Robinson to be acting housing director in Morgan City

Clarence Robinson is set to become the Morgan City Housing Authority’s acting executive director for up to three years after having previously served three years as interim director. Robinson is also the Berwick Housing Authority’s executive director.
On Thursday, the Morgan City Housing Authority commission approved the final interagency agreement between the Morgan City and Berwick housing authorities for Robinson to serve as acting executive director in Morgan City for up to three years. The agreement will also increase Morgan City’s hourly rate of reimbursement to the Berwick Housing Authority for Robinson’s service as Morgan City acting director.
The agreement will be for three, one-year terms, which will allow both boards to review Robinson’s performance at the end of each year, Morgan City Housing Authority Attorney Robert Duffy said. The Berwick housing board also approved entering into the agreement.
The final agreement will go into effect once both the Morgan City and Berwick board chairmen sign it, Duffy said.
Robinson had served as Morgan City interim director since July 2013.
Duffy said the new agreement doesn’t cost Berwick anything and is a good deal for both communities.
Duffy presented Morgan City’s proposal to the Berwick authority at Berwick’s August meeting to enter into the revised interagency management agreement, he said.
Under the agreement, the Morgan City Housing Authority’s annual compensation to the Berwick authority for Robinson to serve as acting director will be about 50 percent of what it would cost Morgan City to have “a true executive director,” Duffy said.
Berwick pays Robinson about $70,000 annually to serve as executive director, Berwick Housing Authority Chairman James Richard said.
As part of the agreement, Robinson’s time spent in Morgan City as acting director shall not exceed 24 hours a week, and the Morgan City authority will reimburse Berwick at a prorated amount of Robinson’s Berwick salary plus an additional 45 percent.
Berwick agreed to pass two-thirds of that additional 45 percent directly onto Robinson to increase his salary, the contract stated.
If both boards decide to continue the agreement for the second and third years, Morgan City’s reimbursement to Berwick will increase an additional 5 percent each year.
“We’re just trying to continue to be transparent with everything that we’re actually doing because it’s going to make our day-to-day job that much easier,” Robinson said.
The Morgan City Housing Authority has been without an executive director since June 2013, when former Director Charles Spann resigned.
According to a December 2014 report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, housing authority employees, including Spann, were accused of receiving a total of roughly $700,000 in improper pay and bonuses between 2007 and 2013.
Diana Pace and Sandra Greene, who are among the employees alleged to have received improper pay and bonuses, are still employed by the authority.
Both the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana and Louisiana’s 16th Judicial District Attorney received the legislative auditor’s report.
This morning, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Saleme of Louisiana’s 16th Judicial District said his understanding is that the U.S. attorney is looking into the case.
If the U.S. attorney’s office declines to take action, then the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office will review the case, Saleme said.
“Anything we do is probably going to wait on them to make some kind of decision,” Saleme said.
The Daily Review called the U.S. Attorney’s Office this morning for an update on the case, but, as of 10:30 a.m., had not received a call or email back regarding the case’s status.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.