MANSFIELD — Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority Executive Director Steve Andrews said the last 18 months have been some of the most productive in the agency’s history.
He also said problems with the agency’s board are inhibiting its ability to function, hurting morale, and costing the organization thousands of dollars in legal fees. According to Andrews, it may lead to state audit findings and an injunction for violating the Ohio Open Meetings Act.
These claims came during and after a contentious meeting of the MMHA board on Wednesday.
Many of Andrews’ concerns stem from the board’s recent inaction regarding routine business. Some of those issues were resolved after the board voted to approve expenditures and financial reports from the past four months. The group failed to do so during previous meetings.
The board did not reach a consensus on its August meeting minutes, ultimately voting down approval for a third consecutive month. (The board did not meet in September).
Andrews said the board’s delay in approving financials and failure to finalize meeting minutes harms the agency’s credibility.
“Ultimately, everything we do is (with) public funds and so it communicates to the public that they are not being reviewed and appropriately approved on a regular basis,” he said.
Andrews also said the failure to perform routine business could lead to findings during the state’s annual audit of the agency. Findings could lead to stricter state oversight of the agency’s financials and hurt its reputation with lenders, jeopardizing current and future projects.
“It red flags us for any kind of commercial venture or any loans that we would ever want to take out,” he said.
All five members of the Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority board are appointed by elected officials as outlined in the Ohio Revised Code. Board members are appointed for five year terms.
Isoleen Dunn has been on the board for eight years. She was most recently appointed by Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker. Her term expires in 2027.
Sarah Hairston has been on the board for more than 30 years. She was most recently appointed by now-retired Richland County Probate Judge Philip Mayer. Her term expires in 2025.
Deb Chase has been on the board for 38 years. She was most recently appointed by Theaker. Her term expires in 2026.
Kathy Shambre has been on the board for one year. She was appointed by the Richland County common pleas judge. Her term expires in 2024.
Ron Biddle has been on the board for one year. He was appointed by the Richland County board of commissioners. His term expires in 2023.
During the meeting, Andrews and board members repeatedly disagreed on what was said during previous meetings and accused opposing parties of creating a false narrative.
“The biggest problem with this board that I see is the lack of respect,” board member Isoleen Dunn said.
“When I came on this board, people respected one another. Lately, it’s just chaos.”
Why hasn’t the board approved its August minutes?
The conflict regarding the August minutes was born in talks about restructuring the department to create two new deputy director positions.
In order to carry out the change, Andrews said he requested a budget increase of $18,000 to cover employee compensation and benefits.
Dunn expressed concern over the hiring process and said the positions needed to be posted internally to all housing authority staff. While Andrews acknowledged he already had internal candidates in mind for both positions, he said he would post them internally per the agency’s protocol.
According to the unapproved meeting minutes from August, board members Sarah Hairston and Debra Chase made a motion to only hire only one deputy director, but the motion failed 2-3.
Board chair Kathy Shambre then made a motion to approve Andrews’ request for $18,000 with the stipulation that both job openings would be posted internally to all MMHA staff as part of the process. Board member Ron Biddle seconded the motion.
The meeting minutes state that the motion passed 3-2, with Shambre, Biddle and Dunn voting in favor. Audio from the meeting, obtained from the MMHA through a public records request, confirms the vote tally.
On Wednesday, Dunn said she voted in favor of the resolution with the understanding that Andrews would consult the board before hiring for the positions, which he didn’t do.
Meeting minutes serve as an official record of actions taken by a board or governing body. The Ohio Open Meetings Act (Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22) requires minutes to be promptly prepared, filed, and made available for public inspection. Like all public records, meeting minutes create transparency and accountability for government bodies.
Andrews denied that was part of the resolution.
“Nowhere did it say that we needed to report back to the board before we made a decision on who those people were,” Andrews responded. “Nowhere was that in the conversation.”
Dunn responded by saying there is no record of Andrews’ promise to consult the board before hiring because Andrews made the statement during executive session.
Dunn and Hairston also claimed Andrews filled the two deputy director positions without posting them internally for all agency employees to see, a claim Andrews refuted.
According to Andrews, both positions were posted internally days after the meeting and awarded to internal candidates in October.
Andrews, Hairston and Biddle all suggested amending the meeting minutes to note there was a misunderstanding during the August meeting.
Dunn said she was concerned that amending the minutes would cause the second deputy director role to be eliminated.
Wednesday’s discussion ended with Shambre and Biddle making a motion to approve the August meeting minutes. The motion failed with Hairston and Chase voting no and Dunn abstaining.
After the discussion of the minutes, Andrews said conflict and false claims made by board members during public meetings were hindering progress and causing strain on the agency’s 21-member staff.
He also told board members part of their responsibility was to know the role of the agency’s attorney and use that expertise wisely.
“Attorneys should not be required to attend every board meeting,” he said, referencing the board’s recent requests that attorney Andrew Burton be present.
“We are spending thousands and thousands toward legal counsel as we are working through conflict issues.”
Andrews and the board ultimately agreed it would be beneficial to bring in a neutral third party to do more board member training.
Andrews told Richland Source after the board meeting that a person outside the agency had informed him of their intent to file a complaint against the board for violating Ohio’s Open Meeting Act.
“They were talking to legal counsel as to whether or not to file that or not, but since then they’ve had the flu and I haven’t gotten an update,” he said.
“They had serious concerns about open-law violations, Sunshine Law violations and those would be legitimate concerns.”
Andrews said the board met in executive session for two and a half hours in October.
“Lots of things took place during that executive session that shouldn’t take place during the executive session because they shouldn’t be a matter of public record,” he said.
“They had staff, people come in and they were asking questions of staff — how they felt about this or that or whatever. You’re not allowed to do that.”
A public body may decide to hold an executive, or closed-door, session only after a majority vote during a public meeting. These sessions are attended only by members of the public body and persons they invite. Executive sessions are for discussion only, no votes may be taken or decisions made. Members may reconvene their public meeting and openly conduct a vote after an executive session. A public body must state the general reason for going into executive session, both during the public portion of the meeting and on any meeting minutes.
Executive sessions may be held for only a few specific purposes. Conducting any other business in an executive session is a violation of Ohio’s Open Meetings Act, which protects the right of citizens be present and observe public meetings.
Adrian Ackerman, community development and housing director for the city of Mansfield, said she recommended to Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker that the city reach out to the Ohio Attorney General’s office with concerns about the board’s “day-to-day functioning” and potential Sunshine Law violations.
“We do believe there’s something going on where the board is completely split,” she said.
“They had been unable to approve minutes and basic day-to-day financials, which could hinder progress and cause issues with audits and various other things. We want to insure that everything’s being handled appropriately.”
Andrews said despite recent turmoil, the agency has made numerous strides since he was hired 18 months ago. He cited employee satisfaction, high housing voucher utilization rates and an ongoing renovation project at Turtle Creek Apartments as evidence.
“Each board member here, the five of you, have to decide what kind of legacy you want to leave,” Andrews said. “Do you want to continue to chase after the falsehood, rumors and gossip that keep this authority from making a difference in our community?
“Or do you want to put that behind us and we can start focusing on the reality that the last 18 months with the authority have been the most productive in its history and that the next 10 years could actually solve the housing crisis in Richland County?”
Ackerman said her concerns are with the board, not the agency itself.
“It appears to me that the director has done everything by the book,” she said.
“I have not personally read his contract or their policies, but the last meeting, their attorney was present and seemed to have no issue with the procedures followed by the director.”
Ackerman said the mayor’s office will likely request the resignation of one its appointees in the future. Under the Ohio Revised Code, housing authority boards must include one appointee who is a metro housing resident.
According to Ackerman, one of the current board members was a metro housing resident at one time, but the city administration recently became aware that the individual is no longer receiving assistance from the MMHA.
