A new board of directors at MaineHousing went on the offensive today, telling the agency's executive director Dale McCormick that she needs to do more to contain costs of affordable housing projects. The board includes Maine State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, who accused McCormick of signing off on a Portland low-income housing project at a cost of $314,000 per unit. McCormick says Poliquin has his figures wrong and insists cost efficiencies are a top priority for the Maine State Housing Authority.

Ever since Maine Gov. Paul LePage appointed four new members to the Maine State Housing Authority, a housing project in Portland has been under intense scrutiny. The planned 38-unit Elm Terrace low-income apartment project has been the focal point for board member and State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, who says the proposed $314,000-per-unit construction cost was totally at odds with the price of the average Maine home.

Dale McCormick, executive director of MaineHousing, says the actual price is being negotiated, but stands closer to $265,000-per-unit. But Peter Anastos, MaineHousing's new board chair, says even that figure demonstrates that the quasi-state agency is not doing enough to pinch pennies or maintain adequate accountabilty to its borad.

"I think the big problem is that there's been no looking at costs, no consideration of costs and it's let this happen and that also we've been kept a bit in the dark here," Anastos said.

Exchanges between McCormick and Anastos became pointed at times, particularly when Anastos said it was the scrutiny leveled by the new board that had prompted the agency to finally control costs.

Anastos: "But why did it take us to show you that?"

McCormick: "It did not take you to show--the staff had been working on that. We had that long before that, and we were talking about it internally."

McCormick says that for the last six years, half of the development at MaineHousing has been new construction with a cost per unit that is lower than it was in 2005. She agreed that costs for adapting mills or schools into housing are higher than new construction, adding that the inclusion of historic tax credits into the rehab costs increases the per unit price.

Those costs, McCormick says, are not picked up by MaineHousing, but instead, are paid for by the federal and state governments through the tax credits they offer.

"Our average costs for building housing in historic buildings is $148,000 dollars a unit, " McCormick said. "The historic tax credit adds about $75,000 to $100,000 over that. That is the policy of Maine. It's an economic development policy, I support it."

"To me at these prices, it just seems like 'build as many units as you can whatever the cost is' and some poor taxpayer somewhere, in Maine or some other state that's sending dollars here, is going to end up picking up the tab," said Lincoln Merrill.

Merrill, a new board member, says he believes MaineHousing should place new emphasis on rural housing projects, and explore new ways to build more homes for more needy Mainers. McCormick says she will work with all board members on cost containments and new approaches.

But she also says that tax incentives continue to play a big role in the financing process -- which, she says, can be confusing the unitiated. "It's hard. It's hard because guess what? This is the tax code and the tax code, as you know, people spend lots of money on lawyers to figure out how to get around codes, and we fight back every year, we fight the good fight," McCormick says. "And it's great to have the board helping."

Carol Weston, the state director of Americans for Prosperity, remains skeptical. During a public comment period of the meeting, she told the board members that she could remember when MaineHousing made its home in much humbler quarters than its modern and spacious ones in downtown Augusta.

"Look at you today," Weston said. "The challenge I would like to leave with you is: Have you grown for the purpose of what you were challenged to do, and that is, provide housing for those who need it, or has the focus been on growing this building and growing this organization?"

The board is slated to meet again on Dec. 20.