MILWAUKEE — The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) remains in trouble with the federal government.
On Oct. 21, the agency passed several resolutions in an effort to come into compliance with Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines.
Back on Oct. 1, HUD sent a letter to HACM board members saying the authority failed to meet performance requirements agreed upon two years ago. Those shortcomings include the condition of more than 100 units with missed inspection dates, missed financial reporting deadlines and actively missing audits.
Watch Brendyn Jones' report in the video player below:
The federal agency laid out multiple consequences for continued failure, of which the most severe was HUD taking over HACM.
For residents like Chris Logan, the news is part of a familiar pattern they've heard about HACM several times in recent years.
"When I got it from you, I was like, 'What the hell is going on?' They're saying everything is going good, but HUD is talking about taking over housing, so it can't be going over good," Logan said.
Logan said she has raised concerns for years about living conditions for residents.
"I'm pissed; I'm straight pissed because, like I've been saying for years, just because we're elderly — disabled doesn't mean we have to live like this; we deserve decent living as well," Logan said.
On Wednesday night, the HACM board approved procedural changes, and Executive Director Harold Ince Jr. gave an update on where the authority stands.
"I just started April 27. I can't speak to the history. I know that the housing authority was troubled, and we have come, and we have made great strides in trying to improve the lives of the residents," Ince said.
Ince Jr. said HACM will be able to at least show completions on tasks or share a plan with the federal government on nine out of 10 of HUD's requirements, and will communicate the need for more time on the other.
He added that many of the issues HUD outlined came from reports in early 2026, before his tenure, and that the new executive team has been working through the summer and fall to address the problems. Those changes include addressing dozens of late unit inspections.
Some residents said they wouldn't mind a federal takeover.
"How many chances can you keep giving them? How many write-ups can they get? They give us four write-ups, and we're evicted," Logan said.
TMJ4 spoke to Vice Chair Karen Gotzler, who said she believes in the commitment and hard work of the new executive team, which has been assembled in recent months.
"This is the most committed board I've ever worked with in my life, and I've worked with scores and scores of boards of directors. I can also tell you this is the first time that has had a CEO having prior experience running housing authorities," Gotzler said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
