Local housing authorities are pointing to high federal rankings as proof that they manage federal housing vouchers well.

Both Lewiston and Auburn housing authorities posted 100 percent scores in recent Section 8 Management Assessment program rankings. That ranking looks at how the local housing authorities manage the federal housing vouchers, inspect local housing stock and manage the waiting list for vouchers.

“In Maine, the vast majority of housing authorities do a very good job,” said Auburn Housing Authority Executive Director Rick Whiting. “I think our experience is fairly universal.”

Low-income renters use Section 8 vouchers to pay for private-market housing. Those renters usually pay about 30 percent of their income in rent and the government picks up the rest.

Federal housing officials have vowed to reform the Section 8 program, however. In July, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson called it broken and in desperate need of repair.

“The department has been promoting drastic restructuring, yet by their objective measures we are remarkably well run,” said Lewiston Housing Authority Executive Director James Dowling. “When you have your authorities regularly scoring 100 percent, I think flies in the face of what the department is trying to say.”

Maine housing authorities typically do register high scores with HUD, according to Howard Schindler, divisional director for the office of public housing. Maine authorities average a rating of 90 percent, considered a high performer. Only one authority, in Saco, received a 50 percent score.

“That was more indicative of their size, and the number of vouchers they manage,” Schindler said. “When you have a small inventory and one voucher is not leased, it can skew your score.”

New England housing authorities also rank high. Nationally, most housing authorities get a score between 60 and 89 percent.

Auburn currently has 590 housing units that qualify under the Section 8 program. Lewiston has 1,238

Auburn received its score for the year ending April 2004. Lewiston received a 100 percent score for the year ending July 2003 and expects to get a similar score for the year ending July 2004. Lewiston’s 2004 ranking should be released this fall, Dowling said.