MANSFIELD — Stephanie Hartzler was officially removed from her position as acting executive director of the Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority at their meeting on Tuesday.
Removing Hartzler as acting executive director was on the Feb. 13 board meeting agenda, but the five board members at the time couldn’t agree on the action.
Since then, two board members have been removed and another two appointed in their places.
Hartzler was terminated March 6 and board members accepted her termination at their rescheduled meeting Tuesday.
The 25-year MMHA employee was acting executive director for about a month after three board members voted to terminate Steve Andrews from the position.
Andrews was reinstated as executive director March 3.
At Tuesday’s MMHA board meeting, members Kathy Shambre, Ron Biddle and Fran Jenkins voted to accept the termination of Hartzler and a tenant counselor, LaConia Ross.
“Those were two employees that as we were beginning to move forward, there were some significant issues that had come up in performance,” Andrews said.
Hartzler served as the organization’s deputy director of compliance and interagency communication before she was terminated. She joined the MMHA as a tenant counselor in 1998. In 2007, she was appointed Section 8 coordinator.
A corrective action form in her personnel file, viewed by Richland Source, stated the reasons for Hartzler’s termination included unsatisfactory performance, violation of company policy and insubordination.
The form stated Hartzler was supposed to visit the agency’s satellite office to improve compliance and communication and create annual plans for the Crawford and Seneca Metropolitan Housing Authorities, where MMHA director Steve Andrews also serves as executive director.
The document also stated Hartzler was supposed to create a strategy to improve housing choice voucher utilization in Huron County, but that utilization continued to decrease while she served as deputy director.
The document alleged Hartzler did not honor contracts or follow proper procedures in some of her job duties, including in a tenant sexual harassment claim against a landlord.
In a handwritten note on the form, Hartzler wrote that she disagreed with the action being taken.
“I was not given direction on the items listed,” she wrote.
Hartzler also wrote that Andrews was supposed to meet with her to discuss the Crawford and Seneca annual plans on January 25 – the day after the agency’s board fired Andrews, who has since been reinstated.
She also wrote she did not have access to the computer used by the executive director after Andrews was terminated, and that she looked for hard copies of annual plans but none were available.
“I have never been informed of any shortfalls and (was) always given praise prior to Steve Andrews’ dismissal,” Hartzler wrote. “I feel this is retaliation.”
Hartzler was called to testify twice during a recent lawsuit against two former board MMHA members. In both cases, she was called as a witness by the former board members — both of whom had voted to terminate Andrews.
During the hearing, Hartzler said she was made aware around the end of January 2022 that a tenant had alleged their landlord had sexually harassed them. Hartzler testified that she told the employee to report the incident to her immediate supervisor.
Hartzler said the supervisor should have reported it to her, but didn’t.
“I found that out, it would have probably been around March 2, that nothing was done and I immediately then took care of it,” Hartzler testified.
Hartzler’s personnel file lists multiple certifications earned throughout her tenure, including a Public Housing Manager certification from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials in 2019.
In 2011, Hartzler was one of multiple authority employees to receive a one-time-only performance bonus after the authority received “high performer status” from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development and the state of Ohio Auditor’s Award for compliance with all state and federal regulations.
Hartzler received one two-day suspension in 2015 related to issues of professionalism and insubordination regarding the organization’s chain of command. Richland Source found no evidence of further disciplinary actions, warnings or complaints against her after that time.
Hartzler received positive performance reviews in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In July 2019, her title was changed to director of housing programs. She was promoted to deputy director in October 2022 with a salary of $66,000 per year.
