Probably not the first or last time Mayor Mike Rawlings gave City Manager A.C. Gonzalez this face (File photo)
At Dallas City Hall, the most revealing things come in the most unexpected places.
Take Monday for instance, when City Auditor Craig Kinton spent a soul-sucking morning chewing over an audit of the city’s housing department and offering other mind-numbing peeks into his office’s file cabinet.
I did not intend on watching those briefings, but I did. Twice. It’s amazing how something can be dull and infuriating and enlightening all at once. Welcome to Dallas City Hall.
Kinton, speaking in that aw-shucks monotone rumble, confirmed everything you ever feared about the way the place operates.
It’s broken. And it’s the Dallas City Council’s fault.
Kinton was just supposed to go to the council on Monday to reiterate things already revealed in audits released in recent months.
He went to the Housing Committee first to talk about the presentation in March that said the Housing Department spent years doling out $30 million in taxpayer money to affordable-housing developers who probably weren’t qualified to develop affordable housing. The auditor’s office couldn’t find paperwork documenting how or why deals were made. Instead, said the audit, housing officials trusted the judgment of its own “experienced professionals.”
Kinton’s people had no way of knowing if things were done correctly or improperly because there was no documentation. There were file folders; only, no files.
On Monday council member Scott Griggs, chair of the Housing Committee, called it “a shocking audit.” Council member Casey Thomas said, “This is embarrassing. It really is.” Tiffinni Young, who represents South Dallas, said she wanted to “reiterate [her] disappointment” with the findings.
Housing officials vowed to do better, and told the council that they are writing up policies and procedures that would be passed out to the staff as soon as possible. Alan Sims, the former Cedar Hill city manager now running the Neighborhood Plus program, told the council this would never happen again. Never ever, promise, swear. … [visit site to read more]
Reposted via City Hall Blog
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