Ontonagon Village Council hears report on housing commission

ONTONAGON — The Ontonagon Village Council Monday heard a report from Manager Joe Erickson reviewing the operations of the Ontonagon Village Housing Commission. The housing commission governs the operation of Cane Court housing units for low income residents. Cane Court is owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with by-laws set by both HUD and the commission.

Erickson distributed a long list of areas in which the commission has not followed the by-laws, noting he considers most of the problems to be institutional, stemming from the “traditional” way of conducting business. He added it is likely that “because the housing commission operated for years in the black without complaint, the problems were overlooked by the Village Council. He said the council has forgotten to remind the housing commission of its responsibilities to the council. He said the intent of his review was “to get the housing commission back on the right track.

The review listed the commission’s by-laws, personnel policy, travel policy, purchase policy, wages, budgets and audits, and made recommendations to the council and housing commission. It was noted the commission ran operational deficits in 2012-13 and 2013-14. From the audience, Ron Frazer pointed out the commission had audits each year and director Sally Jarvey added, they were all clean audits. She also said she has recently taken a $6,000 cut in salary and the other two employees had hours reduced.

The report noted each place where policies were not followed and reported the 2014 audit described the housing commission as “financially troubled.”

The manager recommended the council require a proposed annual line-item budget be presented to the housing commission by the director, that all adjustments to wages and benefits be submitted to the Village Council for approval; that the council require wages and benefits not exceed those offered to village employees without express approval of the council and that the council require the housing commission to submit any and all changes in commission policies to the Village Council for approval.

To the housing commission, the village approved recommending that the commission require employees provide proof of existing health care coverage from another source, such as military or a spouse’s plan to be eligible for payment in lieu of health insurance; that the housing commission establish a policy to advertise any permanent or regular part time employee and approve the candidate for hire; receive at least quarterly updates from their accountant on the status of the commission’s budget; and that each member of the housing commission receive copies of the by-laws and policies and ensure they are followed. The board approved all the recommendations and a resolution to that effect will be drawn up for the next meeting.

Village President Ken Waldrop said he wanted to make clear that while mistakes were made, the report was not “personal” and happened over a long period of time. “These mistakes can be corrected. They were not intentional,” he said. He said, over the years, the commission got “off track” and, “We need to get on track.”

Jarvey said the staff will work with the village to correct any mistakes, but emphasized the commission “answers to HUD first and then the council.”