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| Omen? A white rose grows on a pink rose bush in Hoboken. |
To be truthful, GA hasn't paid much attention to the goings-on at the HHA- last night's meeting was my first.
And what a first! With Maryanne Camporeale's imminent dismissal from the HHA the 'swing' vote will go to Reform.
So what does that mean for business-as-usual over at the HHA?
That's what I asked Ear Wax this morning- who couldn't hear me very well because he had a build-up of, you know... ear wax.
The place is a cesspool. Carmelo has too much power both for making decisions and money issues and basically they do whatever they want to do then hide it. Carmelo won't give the board a list of employees... begs the question what's in that budget and why have they been fighting so hard to keep it a secret.Is that right?
I have no idea.
Well, the HHA has a web site which links to their American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) Annual Performance Report 2011.
It is a surprisingly brief document- 8 pages but 4 of them are blank. So, here is how the HHA allocated the $2,239,952 HUD grant it received in 2011 (click to enlarge):
It's surprising (to me) how an expenditure of $2.24M of federal money can be accounted for in a couple of line items.
A contractor friend who looked at this report thought some numbers looked 'excessive', snarking that if $385K was spent to replace elevator floors then they'd better be done in Carrera marble.
But really, is it fair to judge without seeing all of the back-up documentation to support these expenditures?
No. It's easy for anyone to say something is wildly inflated, but not fair without understanding the scope of work and reviewing the contracts, change orders, etc.
Which is why GA is hoping the the new HHA Board brings in an independent auditor to examine how our federal tax dollars are being spent. Much like Kids First did in 2009 when they became the majority. Here is the Kids First initiative, the audit report for the 2008-2009 school year. It's 203 pages.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see what an HHA auditor will find: HHA employees, salaries and expenditures?
Well, stay tuned because change is coming soon to the HHA.
good job....something needs to change there....keep an eye on this tiger....
ReplyDeleteOne reason two differently colored blooms might appear on the same shrub has to do with grafting, a very appropriate analogy. Eventually, the color of the "root stock" will emerge as it is stronger than that which was grafted onto it.
ReplyDeleteRoses are laden with meaning. There was once a tradition of wearing roses to church on mother's day: red if she was living, white if she was dead. Not sure what color one wore if you wished she were dead.