Milwaukee Housing Authority Hears Residents’ Concerns on Building Management, Amid Attempts to Rebuild

The Milwaukee Housing Authority held a public listening session, hearing concerns about the lack of sanitation, an inability to reach building management, and uncashed rent checks, among other concerns, at the Becher Court Apartments on Wednesday, March 5.   

The main complaint many residents had was concern with the management of the building, citing an inability to reach anyone at the housing office during weekends. Several also mentioned receiving letters telling them they had five days to move out and were unable to reach anyone at the offices to answer their questions. Resident Carmen Morocho, who received one of those letters, and was unable to reach anyone for help, said that she was “scared”.   

“We have a lot of residents who have done their recertification and they’re getting letters saying they have five days notice to move out,” said resident Betty Newton.   

There were concerns about rent checks going uncashed for long periods of time. Many mentioned not receiving rent statements or other important paperwork for many months.   

“People are complaining that they cannot reach anyone at the rent office to get answers to some of their questions. I’ve never received a rent statement since I moved into the building,” said Newton. “Accounting departments need to do their jobs properly.”  

Many residents also had concerns about the sanitation levels of the building, with one individual being escorted out after voicing his concerns about the sanitation out of turn, expressing concerns of alleged cockroaches and mold.   

“It’s a mess for us; we’re not getting what we need,” said resident Rebecca Davis.  

The meeting was the first of its kind, being part new initiative set forth by the Board of Commissioners to hold public listening sessions in buildings controlled by the Housing Authority. This first meeting was held in Becher Court Apartments, which offers 120 one-to-two-bedroom apartments, with a preference for residents 50 and older, according to their website.   

The Milwaukee Housing Authority has been in controversy since a financial review reveled that they owe the city $ 5.1 million, according to the Milwaukee Journal Steinel. The department has been trying to rebuild and plans to ask the city to forgive the debt, according to Finance Director Brad Leak. However, he said that the Housing Authority “still has financial issues.”   

In a meeting held last Wednesday at the City Hall, the Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners highlighted their attempts to save their department’s current financial situation. According to the Board, they are attempting to get out of the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) that was set forth by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Authority. They mentioned hiring and training new staff as ways to remove their “troubled agency” status, which is a part of the CAP.   

“It’s time for us to do the walking instead of the talking,” said Resident Commissioner Jackie Burell.  

The board also mentioned taking closer looks at grant money to ensure it is going to where it was promised. They talked about planning to sell the 74 vacant lots the department owns that are undeveloped. A new company taking over the call center for resident complaints is also improving the speed of responses to resident calls, according to speaker Dina Muntz.   

“We still need to review grants,” said Alderwoman Sharlen Moore. “We need to review that the obligations of the grants are met.”