Coming on the heels of this earlier story regarding HUD’s decision to freeze over $48 million of federal funds allocated to the City of Houston until the City corrects serious problems in the City’s Housing and Community Development Department, this Chronicle article reports on a Jefferson Wells audit report that essentially concludes that the Authority has been run as the personal fiefdom of some of its directors for over a decade.
The report identifies serious deficiencies in every area of the department, including a dysfunctional management culture and ineffective systems for verifying such basic things as whether contractors were doing their jobs and ensuring repayment of loans. Probably only the department’s system for setting up directors’ travel arrangements worked without a hitch.
The findings in the report are no surprise to anyone who has attempted to deal with the City of Houston Housing Department in an honest and businesslike manner. Tip to Mayor White: Clean house.