Stern Village Behind the Scenes

New Stern Village Executive Director Harriet Polansky deserves credit for a number of recent changes, including a neighborhood watch program, that seem to have been met with approval by many tenants. I have spoken to others that expressed satisfaction with improvements in the social environment.

However, there are other changes that don’t show up in the press releases that tenants should know about, including an aborted attempt at a backdoor rent increase. Ordinarily I would raise these matters at an appropriate public meeting. However, in an unprecedented display of anti-transparency, the THA and Executive Director Polansky adopted rules that not only forbid mere Trumbull taxpayers from speaking, they only permit Stern Village residents to speak under extremely limited conditions. They may only speak about topics already on the THA’s agenda, with advance notice of the intent to speak, and with the Executive Director holding an egg-timer to enforce a 3 minute time limit. So much for wanting public and resident input!

The first issue was an illegal attempt by the Executive Director to raise rents for the apartments by removing the state mandated utility allowance. Per Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) regulations, rents in the complex are supposed to be determined by the higher of a base rent or an approved percentage of adjusted income (after medical expenses, alimony, etc.) minus a utility allowance. Since I was asked by a tenant that had experienced a decline in income to assist with a request for rent recertification, I observed the process firsthand.

After meeting with the Stern Village Executive and Finance directors, the tenant received a new monthly rent that actually went up. A quick scan showed that it was because the utility allowance was removed. In an email Mrs. Polansky stated that the allowance was optional and was being abolished for all leases. We were shocked because a reading of the state regulations doesn’t show it as optional and the Executive Director was acting unilaterally – having never raised the issue or requested approval at a THA meeting. Where does the Executive Director get the authority to change rent policy without THA approval in a public vote?

Fortunately, the tenant had the courage to escalate the issue to the state. Mrs. Polansky received an email from the CHFA pointing out the correct procedure for calculating rents, so she relented on the new “policy.” Why didn’t she know the proper method for calculating rents? Every Stern Village apartment resident (Congregate residents don’t pay their own utilities so the allowance doesn’t apply) owes a debt of gratitude to that tenant because they were saved from what could have been a $50-$75 per month effective rent increase as a result of this secret policy change. I have copies of the email exchanges to share (tenant name and personal information redacted) with any reporter that wishes to investigate.

But that’s not the end of it. Mrs. Polansky claimed that the reason for eliminating the utility allowance was that it had been applied “on a discretionary basis” by the previous Executive Director instead of across the board. Assuming that’s true (if it isn’t we have a different problem), instead of abolishing a state required credit she has an ethical obligation to notify tenants not receiving the proper amount that they are entitled to a rent reduction. How can she knowingly let them overpay until the next complex-wide rent certification next year?

Since management didn’t do it, the Stern Village Tenant Association should immediately notify all apartment residents that they are entitled to a monthly allowance of $50 for efficiencies and $75 for 1 bedroom units. Tenants that aren’t receiving the proper allowance or aren’t sure should contact the Stern Village office ASAP.

Next week, the future of rents at Stern Village.