Common Ground, Residents Blast Housing Authority at Board Meeting

Common Ground members fill a Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee board meeting. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

“We hear you and we are responding.”

That was the message from Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) board vice chair Brooke VandeBerg, who was serving as acting chair as dozens of HACM residents and Common Ground Southeastern Wisconsin representatives packed the first in-person HACM board meeting since January.

Speaker after speaker told VandeBerg that the agency was falling short and more was needed.

“We shouldn’t have to live with rats and roaches and bugs,” said Lapham Park complex resident Vivian Jones.

“When we raise concerns, you merely move the managers around,” said Roye ‘Chris’ Logan, a Mitchell Park resident. “HACM’s biggest problem is bad management from the top down.”

More than 20 speakers were given two minutes each, ostensibly to address a five-year plan mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HACM, as Urban Milwaukee previously reported, is already under a corrective action plan from HUD.

“I am glad you are here today. We want to hear from you,” said VandeBerg.

But the only other board member in the room was Darian Luckett. Several HACM employees were in the room, including Executive Director Willie Hines, Jr. Board chair Sherri Reed Daniels, a HACM resident, was participating virtually and Irma Yépez Klassen was absent.

“The board fully supports meeting in person and quite frankly it hasn’t always been the board’s decision whether we met in person or not,” said VandeBerg. “We do want to have more chances for public comment.”

But as challenged by Logan and other speakers, VandeBerg said the board and HACM’s role Wednesday was to receive feedback, not have a dialogue. Formal responses, which must be submitted to HUD, are to be released prior to the October board meeting, said HACM Chief Operating Officer Ken Barbeau.

VandeBerg wants the Common Council to approve Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s appointments or reappointments, including hers, in the next month. Only four of the seven seats are currently filled.

One of the new nominees, Karen Gotzler, was in the crowd and taking notes. Several HACM employees, including Hines, also appeared to spend much of the meeting writing down comments.

The council, in a June press release, said it wants to see a defined plan for the board. Council President José G. Pérez previously said he wants the council to take a deliberate approach to reviewing the nominees and has separate legislation pending to overhaul how appointments are made.

VandeBerg said the board, individually, is already visiting properties. She said she visited College Court, subject of a new class action lawsuit from tenants, in recent months. But those in the room shouted that she wasn’t getting the full story and that unannounced tours weren’t welcome.

“We have challenged our HACM leadership to take action to investigate and hold their teams accountable, and above all to provide safe, cleaning and welcoming environments. Doesn’t mean that all of that is going to happen overnight, but I want you to know that the call has been made,” said the acting chair. “We will conduct performance appraisals of our current HACM leadership and we will be transparent with our findings and recommended actions.”

Vandenberg, a former city employee turned vice president at Associated Bank, stressed that the board is made up of volunteers. “I think HACM needs board members to continue to function and operate and I believe in providing safe housing to the city,” she said.

Hines, after the public hearing concluded, said the agency is working to change. He said the new capital plan reflects resident concerns.

“We will work to improve the current conditions when it comes to pest control,” he said. Hines said additional third-party public safety agencies are being hired. “I have heard you today and thank you for coming down.”

He also said the council needs to act on the board members. “We do recognize the challenge of not having adequate board members,” said the former council president.

HACM provides housing to approximately 5,000 households in its own properties and, with federal vouchers, houses an additional 6,000 households in privately-owned properties.

Common Ground, in launching its campaign in March 2023, said it has interviewed or collected information from more than 1,200 HACM residents, spanning 17 properties, since 2020.

The broad-based, nonprofit coalition has recently drawn criticism from the mayor, who called its actions “Trumpian” in a press scrum two weeks ago. Johnson took issue with Common Ground’s allegation that he continues to support Hines only until he can retire with a full pension.

Related Legislation: HACM Resolution R13500