies - disgusting. Clearly a dumping ground for political hacks. I feel bad for the tenants, instead of professionals, they are stuck with politicians.
The people Gov. Patrick is targeting are people you elect (if you live in a town) or people your Mayor appoints (if you live in a City). They aren't hacks. They care about housing, which is why they go to all those "affordable housing" meetings you hear about. One of them in most towns is a tenant. Most don't get paid anything; those that do get about $900 a year. The reason why each city and town has a housing authority Board of Commissioners is because of Home Rule. Each town runs its own affairs. It's why each town has it's own school committee, and board of public works. Who knows better the needs of the town than a resident? When your town builds a housing project would you prefer local people making the decisions, or the state? These boards meet monthly. They listen to complaints from tenants, they advocate for better housing in their community, that oversee the staff and the budget of the housing authority. The governor apparently believes that when a tenant has a complaint they should call an 800 number for the regional agency that the State runs. Have you tried calling a state agency lately? The state has a lousy record of running things. Look at the drug labs. The guy in Chelsea is a crook and should be indicted. And don't we all have a co-worker who abuses their internet privilege? These examples are no reason to do what Gov. Patrick proposes. They are a reason for the State to do it's job on oversight. The state auditor knew what the Chelsea guy was making, and I bet the state agency, DHCD, did, too. As for stephanosky's comments: If you live at a housing authority you sign a lease that says you MUST have an annual inspection. No one makes you sign a lease, but if you want the state (or federal government) to subsidize YOUR apartment you must live by the terms of your lease.