Housing authority seeks civil service approval of suspensions

Morgan City Housing Authority officials will make sure they have the legal right to suspend the pay of two federally indicted employees, whom the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended from work last week, the authority’s attorney said Thursday.
Housing Authority Attorney Robert Duffy and Executive Director Clarence Robinson will appear before the State Civil Service Commission on Wednesday in Baton Rouge to ask the civil service board to approve the housing authority suspending Housing Manager Sandra Greene and Accounting Tech Diana Pace without pay, Duffy said. The pay suspension would last until the federal court decides the outcome of the criminal case against Greene and Pace, he said.
The housing authority received a letter from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development March 22 notifying the authority that HUD was immediately suspending Greene and Pace from work pending the results of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana.
A HUD spokesman said the suspensions were to be without pay, but the letter the housing authority received did not specify whether the suspensions should be without pay.
Therefore, Duffy wants to be sure the housing authority can legally suspend the employees without pay because both Greene and Pace are protected by the State Civil Service Commission as classified employees, he said.
Robinson said he did not want to comment on the employee suspensions.
On Feb. 18, a federal grand jury indicted Pace and Greene, along with former Morgan City Housing Authority Executive Director Charles Spann and former Housing Manager Tori Johnson, on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The indictment accuses Spann, Johnson, Pace and Greene, and others, of conspiring with one another, from 2007 to 2013, “to commit offenses against the United States” by issuing and receiving over $500,000 in bonus payments to which they weren’t entitled.
Pace and Greene were also indicted for 14 counts of theft of government money. Johnson faces 12 counts of theft of government money, and Spann faces five counts of theft of government money.
Spann, Pace and Greene pleaded not guilty March 16 in federal court to the charges against them. Johnson pleaded not guilty Thursday. All four defendants were released on personal recognizance bail with trial dates set for May 16, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Spann served as executive director from April 2007 until June 2013, when he resigned. Johnson resigned before Spann did.
A December 2014 Louisiana legislative auditor’s report said the Morgan City Housing Authority paid almost $700,000 in improper bonuses and wages in excess of what state civil service rules allowed between 2007 and 2014.
The audit report said the housing authority “improperly paid” employees $566,544 in bonuses between November 2007 and March 2013, based on a reward policy that was altered by Johnson, the authority’s housing manager.
The state auditor’s report said another $130,418 was improperly paid by the housing authority to three employees as raises in excess of civil service guidelines between May 2009 and June 2014, the audit report said.
Auditors said each employee received the following amount in improper awards and raises: Greene, $227,161; Pace, $185,626; Johnson, $120,738; and Spann, $111,657.
During Thursday’s Morgan City Housing Authority board meeting, the commissioners approved an amendment to Duffy’s contract with the housing authority to reduce his pay by $25 per hour based on a proposal Duffy submitted.
Duffy and Robinson discussed the proposal to try to lower the housing authority’s costs due to financial constraints, Duffy said.
Board Chairman Victory Ho said keeping Duffy as the board’s attorney is important “to keep the housing authority protected.” Robinson appreciates the job Duffy has done as the housing authority’s attorney, he said.
Also at the meeting, Robinson said the housing authority’s auditor will call in during the April board meeting to discuss the authority’s annual audit. Though the audit hasn’t been finalized, as of Thursday, the authority had no audit findings with the exception of one “pending situation,” Robinson said. Housing authority officials didn’t specify what the situation involves but Duffy said it “is not a liability issue.”
When the board hired Robinson in June 2013, the housing authority had 14 to 18 audit findings each year so the authority has come a long way since then, Robinson said.
Housing authority officials have to ensure they continue to take care of residents, provide decent and sanitary housing conditions and be transparent, Robinson said.
In other business, the board
—Approved the housing authority’s bad debt write off for January and February.
—Approved the authority’s Section 8 administrative plan.
—Approved the authority’s 2016 annual plan.