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Peabody Housing Authority

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Peabody Played Role in Housing Authority Scandals

Former executive director Frank Splaine resigned in 2009 after it was uncovered he spent hours each week in a local bar and social club while he was supposedly working.

The plan unveiled this week by Gov. Deval Patrick to consolidate 240 housing authority offices across the state and eliminate more than 1,000 politically-appointed local commissioners is aimed at removing waste and corruption from the system, says Patrick. The action stems, in part, from a slew of corruption scandals uncovered within the public housing system in the past few years. Readers may remember that Peabody featured in that unfolding story as well in 2009. Former Peabody Housing Authority Executive Director Frank Splaine resigned after news reports uncovered that he regularly spent hours each week at Champions Pub and the Italian-American Citizens Club while he was on the clock. Those habitual visits were not accounted for in his …

Saber Walsh

11:02 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

This is the new era of the Uber-Hack, so all the governor will likely be doing is what the did with the state college system: make it look like a consolidation when in fact it created many more layers and dark spaces to play "Hide-O-Hack."   more ›

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Governor's Proposal All But Abolishes Peabody Housing Authority

Doing away with local housing boards and consolidating individual offices into six regional ones is Gov. Patrick's idea for addressing waste and corruption in the public housing system. Do you think that's a good idea?

The Peabody Housing Authority, one of 240 public housing authorities across Massachusetts, would all but vanish as part of a proposal from Gov. Deval Patrick to streamline public housing management operations. The purpose of local housing authorities is to manage and maintain subsidized housing and, often, to advocate for affordable housing for lower-income residents. The administration reportedly estimates the consolidation would save more than $10 million a year in salaries and administrative costs. According to the Boston Globe, while Gov. Patrick's proposal would centralize public housing management into six regional ­offices, a small number of managers and maintenance workers would remain at local housing author­ities. And, says the …

Saber Walsh

10:35 am on Friday, January 11, 2013

There's a lot of reorganization happening with the state. It's unclear as to whether this is to "reduce waste" or to create "uber-hack" positions. Most of the reorganizations happening in this administration are suspect, at best. For example, Patrick's recent announcement that the State Board of Pharmacy would be primarily lay people is about the dumbest thing I ever read. Would we sit back if …   more ›

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