By David Abbott | Arizona Silver Belt
The San Carlos Apache Housing Authority (SCAHA) may be on the hook to pay back millions of dollars to the U.S. government in the wake of a report issued in September by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that alleges mismanagement and a variety of other allegations that came to light after an extensive investigation.
The review of SCAHA, which oversees construction, maintenance and distribution of low-income housing on the Reservation, identified 15 “findings” and three “concerns” surrounding operations, calling for immediate action to repair the agency that receives millions in federal funding each year.
“The observed state of housing stock maintained by SCAHA does not reflect the roughly $6 million annually, totaling over $130 million since 1998, for low-income San Carlos Apache Tribal members. Much of SCAHA’s managed housing stock is in deplorable, sometimes uninhabitable condition,” the report states. “The services are not satisfactorily provided to the community to include some for which tenants are charged, like garbage collection.”
