Goldsboro Housing Authority earns top rating
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on February 15, 2015 1:50 AM
esmith@newsargus.com
More than four months after two former Goldsboro Housing Authority employees pleaded guilty in federal court to unlawful conversion of federal funds, the agency has received a "high performer" designation from HUD.
Goldsboro Housing Authority CEO Anthony Goodson credits the turnaround to a hard-working staff and stricter controls implemented after his takeover of the position in Jan. 2013.
"One of the main things I did after coming on was hire new staff members and refocused our staff with a new vision," Goodson said. "We hold everyone accountable to a system of hard work and dedication."
Goodson said after he accepted the position, his staff focused its efforts on changing the way the agency operated and evaluated itself.
Housing authorities are scored based on physical, financial, management and capital fund categories, with a maximum score of 40, 25, 25 and 10 in each category, respectively.
Goldsboro Housing Authority received a score of 36 on the physical component, 25 on the financial component, 21 on the management component and a 10 on the capital fund component.
The agency's high scores have earned recognition in the nationally circulated Housing Authority Magazine.
"Something I think speaks well for the agency is that the magazine usually features agencies that are pretty large," Goodson said. "We're a middle-sized agency, and it shows that we're standing out in our industry and have turned things around."
Goodson said he was aware of the agency's previous problems, but said he chose to focus on correcting any issues the agency had once he stepped into the role of boss.
"I didn't truly know everything that had happened before I took over," Goodson said. "I took the reins and focused on correcting any issues I found."
Goodson said now the challenge facing the agency is in keeping its high distinction.
"I told the staff after we received the designation that it was hard to get it, but it's going to be even harder to keep it," Goodson said.
But Goodson said the housing authority is up to the task.
"We're going to have to work even harder than we have in the past few years," he said. "We worked hard to get here. We put in more controls to ensure compliance with standards. We're going to work to educate the community about what the housing authority does and continue to clean up our areas of any criminal activity. We're working on bettering those that live in our communities."
Goodson said the housing authority board and staff members were instrumental in the agency's progress.
"I'm going to continue to invest in my staff and my board to ensure our success," he said.