BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to streamline the state’s public housing system is set for a Statehouse hearing.
The plan calls for eliminating 240 local housing authorities and replacing them with six regional agencies in a bid to save money and discourage corruption. Patrick filed the bill after revelations that former Chelsea Housing Authority director Michael McLaughlin was earning $360,000 a year. McLaughlin later pleaded guilty to federal charges that he tried to conceal his inflated salary. He also faces state charges of illegally soliciting campaign contributions for former Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray and others.
The bill, scheduled for a hearing Tuesday by the Legislature’s Housing Committee, is opposed by local officials who say it’s an overreaction to the McLaughlin case. An alternative proposal has been put forth by Senator Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) and Representative John Binienda (D-Worcester) which looks to improve accountability without blowing up the current system.
“There’s no question this is in reaction to that. (McLaughlin) had tremendous access to the administration and was doing things other agencies would never have been able to get away with,” said Thomas Connelly, executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment (MassNAHRO).
“I do not support the Governor’s plan,” said State Representative William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox) this morning. “I think it’s a knee-jerk reaction to what went on with one knucklehead in the Chelsea Housing Authority, and it’s unfair to housing authorities around the state. In my district, we have never seen those kinds of abuses.”
“This is an easy one. The Governor’s plan is going to fall flat,” added State Representative Don Humason Jr. (R-Westfield). “Republicans and Democrats are all in favor of keeping local control of our housing authorities. Nobody thinks consolidating is a good idea.”
“Are reforms necessary? Yes,” said Westfield Housing Authority (WHA) Director Daniel J. Kelly. “But I don’t agree with this (bill). Replacing the city authorities with six regional authorities? Who knows who to report to?”
Kelly isn’t confident that the bill will receive the backing of the state legislature, but believes the alternative proposal made by MassNAHRO is better for the Commonwealth.
“There was a hearing in Springfield in August that was well-attended, and there is another one today in Boston,” he said. “Reforms are necessary, but the Governor’s plan is a little extreme.”
The WHA, along with the City of Westfield, work together to meet the needs of housing and improvements to the City’s public housing inventory. The WHA tenants currently participate in two active tenant associations. They provide input on management issues in public housing projects and help to identify and prioritize maintenance and resident service needs. The WHA operates 62 units of the state family public housing at Colonial Pine Acres, 26 units under its state Chapter 705 Program and 14 units for the disabled under the state 689 program. The primary need for public housing is for the modernization and ongoing maintenance of the older public housing stock.
