A view of downtown Shreveport, La. Photo: Emilee Calametti / The Center Square
By Darren Svan | The Center Square
An audit found that the Housing Authority of the City of Shreveport failed to comply with state law requiring timely submission of its annual report and identified oversight concerns with how it manages the federal housing voucher program.
The auditors point to the organization's transition to new software – described as processing and recording errors – in early 2024 as the reason for its problems, according to a 2025 Louisiana Legislative Auditor report.
The Center Square was unable to reach Bobby Collins, the housing authority’s chief executive officer, for comment prior to publication.
The report characterizes the housing authority’s problems as a “significant deficiency in internal controls over compliance.”
Auditors use a sample subset method to evaluate whether public housing agencies who manage Section 8 and other voucher funding are federally compliant. It found that the agency did not have adequate controls to ensure federal housing vouchers were administered correctly, the audit states.
It identified deficiencies with housing quality standards enforcement, utility allowance calculations and housing assistance payments.
According to the agency, Shreveport’s housing authority is responsible for overseeing the management of more than 4,600 housing units scattered throughout the city. It provides rental assistance to help low-income individuals and families through contracts with private landlords: the Housing Choice Voucher, Mainstream Voucher and Emergency Housing Voucher programs.
In 20% of the cases the auditor examined, housing inspections were not properly enforced. Federal rules require the housing authority to ensure rental units meet health and safety standards, and when they fail inspection, housing assistance should be suspended until the landlord fixes the issue, according to the audit.
The audit also found a file that contained inaccurate utility allowance calculations, which affects rent and subsidy amount; and one tenant appeared twice, which created a duplicate housing assistance payment.
The audit did not report any cases of fraud, just problems with compliance and internal controls.
Failure to enforce housing quality standards could result in continued subsidy payments for units that do not meet minimum habitability standards, and inaccurate utility allowances may impact tenant rent calculations, leading to incorrect assistance payments, the audit said.
The housing assistance payment overpayment issue suggests possible financial mismanagement, leading to improper disbursements and increased program risk, according to the report.
The housing agency agreed with the findings and said it would implement the recommended changes.
Under current year status, the report states, “The authority’s management has effectively implemented the necessary changes to remediate these issues; therefore, the finding will not be repeated.”
In addition, the authority did not submit its annual audit report on time, a deadline established by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
Continued delays in financial reporting could result in increased regulatory scrutiny and reduced timeliness of financial information available to oversight agencies and stakeholders, according to the audit.
Shreveport’s housing authority was established in 1940 and is governed by a five-member board of commissioners, each appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council.