Activists optimistic as council advances 3 nominees in HACM board overhaul

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A key Milwaukee Common Council committee on Monday unanimously approved three women nominated to fill openings on the board that oversees the city's troubled housing authority.

The board has currently been operating with only four of the seven seats full. Residents and activists have harshly criticized the shorthanded board over its lengthy run of holding meetings virtually.

The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) has also come under fire over complaints about pest infestations and public safety concerns. Federal housing officials have been keeping a close eye on HACM after uncovering money mismanagement problems.

Current board leaders admitted they would have favored more in-person meetings but had deferred to Director Willie Hines, who they're supposed to be overseeing.

Monday afternoon, the Common Council's Steering and Rules Committee unanimously approved three of Mayor Cavalier Johnson's appointees to the HACM board:

• Jackie Burrell, a HACM resident who's currently president of the Westlawn Resident Council
• Charlotte Hayslett, who grew up in a HACM property before becoming an HR professional with Visit Milwaukee
• Alderwoman Sharlen Moore

HACM oversees more than 4,000 public housing units in the city, as well as nearly 6,000 Section 8 vouchers providing rent assistance. 

The Common Council has already approved Karen Gotzler to fill one of the openings. Moore was a late nominee. Johnson had initially tapped HACM Board Vice Chair Brooke VandeBerg to serve another term. 

VandeBerg withdrew her name from consideration last month. Common Council President Jose Perez had previously indicated the council would deny confirmation to anyone currently on the HACM Board.

The group Common Ground has been the loudest critic of HACM. Its executive director, Jennifer O'Hear, said he was pleased with each of the nominees who advanced Monday.

"We've been working for a long time to try and get a full and reform-minded active board," she said. "That's really gonna hold the housing authority accountable and make some significant changes."

The full Common Council will almost certainly approve each of the three board nominees at its Nov. 26 meeting. O'Hear said the new-look board is an encouraging start but maintained Common Ground wouldn't be satisfied unless the board pushes for the removal of HACM Executive Director Willie Hines, Jr.

"We are very closely watching," she said. "And pushing for Hines to be replaced by someone who has the proper skills and can run the housing authority as it should be run."

Moore would not commit to supporting Hines' removal, but she did pledge to change some of the board's bylaws and to launch a performance review of Hines and other top HACM administrators.

"We have to know what our leadership is doing or not doing, for that matter," Moore said. "So, it's important to us that we are putting metrics in place to evaluate that, just like we would any other body."

As for what would drive a final decision on HACM's leadership, Moore indicated the new board would come up with ways to measure Hines' performance.

"I think that's a collective decision that we have to make based on the information provided to us and based on metrics that are gonna be in place," she said. "So, it's not for me to say whether or not he should be on or off, but it is, for us, an opportunity for us to do things right."

Perez said he did not weigh appointees based on whether they would push for changes at the top of HACM. Instead, he said he trusted the new board to thoroughly review Hines and other leaders before acting.

"I think that they're smart enough to come up with their own conclusion of where we're at and where we need to be," Perez said. "And they'll make all the right decisions."