LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Flint Housing Commission is an organization riddled with financial issues that include lack of proper supervision of credit card transactions, financial bank accounts and not properly monitoring expenses for its annual picnic, according to an audit.

These are the findings of an audit recently submitted to the Michigan Treasury done by the Zenk & Associates, P.C. accounting firm.

The owning and managing of housing units.

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The Flint Housing Commission owns and manages 1,248 housing units rented to low-income households. It is primarily funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or commonly referred to as HUD. The Flint Housing Commission reported having $44.7 million in assets in 2024.

The audit found numerous issues with “internal control policies.”

In the Public and Indian Housing – Low Rent Program, the auditor found the Flint Housing Commission had receipts and other required information missing from credit card transactions.

“The Commission did not ensure that required information was complete for credit card transactions. As a
result, there was a breakdown of internal controls over the compliance of credit card transactions,” the audit stated.

Lack of financial supervision.

There was also another account that had a lack of financial supervision – also in the Public and Indian Housing – Low Rent Program.

“The Commission did not ensure that required information and receipts for the Tenant Services Bank Account was received. As a result, there was a breakdown of internal controls over the compliance of cash disbursements for the Tenant Services Bank Account,” the audit reported.

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The Housing Choice Voucher program (HCVP) is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families. Statewide, the vouchers support about 28,000 families.

“The Commission did not ensure that required information was complete for HCVP Housing Choice Voucher Program tenants. As a result, there was a breakdown of internal controls over the compliance of recertification of
tenants,” the audit stated.

Submitting forms to the IRS.

The Flint Housing Commission also didn’t file a mandated form to the IRS for 2023.

“The Commission did not ensure that required information was complete for the submission of the Form 1099-MISC. As a result, there was a breakdown of internal controls over the compliance of submission of IRS forms,” the audit stated.

Form 1099 MISC requires that nonprofits submit certain miscellaneous expenses including rent, payments for health care and legal fees and any prizes and awards.

The Flint Housing Commission also didn’t have required financial documentation for the annual picnic.

“The Commission did not ensure that required receipts and documentation of cash disbursements for the
annual picnic was received,” the audit stated. “As a result, there was a breakdown of internal controls over the compliance of cash disbursements.”

Flint Housing Commission acknowledges mistakes.

In responses included in the audit, the Flint Housing Commission acknowledged its mistakes and stated it would implement procedures to fix them.

In February, the State of Michigan’s Treasury Department notified the Flint Housing Commission the state will begin to withhold revenue from the commission because it failed to submit its audit.

The housing commission has had a history of issues with completing proper financial audits.

The independent auditing firm Rehmann noted that the Flint Housing Commission didn’t file necessary audits for the city of Flint’s 2023 annual audit.

“We noted the Flint Housing Commission (the “Commission”) Component Unit was not included in the financial statements of the City,” According to GASB standards, the Commission should be included because it meets the criteria for financial accountability,” Rehmann stated. “The exclusion appears to be due to significant delays in financial reporting by the Commission. This omission results in incomplete financial reporting. We recommend including the Flint Housing Commission in future financial statements to ensure accuracy.”

Creation of the commission.

The Flint Housing Commission was created in 1964 and has a five-member board appointed by the mayor of Flint.

MLive reported earlier this year that David Northern, the new CEO of the Flint Housing Commission, will make an annual salary of $200,000.

The Flint Housing Commission didn’t return an email seeking comment.