An examination is in the offing for Hawai'i's public housing projects, with staff from the state auditor's office setting up a study this year of how the projects are maintained.

This is coming none too soon, and it needs to be as comprehensive an audit as possible.

The trigger was a pair of resolutions passed by the House and Senate, both calling for a checkup on the state's federally subsidized housing complexes.

One resolution proposed auditing the management contracts of all the projects, including two where maintenance complaints already are the subject of federal and state lawsuits: Kalihi's Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes. The other resolution cites efforts already under way to catch up on maintenance at the Kuhio projects and would exclude them from the audit.

Clearly KPT and Kuhio Homes need to be part of any study of public-housing maintenance contracts.

KPT especially has been a lightning rod for management complaints for years, which last year culminated in residents going to court and alleging that maintenance lapses have put them in substandard living conditions.

Surely that suggests that the Kuhio projects merit a careful look, and that the execution of that management contract deserves particular scrutiny.

Beyond the courtroom, there's reason to examine the management of these projects. In the most recent Department of Housing and Urban Development facility inspection there last October, KPT scored 22 out of a possible 100 points — the lowest among the state's projects.

In October 2004, the overseeing government office, then known as the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i, was placed under HUD supervision as a "troubled agency." That was because of failing grades in three of four categories of its HUD evaluation, a compilation of scores for all 5,363 units the state authority supervises.

A year later, those grades were brought up to passing or better for the agency, and oversight was returned to the state agency, renamed Hawai'i Public Housing Authority.

But the weakest links remain the categories for the physical condition of its housing projects and overall management, including the speed of processing work orders and of making housing units available to incoming families.

It's time for answers to some persistent questions. Is the management of the Kuhio projects meeting its contract requirements? Is HPHA now firmly on the right track?

The contracts for managing these projects involve a lot of taxpayer money. In the case of the KPT and Kuhio Homes complex, the management firm of Realty Laua LLC is being paid $9.36 million for a three-year term. Many of the same people, operating under different company names, have held the reins at KPT for years.

Based on the past inspections of this HUD project, and on the tenants' court complaints, there is good reason for the state auditor's office to go over the records here.

Lessons may be learned by comparing the performance of each of the state's housing management contractors, so a comprehensive review will be a critical tool.

Managers of state public-housing resource must be held accountable for their obligation: providing dwellings for low-income families that are clean, safe and decent.