Housing authority cited for 11 items

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has been called to investigate Morgan City Housing Authority’s internal workings.

The federal agency was notified after an independent audit completed by Kolder, Champagne, Slaven & Company found three key staff members – Tori Johnson, Diane Pace and Sandra Greene – received bonus payments nearly equal to their annual salaries, said Victory Ho, chairman of the Housing Authority board.

Charles Spann, the housing authority director, also received a hefty bonus without the board’s approval, Ho said.

Ho said he personally contacted HUD’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the payments and other wrongdoing within the department.

According to an audit of the 2012 fiscal year, payments in excess of $90,000 were made to the three office staff employees. Each of the staffers is classified as civil service employees. Federal guidelines prohibit them from receiving bonuses in excess of 10 percent of their current salary.

Johnson earned $37,881 in 2012, meaning under civil service guidelines, her bonus cannot exceed $3,788. However, she received a bonus of $34,185. Her total pay in 2012 was $72,066.

Johnson said she resigned from the housing authority two months ago because of health issues.

She told the Tri-Parish Times she received bonuses “after proper reviews of our work.”

“Mr. Spann approved our bonuses,” Johnson said.

Pace, the resident accountant for the housing authority declined to comment for this story.

The audit lists Pace’s annual salary in 2012 as $48,131. Her bonus, in accordance with civil service rules, is limited to $4,813. However, the audit reports she was paid $46,913 in bonuses, making her total pay $95,044 last year.

Greene, too, refused to discuss the bonus payments with the Tri-Parish Times, saying, “I could explain, but you know how you media are. You twist things.”

According to the audit, Greene’s salary was $57,831 last year. In addition, she was paid $56,377 in bonuses, making her total pay $114,208.

Spann’s self-authorized bonus was the most conservative, Ho said. The audit indicated that above his $85,000 salary, last year he received $22,351 in bonus pay. His total take-home pay was $107,351, based on the audit figures.

Questioned about whether the bonuses equated to overpayments, Spann declined to respond, saying he was waiting on a decision by the state Legislative Auditor’s Office.

Ho said the state Civil Service Commission has also been notified and has launched an investigation.

Armed with paperwork indicating Spann approved all the bonus payments, Ho said he fears the misspent money may curtail plans to demolish the Brownell site’s older buildings and replace them with modular public housing communities.

“Last year, HUD awarded us $417,243 to make large-scale improvements to our community. Is there any money left? I just don’t know,” he said. “And sadly, we have a waiting list of at least 100 families who are in need of public housing,” Ho said.

According to the audit, administrative expenses – including salaries – totaled $605,429 in 2012, a significant increase over the previous year’s $517,964 total.

The audit also uncovered several non-monetary issues within the Morgan City Housing Authority.

The department was faulted for not completing its audit within the timeframe required by law – six months after the close of the fiscal year. Also, it found the accounting and financial functions are not adequately segregated.

The files of 25 Section 8 tenants also uncovered more than 20 violations.

Section 8 housing pays rental assistance to private landlords on behalf of low- to moderate-income tenants.

The Morgan City department was plagued with incomplete paperwork, according to the audit. Also, 11 of 35 units reviewed had errors on annual inspection reports, causing the facilities to fail the inspection, according to the audit.

The Morgan City Housing Authority operates four housing developments in the city: Brownell, Shannon, Jacquet and Joe Ruffin.