Read more
Chief Fletcher affirms relationship with Chattanooga Housing Authority policeChattanooga Housing Authority chooses 1,000 for voucher waiting listCHA defends record for providing housing in Chattanooga
Within the nearly eight years she’s been at the helm, Chattanooga Housing Authority Executive Director Betsy McCright has turned the financial tide in the housing authority’s favor.
Seven years ago, CHA announced a $4.5 million budget deficit and cut 76 staff positions, a downsize of 34 percent.
Three years ago, CHA got off HUD’s list of financially troubled housing agencies.
Now CHA is well on the way to becoming financially “solid,” said board Vice Chairman Jim Sattler, ending 2014 with a $1.7 million net worth. CHA’s 2014 operating budget was about $40 million, said McCright.
“The financial report is outstanding for us,” Sattler said after the authority’s annual independent audit was presented. “The progress made at the housing authority since the deficiency is unbelievable.”
John Pieper, a CPA with Mountjoy Chilton Medley, reported the financial findings at CHA’s board meeting Tuesday.
CHA’s contract financial adviser, Philippe Lindsay, credits selling the 36-acre Harriet Tubman housing development site for $2.6 million with significantly improving the agency’s financial position in 2014.
McCright also noted the agency’s efforts to stick to a budget where the agency buys only what it needs to efficiently operate and serve residents. In 2014, CHA supported 2,709 public housing units and 3,288 households with Housing Choice Vouchers, she said.
But the audit also found two “significant” deficiencies where the housing authority was not in compliance with HUD regulations: one in regard to residents moving out and the other for those hoping to move in.
CHA failed to properly perform and document move-out inspections for residents, the audit found.
“CHA’s ability to recover any damages on move-out could be impaired if the proper move-out inspection were not in the file,” CHA’s Director of Asset Management Mike Sabin wrote in an email Thursday.
The agency also needs to maintain its waiting list in a format that allows it to properly select the families who are next eligible for housing assistance.
In the future, the housing authority will document why it skips over a family on its waiting list. CHA makes attempts to contact families, but sometimes they do not respond in a timely fashion, cannot be located or are no longer interested, Sabin wrote.
CHA expects to implement controls to ensure proper documentation on its waiting list and move-out inspections by the end of the year.
The audit also showed that compared to 2013, administrative costs increased by $766,330, or 13 percent, in 2014. The change is the result of increases of $558,678 in salaries and benefits; $27,814 in office expenses; $100,948 in legal fees associated with the Capital Fund Financing Program application; and $79,411 in management fees.
In 2013, CHA staff took furloughs to make sure the agency’s administrative cost stayed within budget, and also reduced its Housing Choice Voucher staff by four people. At least one staffer has been brought back, according to CHA.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.