Issues Pertaining to the Management of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority

GAO discussed concerns regarding the management of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, including the: (1) effectiveness of a recently signed agreement between the Authority and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to improve the racial balance of public housing developments; (2) reasons for the Authority's high vacancy rates; and (3) need for the current number of Authority employees. GAO noted that the: (1) prior practice of allowing tenants to choose their development resulted in segregated housing; (2) agreement between the Authority and HUD will provide financial incentives to mix the racial composition of the housing units, but the incentives will end once the racial composition changes by 10 percent; and (3) Authority's staff was large compared to other public housing authorities.