Housing Authority Bogged Down With Over 2,200 Incomplete Work Orders Across The Territory

Lawmakers are casting doubt on the V.I. Housing Authority’s ability to complete over 2,200 outstanding work orders for public housing developments across the territory. The skepticism of members on the Senate Committee on Housing, Transportation and Telecommunications comes as VIHA’s newest executive director Dwayne Alexander promised that “ensuring compliance with physical condition standards” was at the top of VIHA’s list of priorities in the agency’s 2024 strategic plan.

Though unable to provide information on the specific details of the 2,222 work orders on the books as of February 8th, Mr. Alexander assured lawmakers that the asset management team is “committed to addressing work orders.” The backlog is not recent, and the executive director shared that team members spent much of December “decreasing outstanding work orders” that were over 90 days old.

Nonetheless, members of the committee were appalled by the high number of outstanding orders. “What that really equates to is people living in less than perhaps adequate conditions,” suggested Senator Angel Bolques. He, like several of his other colleagues, was interested in solutions from the agency.

According to the authority, to address personnel shortages it is currently conducting interviews for three property managers and one foreman to join the maintenance team. The VIHA said it is also exploring the option of overtime for maintenance workers to “accommodate increased workloads.” Additionally, Mr. Alexander explained that work orders have also been stalled based on the “availability of supplies and materials.”