Maricopa County board revises Housing Authority's ethics code

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors revised its Housing Authority's ethics code and will require adherence to the new code by any housing project seeking federal funding through the county program.

The intent is to bring the program in line with federal standards and avoid repeating problems found by a critical audit two years ago.

The code revision, approved last week, is part of an ongoing effort to clean up the county housing agency, which two years ago came under scrutiny after a federal audit found evidence of financial and operational mismanagement. The authority helps provide affordable housing to low-income county residents by issuing housing vouchers and subsidizing public-housing units.


Supervisors in December 2010 took closer control of the Housing Authority amid the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's findings of mismanagement. They appointed a veteran housing administrator, Gloria Muñoz, to direct the organization after having for years handed day-to-day control to handpicked commissioners.

The authority's ethics code now includes a section that spells out standards it must meet as a part of its HUD contract. The authority operates primarily on HUD funds. Its most recent budget was $15 million.

Among the new ethics provisions are guidelines on how to avoid real or apparent conflicts of interest with contractors or with members of the organization's governing board. The code now prohibits certain hiring practices that may indicate favoritism or nepotism.

Muñoz said adding HUD contract provisions to the Authority's ethics code was one of the main changes she has sought since taking office, because it is a HUD requirement.

"It's something ... that we needed to take care of since I started, just to make sure that we're in compliance with every requirement that we say we're going to be in compliance with with HUD," Muñoz said. "Anytime you have it in policy, it's much better."

The annual HUD contract outlines operations and management requirements that must be met to receive HUD funding.

The housing agency's former executive director, Doug Lingner, resigned two years ago amid an investigation stemming from allegations of nepotism and mismanagement.

Then, the 2010 HUD audit found "a history of unsatisfactory performance in financial, procurement, governance and personnel areas," including Lingner's violation of procurement regulations by awarding a contract to his brother -- a violation of county and federal contracting requirements.

by Michelle Ye Hee Lee - Apr. 3, 2012 10:01 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Maricopa County board revises Housing Authority's ethics code

Maricopa County foreclosures improved in November

The foreclosure rate was down slightly in November compared with the same month of 2010, as Maricopa County entered the final month of a year that has brought mild recovery to the housing market but not as much bounce as analysts had hoped, according to a report issued Monday by Arizona State University.

Detached, single-family home foreclosures made up 29 percent of existing-home transactions in the Phoenix area in November, up from 26 percent in October but down from 31 percent in November 2010, the report said.

W.P. Carey School of Business Professor Emeritus Jay Butler, the report's author, said the increase in foreclosures from October to November was not surprising, because the same seasonal pattern occurred a year earlier.

"The foreclosure rate's movement is more of a cha-cha-cha, with a few steps forward and couple of steps back," Butler said. "Most people thought 2011 would be a better year for the housing market than it was, but it's a good transition year."

There were 5,030 existing, single-family home sales in November and 2,075 foreclosures for a total of 7,105 transactions, the report said.

October's activity was slightly better, with 5,315 existing-home sales and only 1,900 foreclosures, but in November 2010 things had been even worse, with 4,750 existing-home sales and 2,095 foreclosures, it said.

The median home-resale price in Maricopa County was $130,000 in November, up from $125,000 in October but down compared with the November 2010 median price of $134,000, the report said.

That's not a tremendous amount of progress, but Butler said the housing market's overall picture was just a shade rosier than it had been a year earlier.

"I think we're on our way out of this mess unless something major happens," he said. "We might see another surge in foreclosures in the spring after holiday foreclosure moratoriums by banks end and low consumer confidence possibly prompts more people to give up on their homes."

Butler said it's likely the housing market will experience a more significant recovery period in 2012.

One indicator to watch for, he said, is the loosening of foreclosure-home investors' iron grip on the market and a commensurate increase in sales to regular, primary-home buyers, often referred to as owner-occupants.

"The key issue in the coming year will be whether investors become less of a factor and the homeowner-occupant market begins to improve," Butler said.

The townhouse market also experienced mild recovery in November, according to the report.

There were 260 townhouse and condo foreclosures in November, nearly identical to the 265 foreclosures in October, and down slightly from 300 foreclosures in November 2010, the report said.

The median price for a townhouse or condo resold in November was $80,900, it said, up slightly from $79,125 in October and from $75,000 in November 2010.

by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Dec. 12, 2011 06:17 PM




Maricopa County foreclosures improved in November