Editorial: Housing Authority needs regular audit

Friday, March 15, 2002 | 10:07 a.m.

A month ago it was revealed that Las Vegas Housing Authority board members knew nothing of an $84,000 public relations contract signed by their executive director. The contract was split evenly between two firms -- one owned and solely operated by Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera. That fact raised the profile of the news and more details came out.

The Housing Authority budget authorized only $75,000 for public relations. The executive director, Frederick Brown, did not fulfill a requirement to notify the board members of the contract. The owner of the small company Herrera shared the contract with first said she asked Brown for assistance in fulfilling the contract. Then she changed her story, charging that after she had won the contract outright, Brown had pressured her into sharing it with Herrera. As questions mounted about Brown's handling of the matter, Herrera terminated his part of the contract.

In the wake of these events, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced it will send auditors to Las Vegas March 25 to begin reviewing contracts the authority has entered into over the past several years, including the public relations contract signed last November. HUD spot-checks housing authorities around the country but has no regular auditing schedule, a practice that practically invites such controversies as we have now. We agree that an audit is necessary and long overdue.