Tenants raised repair concerns, scrutinized spending decisions, and won a bigger place at the board table in our latest What We Heard on the May Salem Housing Authority meeting.
Tenant Advocacy, Spending Scrutiny, and a Seat at the Table
Here’s what we heard at the May meeting of the Salem Housing Authority Board of Commissioners: tenants raising practical concerns, officials making revealing spending choices, and yet another reminder that governance details are never just details. They shape tenants’ homes, rights, and daily lives.
Follow the Money
During public comment, a tenant urged SHA to prioritize replacing kitchen cabinets at Bertram Terrace, a 20-unit development for elderly or disabled residents. A frequent advocate at these meetings, she said the project has drifted on and off the capital improvement list since before the pandemic. The cabinets, now about 63 years old—roughly as old as the development itself—are, she said, literally crumbling in some apartments. She urged SHA to separate the kitchen work from planned bathroom updates, arguing that replacing cabinets and stoves could be a simpler, faster project, possibly even a one-day job for many units.
Later in the meeting, the executive director reported on a roughly $200,000 fund that SHA uses mainly for employee parties, meeting refreshments, and flowers and fruit baskets for employees and board members on special occasions, with occasional resident event expenditures as well. In the latest batch of expenditures, about $3,800 went to employee parties etc., while $100 went to a St. Patrick’s Day gathering for residents. The board retroactively approved those expenses. The executive director described the fund as “federal money with no restrictions on it” and said SHA could not otherwise pay for said parties and gifts. That explanation raises questions.
Another spending item involved administrative fee reserves from the Department of Mental Health’s Rental Subsidy Program, which SHA administers. At the start of the fiscal year, SHA had about $165,500 in unspent fees—built up over 5 to 6 years at roughly $55 per voucher per month for 45 to 50 vouchers. At the March budget meeting, the fee accountant said it had been difficult to find allowable ways to spend the surplus. This month, the executive director recommended using $4,950—about two months of fees—to pay a bonus to the Director of Public Housing for administering the program. The board approved the bonus. This raises questions. For instance, “What can the remainder of the surplus be used for?” Perhaps EOHLC officials can enlighten the board if the board asks them directly.
A Tenant Speaks—and Cites the Rules
Another tenant used public comment to raise several important issues. He began, as he put it, “with the positive”: the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants has made major strides in recent years, organizing around issues that directly affect residents’ lives. He noted that tenants from 92 cities and towns recently joined a Day at the State House to advocate for key items in the state budget. His message was clear: tenant advocacy is organized, active, and here for the long haul.
He then turned to SHA’s support—or lack of support—for Local Tenant Organization participation in both planning meetings and regular board meetings. In 2024, the Mass Union worked with EOHLC to secure clarifying guidance on tenant participation. He reminded the board that residents must be involved in key areas, including executive director hiring, the hiring of staff who work directly with residents, the management agreement process, and the annual budget, Annual Plan, and Capital Improvement Plan.
He also pointed to EOHLC guidance supporting resident and Local Tenant Organization participation at board meetings, especially on policies affecting residents’ rights, duties, and welfare. He quoted 760 CMR §6.09, which is even more binding than the guidance, and which requires housing authorities to provide residents a “reasonable opportunity” to be heard on agenda items that directly affect common tenant interests. His argument was that residents and LTO representatives should not be limited to a few minutes of public comment, but should be allowed to participate when those agenda items are under discussion. We find that argument persuasive.
Later in the meeting, the executive director spoke about the importance of LTOs and the outreach she does to support them, but also casually said that the LTOs at Morency Manor and Rainbow Terrace “had dissolved.” That raises obvious questions. Our understanding is that only EOHLC can revoke LTO recognition. So what exactly does “dissolved” mean here? And if those LTOs are struggling, what is SHA doing to help restore or support resident organizing?
A Big Win for Tenant Representation
The board approved two by-law amendments, including one that gives tenant voice a more regular and visible place at board meetings.
A “Report of the Tenant Representative” will now be part of the regular order of business at each board meeting, following the executive director’s report and preceding the chair’s report.
The board also moved officer elections from February to October. Commissioner Miranda had proposed August, based on the irregular timing of elections in 2024 and 2025, but the board concluded that October—the first month of the fiscal year—made more sense as a permanent schedule.
Other Noteworthy Items
SHA needs to apply for HUD shortfall funding because current Section 8 funding is not enough to cover rents.
There is still no closing date for the conversion of 39 federal public housing units to project-based vouchers; HUD’s remaining closing attorneys are reportedly swamped.
SHA’s state and federal annual plans are in the works. Oddly, the state annual plan was not ready for board members at the meeting; the executive director said she would email it the next day. We hope the plan will also be posted publicly on SHA’s website, where tenants and the public can actually see it.
Commissioner Patti Morsillo has been working with the executive director to make the monthly ED report more data-driven and easier to read. That is welcome news. We love a readable report. We also like not having reports read aloud at meetings.
Beacon Communities has submitted the Memorandum of Understanding for the First Street development to SHA, and lawyers are now reviewing it. We hope tenants and the public will be able to see it soon.
The annual “Single Audit” is underway and due June 30. We will be reading that audit report closely.
Further discussion of the resolution of the tenant representative’s Open Meeting Law complaint against the board was postponed to June because Commissioner Miranda could not attend this meeting.
Troublingly, the executive director used the bylaws discussion to suggest amending the bylaws or the board’s Code of Conduct to bar individual commissioners from speaking to regulators or auditors without a full board vote. Chair Paternoster and Commissioner Morsillo rejected that idea, and we think they were right. Their narrower suggestion—that commissioners should clarify when they are speaking individually, on behalf of the board after a vote, or as private citizens—was far more reasonable, legally defensible, and respectful of each commissioner’s fiduciary duties.
The Bottom Line
There was one real step forward at this meeting, but also plenty of unfinished business. Delayed repairs, questionable spending choices, and ongoing disputes over tenant participation are not small matters—they shape people’s homes and daily lives. The call to action is simple: stay engaged. Attend meetings, read the plans and audits, ask to see the documents, and keep pressing SHA to treat tenants as a core part of governance, not an afterthought.