This paper’s editorial titled “Don’t politicize state housing agency” (Feb. 5) misses the point entirely.

My bill, LD 1778, addresses the need for the Maine State Housing Authority director to be accountable. Granting direct oversight of the executive director to the MSHA board will make the agency less political and help prevent the current situation from happening again.

Because, by statute, the executive director is not accountable to anyone, questions have been raised that could and should be resolved by a board with direct oversight, including:

• “Affordable housing” that is one and two bedroom units costing more than $250,000 each.

• An approval process that does not consider the cost of projects as part of its funding criteria.

• Payroll spending that has risen more than 30 percent since 2005.

• “Administration” payroll costs that have increased by 61 percent since 2005.

• “Asset management” payroll costs that have gone up 60 percent in five years.

• Section 8 housing unit inspection problems prompting U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to request a federal investigation.

• Non-meritorious $1,000 bon- uses given to employees in 2010.

If the MSHA board had direct oversight over its director, many of these questions would have been asked, answered and resolved at the board level. An empowered board could ask questions without being disrespected; set goals for the director to achieve; measure progress toward those goals; and share responsibility with the director if mistakes are made.

Let me also be clear about my intent in sponsoring LD 1778. It is not specific to the current director. I am focusing on the need for the executive director, whoever he or she is, to be accountable to someone to ensure that checks and balances are in place.

My bill is also not about opposition to “downtown projects.” Many of us have been longtime champions of downtown and historic tax credits.

The editorial suggests that we wait for the results of the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability in-vestigation into the charges of excessive spending and misuse of funds before considering legislation. I submitted my bill well before OPEGA decided to undertake a limited inquiry into a narrow range of expenditures. It is focused on governance, oversight, accountability and transparency. It is not directed at the current executive director, but at strengthening the agency and helping preventing similar situations in the future.

The people of Maine should not have to wait for accountability.

MSHA plays a crucial role in providing affordable housing and promoting economic development in Maine. It has nearly $2 billion in assets and serves close to 90,000 Mainers. It has a list of 6,500 people waiting for affordable housing, making spending decisions even more important. No one person should have sole power over such a large part of our economy.

The norm in our democratic society is for everyone to be accountable to someone. The glaring lack of accountability may seem obvious now, but it is not new.

A 2004 performance review of the MSHA conducted by EBW Associates for the Southern Maine Affordable Rental Housing Coalition concluded that its singular governance structure “isolates both the agency and the issue of affordable housing from its place in the larger policy dialog, from budget discussions, and from economic development considerations.

“Similarly, MSHA’s governance structure isolates its executive director from the full and unqualified support of the agency’s Board of Commissioners and diminishes his or her accountability to others.”

What has changed since that report was written is that, for the first time, there are leaders in Augusta willing to ask questions that need to be asked. Namely, why is MSHA different from other housing agencies across the country? Why is Maine an outlier when it comes to the lack of oversight and accountability over its housing director?

Just because things have been done a certain way for decades without question doesn’t mean that they can’t be improved upon.

When questions were raised regarding the Maine Turnpike Authority, we pushed ahead in the face of similar accusations that we were politicizing the agency. As Republicans, we take the responsibility of oversight seriously. We believe that the director of a quasi-government agency must be accountable to their board. The people of Maine deserve no less. 

– Special to the Press Herald