Prince George's council calls for audit of housing agency

The Prince George's County Council has called for an outside audit of the county's Department of Housing and Community Development, citing concerns about ongoing management problems.

At a budget hearing April 22 in Upper Marlboro, council members told housing director James Johnson they want a professional outside investigation into how decisions are made by the agency and why the department has failed to meet deadlines and provide information and services to the public.

"There is a culture that needs to be changed," said council member Andrea Harrison (D-Springdale). "It is not necessarily working in the best interests of the taxpayers."

At the meeting, council staff members charged with reviewing the department said the agency is often late providing information to people outside its office. In a report to the council, officials with the county office of audits and investigation wrote that the housing agency needs "clarity of purpose, a stronger sense of accountability and encouragement to be an advocate" for county housing needs.

The council request for an audit comes after the housing department was forced to return $2 million in federal funding in January after failing to spend the money by a five-year deadline; nearly lost $5 million in federal money late last year due to a looming deadline; and was warned last month that $2.8 million in federal grants had to be spent by May 2.

Council members said the department's problems go back several administrations, and they did not blame Johnson, who took over the department in 2009.

After the meeting, Johnson declined to comment on the department.

At the Transportation, Housing and Environment subcommittee meeting, Johnson told council members the group finished allocating the imperiled $2.8 million April 21, 10 days before the deadline.

"We've not actually seen anything," council Chairman Thomas E. Dernoga (D-Laurel) said of the most recent funding for the $2.8 million. "I'm wondering how you're going to pull that magic off."

Early this month, council staff asked for answers on several housing budget questions they wanted answered in two weeks. Instead, Johnson and his staff gave their responses to the group April 22, the day of the hearing.

"We asked for them on April 15. Somehow they just got delivered to us," said Howard Stone, one of the council staff charged with reviewing the housing budget. "I'll let you draw your own conclusions. That's all I can say."

Johnson said he welcomed an outside audit. "I don't look at an audit as a bad thing," he said. "It's going to tell us all the things that we don't do now."

Council member Camille Exum (D-Seat Pleasant), who is in her second term and unable to run for reelection due to term limits, told newer council members that it will take time to reform the agency.

"It's very complicated," she said.

Though all council members said they support the audit, county budget director Jonathan Seeman said it is not included in the county's proposed $2.6 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year, which is under review this month.

"You may not see it now," he told the council. "But it might be in the final budget."

Neither Seeman nor Dernoga could say how much an outside audit would cost.