Home Forward will not send staff to Hawaii this year for a conference and board meeting for its so-called captive insurance company. The agency’s new boss announced the decision on his first day, following scrutiny of the Portland-area housing authority’s spending on the trips during the past four years.
Michael Buonocore, a two-decade veteran of Home Forward who left in 2022, returned Monday and promised a new era of transparency and financial responsibility at the embattled agency. His predecessor resigned under pressure for taking out-of-state trips on the public’s dime as its portfolio of low-income apartments faltered. Home Forward and other low-income housing providers in Portland are working to fill an unusually high number of empty apartments as they also grapple with safety problems such as drug dealing, pests and other issues.
During a press conference at the New Columbia Apartments on North Trenton Street, Buonocore said he will approve all out-of-state trips during his planned nine months as interim executive director. During that time, he will earn an annualized salary of $275,000, compared to former Chief Executive Ivory Mathews’ $342,849. He said that three senior executives will take a 10% pay cut, effective immediately…