Westport Housing Authority Requires Two Signatures on All Operating Account Checks

WESTPORT — May 20, 2026 — Westport Housing Authority votes to require dual signatures on all operating-account checks. The board voted 3-0 with one abstention at its May 20 meeting to require that all checks from the operating account carry the signatures of both the executive director and one board commissioner, replacing a system in which the executive director signed alone. The change, which one commissioner said arose from concern that "there needs to be additional board oversight about checks that are paid," will be revisited after one to two months. All board members are to be authorized as potential co-signers so that any commissioner can fulfill the role. The executive director also reported that Bureau Veritas completed a state-mandated site assessment of the development the previous Friday, inspecting seven of the authority's 48 units as part of a statewide EOHLC initiative to calculate the cost of modernizing all 243 Massachusetts public housing authorities. The authority's reserves stand at 67 percent heading into the final quarter of the fiscal year, with all line items under budget except gas and electricity.