Housing Board Fires Executive Director

BROOKSVILLE - It's not Ronnie McLean's fault, Brooksville Housing Authority board members said.

But McLean, housing commissioners agreed, was never the right man for the executive director position - the person charged with the daunting task to revive the troubled authority.

A divided board voted Tuesday to fire McLean effectively immediately, stating that the agency hasn't made enough progress in the year McLean has held his post and that McLean doesn't have the experience to do the job.

"I don't have the faith that you can do what needs to be done for this housing authority," Commissioner Jim Brooks, who made the motion, told McLean. "I don't think we have the time to train you, and that's basically what we're doing."

"Our responsibility is to help the people in those houses, and we're just not getting it right," Commissioner Gary Schraut said during the meeting held at City Hall. "I don't think you did it deliberately wrong, I just don't thing you can do it."

The 3-2 vote came about 90 minutes into a line-by-line review of a critical status report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds and oversees the authority.

The letter from John Niesz, HUD's director of public housing based in Jacksonville, noted that the authority had missed budget deadlines; is "very negligent" in updating tenant files and records; and that McLean appeared to have hired employees who did not have the necessary experience.

McLean, whose last post was as a case manager for Youth and Family Services, initially fought for his job. He defended his performance, noting that the report "didn't mention anything about my abilities to do the job."

The report, he said, contained "things that were already being corrected."

"I believe the housing authority is moving in a good direction," he said. "Although it may be slow, it's moving deliberately in the direction it needs to go."

McLean said much of the missing or incorrect financial records predated his arrival and much of those records are likely lost forever, McLean said.

"There's absolutely nothing we can do to recapture that information that was lost or correct information that may be false," he said.

He said the authority is also making progress to complete the transfer to a new electronic accounting system. McLean said it has been an "arduous task" to enter data into the new system but that the work is almost complete.

McLean said he also has made progress to update resident files during the last four months. Some of the files have not been updated since 2000, he said.

After the vote, McLean asked to have the chance to resign. But by then, the board agreed, it was too late.

He then stated that the authority's bylaws state that he should be given at least 30 days notice of the board's intention to terminate him. Board members reminded McLean that his contract had ended in December and hadn't been renewed, giving the board the power to fire him at will.

"Thank you for your services," Chairman Randy Woodruff said, prompting McLean to walk out of the chambers.

Commissioners Brian Adair and Yvette Taylor dissented in the vote.

Adair said he was worried the authority would founder without a director. The board agreed to have Brenda Williams, a consultant for Smart Inc. hired by HUD who has been working alongside McLean to improve the authority, fill the role until her contract is up next month.

Schraut mentioned a two-week severance package for McLean, but it was unclear if the package had been officially approved as part of the motion to fire him.

The board is slated to meet next Wednesday with the Hernando County Housing Authority to discuss folding the city authority into that agency.