SPRINGFIELD - While a report by the state auditor on Wednesday revealed millions of dollars in expenses faced by communities that have homeless families in hotels, Springfield Housing Director Geraldine McCafferty said it tells just part of the story.

McCafferty said that Springfield, while counting just 33 families in local motels, estimates that it has at least 400 homeless families in emergency shelter units including shared apartments, scattered apartments and the motel rooms.

The report by State Auditor Suzanne Bump, which focused on homeless families in hotels, said that local communities face expenses estimated at more than $13 million per year in education costs and lost tax revenue. Bump said the communities face "a significant financial burden that falls disproportionately on less affluent, gateway communities - and it should be fully addressed."

A weekly average of more than 1,700 homeless families lived in hotel-motel housing through the Emergency Assistance program in 2014, according to the state.

McCafferty said homeless in hotels is just a fraction of the problem facing Springfield in facing increased costs for education and school bus transportation.

"The important thing to realize is that hotels are one form of shelter, and the state has been moving away from motels while vastly increasing the number of dedicated shelter units in apartments," McCafferty said. "And those units impose the same costs on the municipalities."

The city of Springfield is paying transportation and special education costs for an estimated 400 homeless families. McCafferty said.

A large number of the homeless families in Springfield are provided with shelter through agencies such as Center for Human Development and HUDHousing.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno raised sharp objections in recent months about homeless families living in shared apartments in the lower Belmont Avenue area of lower Forest Park.

His objections included that the concentration of families was placing "poverty on top poverty," and that the number of children were placing a hardship of the the school system and other services including bus transportation and special education.

Center for Human Development officials have defended their policies of helping homeless families in temporary apartments until they are able to find permanent housing.