Search is on for New Ferndale Housing Director, Wilson Settlement Reduced

Search is on for New Ferndale Housing Director, Wilson Settlement Reduced
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Nov. 21, 2015)
It’s been one year since the first rays of sunshine began to hit the shrouded operations of the Ferndale Housing Commission.  Subsequent months of media and HUD investigations brought to light a system of mistreatment, theft and oppression of rights for the low-income, elderly and disabled residents stuck in the dysfunctional program.
But now the organization is on track. The former Executive Director is in prison for stealing prescription medicine from residents. Three of the former Commissioners have been replaced and one of the two former Commissioners has indicated he will not return once his term is up. And the issues brought up by the HUD inspection have either been resolved or are in the process.
The next big step is finding the right leader to oversee the day-to-day operations of the program.
An Executive Director Search Committee was formed, with the City of Ferndale voluntarily taking on a role in the process. The Housing Commission is a distinct entity from the City, with oversight functions falling mainly to HUD, but with Commissioners appointed by the Mayor and approved by Council.
Since the problems have been revealed however, Mayor Dave Coulter and other city leaders have stepped in to do what they can. The search committee includes City Manager April Lynch, Human Resource Director Jennifer Campo, and Mayor Pro Tem Dan Martin who also temporarily served on the Housing Commission. Carol Morency, who is a resident and the resident representative on the Housing Commission, is also serving on the search committee.
“Offering H.R. support is one way we can help the success of these critical community organizations. Although not formally part of city government, we’re always willing to be helpful partners as we share the same goals for our city,” Mayor Coulter said. The City also provided support to the DDA when they were going through their leadership search process.
The committee has put together a packet of information for potential applications, which can be found at http://ferndalehousing.com/FHC%20ED%20Recruitment%20Profile.pdf.
The packet emphasizes the values and expectations that will guide the organization moving forward, specifically listing:
~Empathy and compassion for the residents of the Ferndale Housing Commission
~Honesty and integrity in everything they do
~A demonstrated ability to work effectively with the Department of Housing ( HUD) and other federal, state , and local authorities as required
~Strong background in finance, policy and business operations, preferably in housing or other non – profit organizations
~Experience in managing apartment buildings, with an emphasis on aging infrastructure ~Strong leadership capabilities with the Board, staff, and residents
~The aptitude to make tough decisions and changes as necessary
~Strategic thinking and the ability to provide a vision and strategic plan for the FHC
~A dedication towards continuous improvement
~Accessibility to residents and staff
~Demonstrated leadership ability
“Next to addressing the HUD audit issues, that was initiated in early Spring, 2015 after Ms. Wilson’s departure, this is probably the most important task the Commission needs to complete. We need to bring in someone current with public housing administration best practices, someone who is very creative who can strategize what would be best for the Commission and the tenants in this era of less and less money for public housing.”
Currently Emily Vickey, who worked with the former Director for 12 years, is serving as the Interim Director. Her leadership position remains a sore spot for residents who fear there will be no cultural change in the organization until there is a new ED in place.  She has attempted to block access to meetings, closed common spaces in buildings when residents were attempting to meet, written up people who claim they’d been targeted for eviction, and in the past few months as Interim ED has showed open disdain for residents and commissioners. Residents and activists from the group Detroit Eviction Defense have called for Vickey’s replacement.
In addition to the new ED search, the Ferndale Housing Commission has been moving ahead with the righting of the organization, including formalizing Open Call at the Commission meetings, revising capital fund expenditures to reflect the issues of older housing and apartment stock, changing the request for appointments with staff policy and changing vendors for various services to better reflect the needs of the tenants.
At the Nov. 18 meeting, Commissioners voted on a settlement reduction to the former Director Deborah Wilson. After Wilson was convicted for sneaking into the homes of tenants and swiping their prescription medication with over the counter drugs, the Housing Commissioners at the time voted to give her a $130,000 severance.  HUD later determined the settlement to be inappropriate and refused to allow HUD funds to be used for the payout. Several payments were made to Wilson, but in June Commissioners voted to put the remaining payments in escrow in hopes of a reduction.
“To the credit of our new attorney we were able to get a reduction of $2,000,” Heler said. “It’s not a lot, but our hands were tied. Not only was her contract written in a way that did not allow any re-considerations, the former commissioners had already agreed to give her the money. But we had to try. And we had to send a message that this was unacceptable. What she did was unacceptable, and for the board to pay her anything after she had violated the trust of residents and abused her power was unacceptable.”
Because HUD will not pay, the money had come out of the organization’s operating budget in other areas. “We are moving on and soon there will be a new Executive Director in place that will review and change policies and habits if need be, that will insure residents of this program are treated with the empathy and respect they deserve and the Commission can once more be regarded as a sound and compassionate over-sight team that understands both the responsibilities of the staff and quality of housing standards.”
To learn more about the Executive Director position, check out the recruitment packet at http://ferndalehousing.com/FHC%20ED%20Recruitment%20Profile.pdf. The first round of applicants will be reviewed Dec. 7.
The oc115 has been the only publication actively following the Ferndale Housing Commission. For a complete timeline of articles, see https://oaklandcounty115.com/2015/07/17/timeline-of-ferndale-housing-commissions-struggles-and-progress-2/.

Save this post to PDFPrint this post