SAUGUS — At a Housing Authority meeting on Wednesday, Executive Director Katelynn Lemieux announced changes to restructure the authority’s staff.
“You may notice that we have our staff here today,” Lemieux said.
Lemieux said that shortly after her arrival on April 1, she received a letter the board had seen prior from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, which informed the Housing Authority that it would be penalized.
“It talked about how they would have issued a strike and penalized us as an underperforming and chronically poor-performing housing authority,” Lemieux said.
The letter cited issues with the authority’s tenant accounts receivable; certifications and reportings; adjusted net income; and revenue, as well as underspending and vacancy-reporting requirements.
Lemieux said that she had also received details of an audit that had been performed and that the findings were “not favorable.” Due to the audit, the authority received citations for procurement regulations, inventory, wages that were inconsistent with budget guidelines, and vacancy issues.
“Because of that, I saw the need for reorganization, cross-training for every department, and job responsibilities,” Lemieux said.
Lemieux announced role changes to the Housing Authority’s staff to applause from members of the audience and the housing authority.
Josh Bennett, who Lemieux said will act as her “second” in the office, will be promoted from maintenance supervisor to director of operations.
“I wanted someone that had maintenance experience, that was willing to take on the administrative roles and ask questions,” Lemieux said.
Lemieux said the role of director of operations is always in flux due to regularly changing regulations.
Guy Moley, who previously worked in maintenance, will now be the working maintenance foreman, second to the director of operations.
“What I’ve noticed about Guy is, he comes in and he’s helping to train a lot of our part-timers, a lot of our young staff — and he asks a lot of questions,” Lemieux said.
Tyler Oxley Jr., the groundskeeper, will be promoted from part-time to full-time employment.
“He is someone that I’ve grown to rely heavily on,” Lemieux said.
Tenant Selector Nicole Cirino will take over some new responsibilities as the state-aided public-housing manager.
Lemieux said that Cirino is a familiar face who helps residents with applications, and that she has “really learned and grown.”
Lemieux called everyone in the office “fabulous,” and said the authority’s designation as an underperforming agency “stops today.”
“We want to be one of the highest-performing agencies that we have,” Lemieux said.
Lemieux said the authority’s progress will be achieved through communication, training and cross-training, and accountability.
