DuPage Housing Authority continues recovery

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Updated: March 28, 2012 10:19PM

Nearly a year has passed since local officials made it clear there was plenty of room for improvement at the DuPage Housing Authority.

The Wheaton-based agency, which administers federal Section 8 housing subsidies, was rocked in early March 2011 by the revelation of a series of U.S. Housing and Urban Development audits that uncovered assorted misreported and improper expenditures adding up to more than $10 million.

The violations triggered a shakeup initiated by County Board Chairman Dan Cronin that ousted the entire authority board, in addition to longtime executive director John Day, chief financial officer Robert Hess and board attorney John Howlett.

With all new commissioners and top staff now on the job, things appear to be looking up.

Finance Committee chairman Mike Brosnahan told the board recently week that the authority’s new software program will greatly ease financial reporting at the agency, and a newly streamlined procurement policy aligns purchasing policies with those of other local government entities.

The authority also is being urged to join a consortium of area housing agencies taking part in the Regional Housing Initiative, a HUD pilot program being administered by the Metropolitan Planning Council. The collaborative effort is aimed at broadening the availability of housing for low-income families.

David Hoicka, the recently hired executive director of the DHA, said DuPage is the only local housing authority that has not yet signed on. Along with HUD, the existing partners include the housing authorities in Chicago, Joliet, Oak Park, Waukegan, Cook County, Lake County and McHenry County, and the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

Hoicka said HUD state public housing director Steven Meiss took him to a meeting of the partners recently.

“They feel we have a well-run Section 8 program. They said that,” Hoicka said.

Donation request

The authority would have to donate 12 of its Section 8 vouchers to join the partnership — a funding mechanism that enables HUD to avoid having to seek limited new federal dollars. While it brings no guarantees, Hoicka said the move likely would reap “net benefit” for qualified clients.

“DuPage County, being the huge county that it is, can make a significant contribution to the program,” Meiss said.

Also in the DHA’s favor is the location of its housing sites near transportation, schools and major employers.

There is still cleanup work to be done at the DHA, however. The agency is addressing mistakes that placed some clients on an eligibility list for subsidies for which they didn’t qualify. In one instance, a tenant who was six years below the qualifying age when the senior assistance subsidies began flowing was assessed $39,126 and ordered to repay the sum.

Late last month, Meiss wrote a letter to commission chairman Tom Good, ordering the authority to shift the ineligible tenants to a designation that requires them to come up with significantly more of their own funds, or move out.

Meiss said there are other messes from the previous administration yet to be cleaned up, but he is finding the revamped agency agreeable and easy to work with.

“They’re continuing to be cooperative with us, and we’re just trying to resolve all the issues, which were numerous,” he said.

HUD has set an “outside deadline” of Dec. 31 for addressing the remaining concerns. At that point, the authority should be in a position to look steadily forward.

“It will enable them to not have this distraction of trying to resolve issues that were created by the previous administration,” Meiss said, “and then get on with fulfilling their mission.”