Republican lawmakers reached out to the Auditor this week to request a hard look at the state’s overflowing shelter system, and seemed pleasantly surprised to discover an audit is already underway.

In a letter to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio included as part of their plan to address the state’s migrant crisis and the impact its having on the Emergency Assistance shelter system, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) and House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading) asked the auditor to “undertake a comprehensive audit of the shelter program.”

DiZoglio responded immediately, assuring the lawmakers she is already doing just that.

“I can confirm that our office is currently engaged in an audit of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities that is examining, among other topics, issues raised to our office pertaining to the Commonwealth’s emergency shelter system,” the auditor wrote.

Tarr’s and Jones’ request of the auditor comes as the state’s shelter system is costing taxpayers upwards of $1 billion annually, the lawmakers said in their letter. It also follows “over 1,000 serious incidents at state-run shelter sites between January of 2023 and August of 2024, including disturbing reports involving rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and drugs.”

“We believe that having your office undertake a comprehensive audit of the shelter program will help to identify additional deficiencies that have not yet been brought to light and will provide a blueprint for how to move forward in a way that best protects the interests of the state’s taxpayers,” they wrote.

While DiZoglio wrote that she couldn’t discuss “significant details of ongoing reviews” with the lawmakers, she also said that theirs is not the first concern she has heard over the state’s shelter system.

“During this incredibly challenging time, in which the shelter system has operated at full capacity, we have heard concerns raised by residents who want to ensure their taxpayer dollars are being spent in a transparent, appropriate, efficient and impactful manner,” she wrote.

According to information provided by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, there are currently more than 6,200 families housed in shelters by the state. That’s down from a high of more than 7,500 seen last year.

According to the Senate Minority Leader, an audit is “important for our objectives of increasing transparency and accountability, and informed decision making with regard to this ongoing crisis and mark an important step in putting us on a better path for the future.”

“Hopefully this audit will produce the type of facts and figures that will help the public understand what is happening and will help the legislature make informed decisions,” he said.