Fw: NEW! Reports Prompt Review of City Housing Program

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NEW! Reports Prompt Review of City Housing Program

Posted February 16, 2006 @ 8:43 p.m. EST

Reports Prompt Review of City Housing Program

" Like others before her Ruthie Mae , above, says she's a victim of

sub-standard work by Pompano's Housing Rehabilitation Program "

BY ELGIN JONES

www.BrowardTimes.com

POMPANO BEACH - A series of reports published here in The Broward Times

detailing problems in one city operation has prompted Pompano Beach city

officials to order a review of it's Housing Rehabilitation Program.

That program, which offers homeowners loans for repairs, sounded like music to

the ears of Ruthie Mae , but instead of melodies, she says it has only

struck sour notes. " They offered it and after I retired -the new windows, doors,

roof and flooring sounded like a good idea, " said, while standing over a

leaking kitchen sink installed by one of the program's contractors.

That sink and the mold it has left on the cabinets are the least of her

concerns. A visit to her home reveals gobs of unfinished work; plumbing that

doesn't flow, a toilet not secured to the floor, inoperable bathroom fixtures

and worse. " At first we heard they had done some nice jobs, but this program is

just terrible. The tile, the bathroom, the screens.it's all a mess, " complains

Dolletha , daughter of Ruthie. " They have not completed anything and we

would have been better off getting the equity out of the home and having a

reputable contractor do the work, " she said.

City officials acknowledged having problems with at least one of the program's

contractors but there are complaints about others as well. " The program is only

as good as it's last job and we will begin looking over the entire process to

address any issues or concerns left by that contractor, " explained Dr.

, director of the city's Housing Rehabilitation Program. " We couldn't

even get him to return phone calls and he no longer performs work for the city. "

The program is funded with grants from the State Housing Initiatives

Partnerships (SHIP) where participants are eligible for up to $30,000 for

various improvements. They enter into a contract with the city, which specifies

the work to be performed by a contractor registered with the city and approved

by the program. Among other things, the agreement mandates that the homeowner

and city officials sign off on any payments that are to be made to the

contractor as the tasks are completed. Liens and other restrictions are placed

on their property for a period of five years, during which time they can't rent

or sell the dwelling. But like the s, other homeowners are complaining

about the quality of work and allege funds were released to contractors without

their knowledge or signatures as required.

" The work they did is so bad until I refused to sign anything, " says Carlene

Duncan. " Instead of correcting the problems they sent the same contractor back

several times and it's only gotten worse. We later found out someone in city

hall paid out all the money to them without my approval. "

After those repairs, Duncan's home has been left with plumbing that leaves

gallons of raw sewage in her bathtubs, unfinished closets, cabinets and tile

work. She says there are also problems with the plastering and non-matching,

used windows that leak and don't meet current hurricane standards have been

installed.

E. Pat Larkins is a Pompano Beach city council member and president of the

Minority Builder's Coalition; an organization of construction contractors. " I

went to Mrs. Duncan's home to see it for myself and immediately asked for an

investigation, " Larkins said. " It was very clear to me that it was a problem and

not the best of work, but the administrators assured me they looked into it and

found only minor violations. "

No one in city hall has acknowledged making any inspections and city manager

C. Hargett did not return calls. But assistant city manager T.C.

Broadnax said the city is aware of the matter and corrective action is being

taken. " I'm not familiar with all of the issues and I would have to defer to Dr.

as it relates to any inspections, " Broadnax said. " But I can assure you

we want to make the people that signed up for this program happy and give them

the quality of work they expected. "

What some of the program's participants expected is not what has been delivered.

Even though all the funds allotted to her have been paid to the contractor, Emma

Derrico says there remains unfinished work in her home as well. The new plumbing

causes her toilets to overflow and the kitchen cabinets fell from the walls to

the floor. When she contacted city officials, she says they told her she was on

her own.

Betty Chappel, another of the program's participants, told us she too has been

" let down " by the program. From the overflowing toilets, unfinished flooring and

cabinets constructed of bare plywood, she says she has no idea why the

contractor was ever paid anything at all. But according her, city officials say

all of the funds have been paid out and there is nothing they can do.

At the 's home, patches of unfinished concrete and loose electrical wires

can be seen. " The only thing they did right was install some of the windows, but

the screens don't fit and they put primer on the house instead of paint, "

Dolletha said. " Now everything is leaking. " If those issues were not

serious enough, the s are alleging that one of the program's project

managers who approved that work also has a private business relationship with

the contractor and it was his company that actually performed the roofing work

on their home. That possible conflict of interest prompted them to obtain copies

of their files from city hall and when they did, they were surprised at what

they found. Signatures on some of the documents releasing payments to the

contractor are not theirs and are forgeries, they insist.

The s are not alone in making such allegations. Carlene Duncan also

alleges that paperwork she obtained from city hall files has been " altered " and

" changed " after she signed them. City officials say they have not had any formal

complaints of that nature, but indicated it would be reviewed. " If something

like that exists or a citizen makes such suggestions, we're a public trust and

we would definitely look into it, " Dr. said. Duncan said she is willing

to listen, but wanted something in writing before agreeing to allow any city

employees or contractors back on her property.

Other city officials, including the Mayor, vowed to take action and clear up any

problems or lax oversight of the program. " I want to thank The Broward Times for

bringing this to the public's attention and we fully intend to get to the bottom

of this, " Mayor Rayson assured. " I just think the integrity of the city is

at stake and we want a program that helps people, not one that adds to their

frustrations, " he said.

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