More oversight needed for housing authorities

The governor’s office completed its review of the state’s housing authorities Friday, and said problems will make it difficult if not impossible for them to survive, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

The review cited operational troubles and financial losses at the authority based in Albuquerque, mismanagement and disarray at the authority based in Las Cruces, and questions about how a related non-profit that does much of the construction for the authorities operates.

In addition, the review found, some of the authority’s programs don’t serve low- or moderate-income people. That seems to back the claim of Las Cruces-based Region VII Board member Frances Williams, who says that authority built up a debt of several hundred thousand dollars to its Albuquerque counterpart, the Region III authority, while building only four homes that weren’t sold to low-income people.

Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, a former state legislator who runs Region III and is the patrón of the entire system, is suing Williams for slander. That lawsuit is pending in district court in Las Cruces.

The Region III authority recently defaulted on a $2.5-million bond payment it owes the state. The State Investment Council is conducting its own review. The attorney general’s office has also looked into some of the problems.

The authorities are quasi state agencies. They are supposed to be funded by bonds that are repaid with profits from home sales, so no tax dollars are used. The governor appoints housing authority board members.

The governor’s office review suggests creating an agency to oversee the authorities.

That’s exactly what’s needed. The problem with the housing authorities is that there is no oversight. There’s no one to hold Gallegos and the others accountable. In theory, the boards are to do that but, in practice, Gallegos has taken control of the operation and dictates what happens, at least in regions III and VII.

Gallegos makes more than $158,000 per year from the housing authority corporations, according to the Journal. He is also a registered lobbyist in New Mexico who, sources tell me, spends a lot of time in Speaker of the House Ben Lujan’s office during legislative sessions.

The housing authority scandals have been an embarrassment to the state and a disservice to low-income people. Hopefully, the legislature and governor will act.