8/27/2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes

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5 Board of Selectmen Minutes August 27, 2018 APPOINTMENTS & HEARINGS _Mashpee Housing Authority: Executive Director Leila Botsford; Housing Authority Chair Fran LaPorte:_ Mashpee Housing Authority member Fran LaPorte was in attendance with Leila Botsford, Executive Director to review matters associated to the use of Community Preservation Act funds for the Housing Assistance Program. There have been unanswered questions with regards to the financial reporting aspect of this project with the Board of Selectmen, a requirement of the program. A memorandum of understanding was previously pursued but it was clever achieved. The Town of Mashpee has provided grants to the Mashpee Housing Authority (MHA) to fund various programs, and there have been difficulties in obtaining information from the MHA related to the use of grant funds. By a vote of Town Meeting, Community Preservation Act funding in the amount of$110,000 per year for a three-year period would provide assistance to eligible families in five difference areas of housing assistance; ongoing short term rental assistance, one-time assistance for first/last/security deposits, one-time emergency assistance for rent, mortgage assistance for short term and down-payment assistance for first time homebuyers. The Board of Selectmen has debated their request for oversight and transparency with respect to this source of public funding while the Housing Authority has disputed they cannot identify the users of the program due to confidentiality requirements. In an effort to reach consensus, the Board of Selectmen reached out to the Housing Authority to address issues raised by a recent audit and to discuss a strongly worded commentary submitted by the Mashpee Housing Authority Director regarding the program and actions of the Board of Selectmen. Despite what the commentary suggested,the Town of Mashpee is sensitive to the needs of its citizens. The Board of Selectmen was noted to have reviewed the results of an audit of financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2017. With regards to the Mashpee Housing Authority, the Management Letter contained in the audit recommended that all grants be backed by a formal agreement and provide for at minimum, the Town's monitoring of the grantee to protect the Town's interest in grant funding. This would include invoices, progress reports on the status of the programs and activities with the ability to request other records and require any unspent funds be returned to the Town. The audit also suggested the Town evaluate the cost-benefit of additional contractual requirements in those instances when funds are granted to other organizations and/or require all grants be on a reimbursement basis with requirements to be met for reimbursement. In fairness, it was disclosed the Board of Selectmen did not influence the audit. There were four basic findings and one of which pertained to the Housing Authority. Over the years, it has been difficult to obtain information within the confines of the law to allow the Board to stand behind this program and achieve the confidence that public funding is being expended responsibly.