90-Day Plan At The Ansonia Housing Authority

The Ansonia Housing Authority’s interim executive director while spending the next 75 days reviewing how the operation is running — and making sure it is in line with the regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Jimmy Miller, the deputy executive director of the Housing Authority of New Haven, is splitting his time between the two entities while the Ansonia Housing Authority looks for a new executive director. 

Miller was brought on board on Jan. 25, about a month after the previous executive director, James Finnucan, resigned from the post.

The Ansonia Housing Authority is paying the Housing Authority of New Haven $104.32 an hour for the time Miller spends working in Ansonia. 

Miller, in an interview last week, said his focus is to make sure the Ansonia Housing Authority is functioning properly. 

We’re putting in place procedures to do quality control and to make sure staff is properly changing to improve the working of the authority going forward,” Miller said. Not to cure all its past ills, because 90 days is not a long time.”

The past ills Miller referenced were the questions surrounding Finnucan’s resignation in Dec. 2011. 

A Valley Independent Sentinel investigation showed that Finnucan was renting an apartment through the Section 8 program that the authority administers — in direct violation of HUD regulations. 

The conflict of interest was brought to light in July 2010 by a former employee of the authority. That employee, Gwen Archer, resigned from the job in August 2011, amid frustrations that nothing was being done about the conflict of interest. 

A former member of the Board of Commissioners for the housing authority, Gary Merlone, was also a landlord through the Section 8 program.

After the Valley Independent Sentinel pointed out the conflicts, HUD said it would send a letter to the Ansonia Housing Authority prohibiting it from renting to new tenants in Finnucan’s or Merlone’s apartments for at least a year after they left their housing authority roles. 

Ansonia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners chairman James Tyma declined to comment on how the search for a new executive director was going. 

Miller’s Review

Miller said he is first focusing on the minutia” around the day-to-day work at the authority: Does everyone know the procedures to do their jobs correctly?

Then, Miller said, he’ll move on to big ticket items.”

Right now, it’s how does the car work, what are the moving parts? Are the parts moving accurately?” Miller said. I’m really under the hood right now and doing the dirty work.”

That dirty work includes a random audit of several Section 8 files the department handles. 

Miller said HUD requires a review of those files each year to make sure the rules are being followed and the paperwork is properly filed.

Under a typical review for a housing authority Ansonia’s size, about 15 to 20 files would be reviewed each year. 

Miller said his review is much more extensive. 

I will probably do 27 in my three months here,” Miller said. 

I have to make sure we are processing things right, paying things right,” Miller said. 

The review is not targeted at any specific landlord or tenants — despite the questions raised by the Valley Indy’s investigation.

This is not done toward any particular thing,” Miller said last week. It’s to make sure we’re adhering to the standards.”

It’s all about setting a tone. A tone of integrity,” Miller said. 

Miller said part of his work so far has involved reading past audits of the Ansonia Housing Authority. 

He said the most recent audit found nothing egregious” about the Section 8 program at Ansonia Housing Authority. 

Miller declined to comment directly on Finnucan’s conflict of interest with the Section 8 program. 

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