Filter by:

Print this page

Audit Finds 'Dysfunctional' Management

By MIKE SALINERO and JOHN W. ALLMAN

Tampa Tribune (Florida)

December 9, 2008

TAMPA - Poor management and lax oversight caused Hillsborough County's Affordable Housing Office to lose $2 million in federal funds last year, according to an internal audit released Monday.

The report provided a blistering assessment of a department in disarray from 2004 to 2006, and placed considerable blame on the people in charge.

The audit, at different points, refers to the county's previous housing management as "inept" and lacking "ambition and initiative."

It cites an environment where the former housing manager, Dexter Barge, had no experience or training with affordable housing programs. Barge, in turn, relied too much on employees "who were apparently unable to effectively implement prudent and responsible business practices."

At the same time, the report relieves County Administrator Pat Bean of responsibility for the department's failures, saying she was unaware of the problems.

Barge defended his performance Monday: "I took over a department that had some very serious issues," he said, "without the benefit of transition between the previous management."

The 104-page report, produced by the county's Office of Internal Performance Auditor over a seven-month period, lists 22 problem areas, including poor management, disorganization, lack of formal or enforced policies, lack of oversight and disregard for approved plans.

Current affordable housing officials said they have made improvements, and the audit outlines six areas that are being addressed, including better management of grant money and a computerized records system.

The audit also describes how county auditors found "questionable activities" by former affordable housing employees, but turned that information over to federal investigators as part of an ongoing federal probe into the affordable housing office and its staff.

The Affordable Housing Office has 21 employees and helps low- to moderate-income residents get safe, low-cost housing. The office receives about $15 million to $18 million in housing grants each year from the state and federal governments, which it uses to rehabilitate substandard housing, provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and finance construction of affordable housing.

The audit was requested in February by county commissioners after administrators acknowledged the loss of $2 million in federal money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The report is particularly critical of the department's management structure, which it called "poorly devised and dysfunctional."

Barge was put in charge of the department, then called Housing and Community Code Enforcement, by former County Administrator Dan Kleman. But he oversaw both code enforcement and affordable housing for nearly three years after Bean became county administrator. He is now director of the county Code Enforcement Department.

Barge said Monday that he was thrust into a complex department that had been troubled for years under different managers before he arrived in June 2003. Barge said the audit ignored the positive accomplishments under his watch.

"There were a lot of first-time homebuyers getting assistance; affordable housing developments were being constructed," he said.

Barge trusted his employees, the audit said: "The trust ... was misplaced and led to many of the problems that currently plague the affordable housing organization."

Bean joined the county in late 2003. A "defective reporting system," left her unaware of problems until late 2007, the audit says.

Bean said she depends on her department heads and other executive management to let her know when there are problems.

"To say I was knowledgeable about how bad things were would be incorrect," Bean said. "Yes, it's my job to make sure every organization that reports to me is running smoothly, but I can't be on top of everyone."

County Commissioner Kevin White, who has been critical of the department and Bean's hand-picked director, Howie Carroll, said the county administrator has to bear some blame. "It's her responsibility to have capable and competent people running county departments," White said.

The affordable housing department has been under scrutiny since mid-2007 when the executive director of a nonprofit agency alleged impropriety by key housing employees.

The accusations prompted an internal county investigation last year and helped launch an ongoing federal probe by the FBI, U.S. Attorney and Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General.

The county commission will review the auditor's report at its regular meeting Dec. 17.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303. Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915.