Bay Area

‘Extremely Disturbing’: City Audit Reveals Mayor’s Office of Housing Has $482 Mil in Unspent Funds

A San Francisco supervisor is calling for a hearing to find solutions to problems within the city’s affordable housing production team. Supervisor Dean Preston requested the hearing during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, in response to a nearly two-year performance audit of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development released the same day.

Published

6 months ago

April 6, 2023

Oakland Post

The audit found that the department, which oversees the city's affordable housing projects, counted on informal records and internal discussions for its decision-making. The department has also had an average surplus of $482 million in unspent funds for the past five years.

By Olivia Wynkoop
Bay City News

A San Francisco supervisor is calling for a hearing to find solutions to problems within the city’s affordable housing production team.

Supervisor Dean Preston requested the hearing during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, in response to a nearly two-year performance audit of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development released the same day.

The audit found that the department, which oversees the city’s affordable housing projects, counted on informal records and internal discussions for its decision-making. The department has also had an average surplus of $482 million in unspent funds for the past five years.

Per request by the Board of Supervisors in July 2021, the San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst investigated how the housing department reported the status of housing projects, prioritized funding and handled unspent funds.

The audit found that the department did not comply with city reporting requirements, did not have a formalized record-keeping system on how financial decisions were made and could not provide clarity on where unused funds are going.

The audit cited that 93 percent of the department’s unused funds were dedicated to housing developments, though it’s unknown if 58 percent of those funds are officially set in stone with a committed loan.

Preston, who called for the audit, alleged that the office itself is a “major barrier” to the city reaching its ambitious affordable housing goals – San Francisco is aiming to build 46,500 new units by 2031.

“Given what is revealed in this audit, I am deeply concerned that we are entrusting the crucial task of affordable housing production to a department that has no oversight, no transparency, no policies guiding key funding decisions, and cannot even account for a half billion-dollar balance — namely how much is committed and how much is available,” Preston said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Eric Shaw, director of MOHCD, responded to the audit via letter, and said the department faces “substantial complexities” that make it difficult to make concrete policies.

“Due to the complexity of aligning unpredictable funding streams in a volatile market, financing affordable housing projects is a complex process that cannot be replicated or standardized over years or across projects,” reads the letter addressed to Severin Campbell, director of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Up Next

Federal Judge Refuses to Suspend Injunction Against Encampment Sweeps

Don't Miss

Bill Would Give Tk Teachers 2 More Years To Take Early Childhood Education Classes

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of September 27 – October 3, 2023

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 27 – October 3, 2023

Published

7 hours ago

September 29, 2023

Oakland Post

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 27 - October 3, 2023

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Bay Area

Writer Marc Spears Honored in Oakland

Bay Area leaders and key notables in the city of Oakland congratulated Marc Spears, NBA writer for Andscape/ESPN for receiving the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award

Published

19 hours ago

September 28, 2023

Oakland Post

Bay Area leaders and key notables in the city of Oakland congratulated Marc Spears, NBA writer for Andscape/ESPN for receiving the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award. The event was held at Hiiiwav, a new location at 2781 Telegraph in Oakland recently purchased by Grammy Award-winner Bosko Kante and his wife Maya Kante. Pictured here, left to right, are Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce President Cathy Adams, Chef David Lawrence, Marc Spears, and Nola Turnage of Okta, Inc. Photo courtesy of Cathy Adams.

Bay Area

Justice for Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar — Family Seeks Justice for Murdered Son

Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar was a vibrant, charismatic 27-year-old. On the evening of Nov. 18, 2020, Jose was brutally murdered in the 5700 block of Trask Street.

Published

22 hours ago

September 28, 2023

Oakland Post

Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar was a vibrant, charismatic 27-year-old. On the evening of Nov. 18, 2020, Jose was brutally murdered in the 5700 block of Trask Street.

His family remembers him as a noble young man, who loved soccer and the Chivas de Guadalajara team, was caring, responsible and always grateful to everyone who touched his life. Studying to be a welder at Chabot College so that he could open a mechanical and welding workshop, his promising life was cut tragically short.

His family said, “The impact of the death of our son left us with a deep feeling of emptiness. Since 18-Nov-2020, all the members of the Zavala Aguilar family have mutilated our souls, causing a lot of sadness, fear, courage and frustration in all emotional, psychological, physical and financial aspects to the point of not wanting to do basic and simple things like eating and sleeping as well as not knowing anything about continuing to work for our desires.”

The Family Support Advocates join with Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar’s grieving family and loved ones in their pursuit of justice.

Anyone in the community with information about Jose’s murder is asked to contact the Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or the TIP LINE at (510) 238-7950. CrimeStoppers of Oakland is offering a reward for an arrest in this case. #JusticeforJose.

FAMILY SUPPORT ADVOCACY TASK FORCE

The mission of the Family Support Advocacy Task Force, a committee of the Violence Prevention Coalition, is to advocate for local, state and federal policies and legislation to enhance and expand support to families and friends of those who experienced violence; for more compassionate and transparent communication between law enforcement and the district attorney with the family of homicide victims and to push for the elimination of all violence, but particularly gun violence and homicides.