Housing authority faces angry tenants in rare in-person meeting

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- When the board overseeing Milwaukee's embattled housing authority met Wednesday afternoon, it was the board's first in-person meeting since January. For the past eight months, the board had been meeting regularly but virtually.

Frustrated tenants and activists have seen the move away from City Hall gatherings as an attempt to avoid questions about how the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) has been operating. 

At Wednesday's meeting, the board's vice chair, Brooke VandeBerg, said the board has been wanting to meet in-person more frequently. It begged the question: If the board isn't deciding how the board meets, who is?

"The organization decides. Leadership decides," VandeBerg told activist Kevin Solomon during the meeting.

HACM's board oversees the organization and its leadership, including Executive Director Willie Hines, Jr. For months, tenants have complained about safety issues, maintenance matters and pest problems.

Solomon is an organizer with Common Ground, which was worried to bring a cohesive message to the public about the various problems at HACM.

After Wednesday's meeting, a CBS 58 reporter asked VandeBerg why the board was allowing Hines and HACM administrators to dictate meetings.

"That's a good question," VandeBerg said. "It's a policy that, typically, we have given to the staff to say, 'Tell us where we need to be and what time,' and they publish an agenda."

Wednesday's meeting was a public hearing mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as HACM outlined its plan for the next five years. During the public comment period, tenants repeatedly expressed concerns about public safety, telling stories of trespassers sleeping in buildings, drug dealing out in the open and unhelpful security.

"A car stolen right at my doorstep in this building, and security was there," Vivan Jones, a resident leader at the Lapham Park apartments, said. "[Security said] 'We're not allowed to get involved.' Why not? What is security good for? What are they doing for us? Nothing."

Others shared stories of bedbug and rat infestations. A common theme was calls for accountability from Hines. Common Ground has moved to pressuring Mayor Cavalier Johnson to call for Hines' removal by the board.

"You say you're holding HACM staff accountable? Are you holding this man accountable? Because you gave him a raise," Betty Newton, a resident leader at the Becher Court apartments, told the board. "With all of the bad things that have been happening in the HACM buildings, you gave him a raise."

Hines did get a raise from $240,000 to $252,000. He receives a bigger salary than both Johnson and Gov. Tony Evers. 

Money is another area where HACM has come under scrutiny. According to an April 2023 HUD review, HACM had to make more than $3 million in "forced adjustments to the bank reconciliation" in order to balance its books. HUD also noted HACM was failing to track how employees used agency-issued credit cards. 

After the meetings, Hines told reporters he had no plans to either resign or retire in the coming months. He also defended the decision to hold virtual-only meetings since January but sidestepped questions about why he'd been avoiding in-person meetings.

"Well, again, we've met and complied with every rule and regulation as it pertains to open meeting laws," Hines said. "So, whether that's virtual or whether it's in-person, we will continue to do that."

The subject of removing Hines is a sensitive one for Johnson. Hines had previously served as president of the Milwaukee Common Council and is still an influential figure in city politics. 

In January, Johnson told CBS 58 he was confident in Hines continuing to lead agency and said he felt HACM was making enough improvements to continue with the current senior leadership in place.

"Right now, I’m comfortable with Willie remaining in charge,” Johnson said in the January interview.

A more assertive board? Who will be on it?

VandeBerg said the board would conduct a performance review of Hines and other top HACM administrators. She also told tenants the board would meet in person more consistently.

However, the board currently has only four of its seven spots filled. Johnson and the Common Council have disagreed about how to round out the board.

The council asked Johnson to work with them on appointing members. Instead, the mayor's office announced four appointments in June, including a reappointment of VandeBerg, whose term has expired.

Johnson called for the council to confirm his nominees before their August recess, but the council instead said it'd wait until September and take more time to vet the nominees. 

Last month, Council President Jose Perez told CBS 58 he'd likely vote to reject VandeBerg's appointment since she's been on the board since 2018 and has overseen the myriad issues plaguing HACM. 

Only two board commissioners were at Wednesday hearing, VandeBerg and Darian Luckett. Board Chair Sherri Daniels was present over the phone, but her level of involvement has come into question amid health concerns. Irma Yepez-Klassen was absent from the meeting.

Perez indicated the council's steering and rules committee will hold confirmation hearings for the HACM board nominees at its September 30 meeting, but an agenda for that meeting has not yet been set.