- Office of the Inspector General
Media Contact for OIG Issues Review of the Mashpee Housing Authority’s Consulting Contract with its Former Executive Director
Jack Meyers
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed a 2020 consulting contract between Mashpee Housing Authority (MHA) and its former executive director, Leila Botsford. The OIG found that Ms. Botsford engaged in self-dealing and violated state procurement laws as executive director when she arranged for MHA to hire her as an independent contractor upon her retirement. Moreover, the OIG determined that the MHA Board members in 2020 failed to review the contract before signing it and did not exercise proper oversight of the procurement.
Additionally, the OIG found that when MHA terminated the consulting contract in March 2021, someone accessed MHA’s computer system without authorization, scheduled nearly $112,000 in direct deposit payments to Ms. Botsford, forwarded attorney-client privileged emails to Ms. Botsford and changed the email contact information on an MHA bank account to Ms. Botsford’s personal email address. MHA was able to cancel the scheduled payments before they went through.
Based on its review, the OIG made recommendations for corrective actions and preventative measures, including:
- Require all Board members to complete training on their oversight role and contract administration.
- Share information about Ms. Botsford’s consulting contract with the State Ethics Commission to determine whether she violated state conflict of interest laws.
- Review and update MHA policies and procedures relating to procurement and contracting.
- Review Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) regulations and policies for contracting with executive directors.
- Retain legal counsel to review contracts as needed.
- Ensure that all contracts meet procurement requirements and are financially sound.
- Require that board members review all contracts and periodically analyze contract costs.
- Comply with state conflict of interest laws.
- Update and maintain security standards and access policies to ensure the safety of housing authority records and IT resources.