SF Housing Dept audit reveals startling lack of oversight

According to the SF Standard, SF's Board of Supervisors' Budget and Legislative Analyst Office recently released a report on the city's Housing Dept. A key finding was what was missing: much documentation on local affordable housing projects, including how the Dept—you know—actually spends their funds. SJ's Housing Dept, too, is no stranger to financial black holes (did we say billions?).

A report examining a key San Francisco housing department revealed a lack of transparency in approvals for affordable housing projects, igniting debate over the causes of the city’s housing gridlock and leading one supervisor to demand greater oversight.

The report, released Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors' Budget and Legislative Analyst Office, found that the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development ended the last fiscal year with $537 million in excess funds and stated that the department doesn’t properly track progress on certain goals.

The office is responsible for financing the development of new housing while also helping to maintain existing affordable units. But the audit alleges that it hasn’t properly complied with city laws that require regular reporting on the status of affordable housing projects, sometimes relying on its staff members’ memories for documentation and leaving local legislators in the dark.

Preston slammed the department, blaming it for a lack of affordable housing production in the city.

“We knew it was bad; we had no idea it was this bad,” Preston said in a press release about the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. "[The department] can’t even tell us how much money is committed and how much isn’t.”

This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Standard. Read the whole thing here.

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