Northwest Georgia Housing Authority finalizing audit

The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority is preparing to submit a finalized audit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Development.

Preliminary figures were presented to the board during its monthly meeting Tuesday and accountant Shango Oseitutu said the authority was on track with what he and staff expected.

The audit report will be reviewed by the board at its Dec. 18 meeting after which the final report will be sent to HUD, Oseitutu said.

“We have to do an internal review first,” Oseitutu said.

Restructuring the authority’s accounting has been a priority of Executive Director Justin Jones and streamlining and optimizing budgets continues to be an ongoing process, Oseitutu said.

A series of audits are being conducted across departments and authority is in good financial shape, Jones said.

Also during the meeting, a public housing report stated the authority is at 89% capacity with about 147 vacancies as of the end of October.

The report also identified 2,908 applicants on a waiting list.