Baltimore’s public housing authority owes millions to the city in past-due water bills, a new report from the city inspector general has found.
The account balance for the federally-funded Housing Authority of Baltimore City has fluctuated widely over the last three years, according to the findings of the Office of the Inspector General released Tuesday, dipping as low as $6 million and reaching as high as $16 million, with the vast majority of the amount owed coming from delinquent bills. As of June of this year, the housing authority owed approximately $7.9 million to the city, the report found.
This massive bill has accrued because, while the housing authority has been paying some of its water bill to the city it has not been paying them in full, staff from both the housing authority and the Department of Public Works told the inspector general’s office. Housing authority officials told investigators that they have only been paying their current charges, not clearing the outstanding bill, because they have received “insufficient explanation” from the public works department for large variations in their total account balance.
A spokesperson for the Housing Authority of Baltimore City did not immediately respond to a phone call about the findings outlined in the report.
Public Works’ internal billing system estimates delinquent payments across all city accounts total more than $319 million, according to data provided to the inspector general’s office, and the agency has just one staffer tasked with overseeing consolidated water billing accounts.
The housing authority’s delinquent bill seems to have been known to the public works department prior to the inspector general’s investigation, and a response included from public works does not challenge the amount owed. According to the report, the housing authority has already entered into a settlement with the city to clear a delinquent balance at Perkins Homes, the public housing complex being redeveloped east of the Inner Harbor. Under that agreement, the housing authority paid $764,000 while the city abated the remainder of a $2.6 million bill, the report says.
The story continues at the Baltimore Banner: Housing authority owes millions in past-due water bills to Baltimore, inspector general finds
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