Around 200 people gathered inside Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church Monday evening as community organizers and tenants sounded the alarm about the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee.
"They lose residents' paperwork. They blame and threaten residents. Then they file false claims. Lord, in all his mercy, they need to be held accountable," Rev. Will Davis told the crowd.
It was the latest salvo by the advocacy group Common Ground — a coalition of local faith groups, businesses and other organizations — that has been calling for an investigation of HACM since March.
Common Ground organizers say they've spoken extensively with public housing tenants since last spring and uncovered concerning patterns. Safety and living conditions inside HACM properties have deteriorated in recent years, according to organizers. Meanwhile, they said, tenants have been repeatedly hit with improper rent charges and late fees.
Common Ground is calling on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct an audit of HACM's rent collection records and policies.
HACM officials were not invited the event. HACM spokesperson Amy Hall said the agency has been transitioning to a new software system, "so some of the rent issues stem from that." Since the pandemic, the Housing Authority has also struggled with staffing shortages and supply-chain disruptions, according to Hall.
Government pay is also less competitive than the private sector, which makes it harder to recruit and...
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