The shelter headache that won’t cease

More than a year and a half after Gov. Maura Healey said the emergency shelter system was in a state of emergency, Beacon Hill has overhauled eligibility, residents face new limits on their stays, and the caseload has dropped considerably. But the political headache just won’t go away.

The latest pain point for Team Healey came in the form of a 70-page audit report published Tuesday by Auditor Diana DiZoglio, which concluded that the administration leaned on “improper and unlawful no-bid emergency procurements” to manage the unprecedented surge in demand and mismanaged contracts with shelter providers.

Housing Secretary Edward Augustus fired back with a nine-page letter rejecting many of the findings. He called the conclusion about the administration’s failure to assess increasing demand “fundamentally wrong and unfounded,” and contended that the “overpayment” auditors found amounted to only about $2,300 out of a $9.4 million contract, or 0.02%.

It’s not uncommon for a state government entity to disagree with a finding by the auditor’s office. DiZoglio, in her own statement alongside the report, called for the Healey administration to “move away from its defensive posture.” Healey, meanwhile, touted her administration’s reforms over the past two years and noted the state would cease using hotels as shelters this summer — something she announced, coincidentally or not, a day before the audit report dropped.

The Democrat-on-Democrat criticism DiZoglio lobbed provided new ammunition for Republicans working to unseat Healey next year. Both the state GOP and Republican gubernatorial candidates Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve quickly jumped on the news, with Kennealy contending that Healey “allowed this program to spiral without proper oversight” and Shortsleeve calling for the firing of Augustus.

It’s safe to expect the topic will be a common one on the campaign trail. Healey and Kennealy in particular might go head to head over it: Kennealy served as housing secretary under former Gov. Charlie Baker, whose team warned on their way out the door in 2022 that the emergency shelter system was quickly running out of money.

Or, as Augustus put it in his letter to a DiZoglio deputy, the Healey administration “inherited” a shelter system “ill-equipped to handle such a surge.” — Chris Lisinski

Got a hot shelter take? Get in touch: Ella.Adams@MASSterList.com.

FROM THE STATE HOUSE

NEW REP ENTERS THE CHAT CHAMBER: New Rep.-elect Hannah Bowen of Beverly, a Democrat, will be sworn into the House to fill the Sixth Essex District when the House meets in a formal session today to consider another fiscal 2025 supplemental budget. Bowen won a special election last week to fill the seat left by former Rep. Jerald Parisella. 

SENATORS THROW ON $43.5M: More than half of the Senate’s 1,000-plus budget amendments were addressed during senators’ first full day of fiscal 2026 budget debate. Some successful amendments include one creating a task force focused on the continuity of abortion care and several addressing mental health. — State House News Service

AN EYE ON THE FEDS

MASS. RELIEF THAT EMPIRE WIND WORK CAN RESUME: The Trump administration lifted its stop-work order on an offshore wind farm off the coast of New York on Monday, and companies and unions in Massachusetts with connected contracts say they’re relieved about the decision. — New Bedford Light

MASS JUDGE DAYS U.S. MUST RETAIN SOUTH SUDAN MIGRANTS: U.S District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts ruled late Tuesday that U.S. officials need to retain custody and control of migrants apparently removed to South Sudan, in the case their removals are ruled unlawful. Despite a court order restriction, the Trump administration appears to have started deporting people from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan. — AP

FEDS FUNDING BERKSHIRES CLEANUP: The Environmental Protection Agency is providing $2.5 million for pollution cleanup in Adams, Great Barrington and nearby communities. The funding was part of $13 million awarded for work statewide. — Berkshire Eagle

HARVARD AND… THE CHINESE COMMUNITY PARTY? The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is investigating Harvard for allegedly collaborating with China’s Communist Party, according to a recently released, 14-page letter. Congress is examining whether Harvard activities “create risks to U.S. national security and further the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) genocide in Xinjiang.” — MassLive

EDUCATION CHECK-IN

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL ADMISSIONS VOTE SAYS YES TO WEIGHTED LOTTERY: Slots in vocational schools across the state have become far more desirable in recent years, driving new levels of competition for admission. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted overwhelmingly to require schools to assign places by weighted lottery rather than continue the current practice of selecting students deemed best-qualified. — WBUR

NORTHEASTERN EXPANDING IN BURLINGTON: Northeastern University just paid $33 million for a four-story, 190,000-square-feet office building in Burlington. The Burlington BioCenter most recently was assessed at $20 million. — Boston Business Journal

BROOKLINE LIBRARIES OK PRIDE FLAG DISPLAY: After extensive debate, Brookline’s library trustees voted to again allow the placement of flags promoting causes such as LGBTQ+ pride and Black Live Matter when related programming is being offered. For several years, a previous library official’s policy prevented the presentation of the flags. — Brookline.news

CITY HALL SPEAKS

DALTON POLICE CHIEF SAYS DEPARTMENT BUDGET HIT BY “TARGETED ATTACK”: The police chief in Dalton is asking the town’s Select Board to schedule a special town meeting where voters will have a chance to reverse a previous Town Meeting decision to cut her department’s budget. The board obliged and the re-vote was scheduled for June 9. — Berkshire Eagle

SAFETY MEASURES ENTER WORCESTER CITY HALL: City Hall will implement stationed security guards on the first floor and install security scanners in the coming weeks, new safety measures that “are the result of several months of evaluating City Hall and its vulnerabilities, a security audit” and more, according to City Manager Eric Batista. — Telegram & Gazette

LONGMEADOW SELECT BOARD WANTS PLANNING BOARD MEMBER TO QUIT: Longmeadow’s Select Board voted to call on a longtime member of the town’s Planning Board, Walter Gunn, to voluntarily step down. Gunn, who could not be reached for comment, allegedly entered a resident’s back yard and made disparaging comments about the man. — MassLive

Eric Convey contributed to this edition. Did someone send you today’s MASSterList? Subscribe here.

SOME NEWSLETTER NEWS: Ella will be joining the State House News Service full-time as soon as a replacement for MASSterList has been found. Interested? The job posting is here. Want to touch base? Reach out! Ella.Adams@MASSterList.com.

MORE HEADLINES

‘A housing crisis on steroids.’ Seniors are increasingly living in cars.

Boston City Hall staffers charged in alleged domestic incident ‘terminated’