The last two members of the Housing Authority of Fulton County were removed on Monday by the county commission, which also appointed four new board members.
Housing Authority Board Chair Antavius Weems and Vice Chair Lamar White were the holdouts who did not resign when asked to leave by the county. They were removed from the board by the Fulton County Commission after a public hearing.
A fifth nomination to reappoint Earnestine Pittman to the Housing Authority failed. She had been appointed by Vice Chair Khadijah Abdur-Rahman in January and later resigned when the commission asked all board members to step aside.
“This isn’t about any particular individual. This is about a reset of the entire board. This is what we collectively reached an agreement on that we wanted to do, wanted to pursue,” Commissioner Bob Ellis said.
Ellis said he couldn’t support bringing back any former board members.
Commissioners said they were removing members and rebuilding the Housing Authority board following guidance from the federal agency that funds its projects.
“All funding for the Housing Authority is from federal grants administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development known as HUD that includes program benefits, staffing, facilities, equipment, and all other administrative costs, none of which are provided or controlled by Fulton County,” Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts said. “The county’s only role in the housing authority is the appointment and removal, if necessary, of Housing Authority board members.”
The Housing Authority members receive no compensation.
Members of the public, Housing Authority staff, and Housing Authority board members had reached out to commissioners and during public comment since late 2023, Pitts said.
HUD officials said the Housing Authority had been in noncompliance with federal grant terms, failed to submit required documentation, and was suffering from financial mismanagement, Pitts said.
Pitts said that by failing to submit monthly data for the voucher management system, the Housing Authority put more than 1,000 county residents at risk of losing their homes.
Weems said he, White, and other Housing Authority board members were working to fix the problems, including a financial audit. Weems asked to serve on the Housing Authority board until his term as chairman ended in September, but the request was rejected.
The hearing began with Fulton County Chief Operating Officer Pamela Roshell telling the commission details of a letter sent to Weems by William Biggs, HUD’s acting director of the Office of Public Housing. He said that though the leadership was well educated and making an effort, without specific public housing experience needed to lead an organization with serious non-compliance concerns, it would be unlikely that they could successfully turn the Housing Authority around.
Weems, White, and their attorney, Loletha Hale, said they did not receive the letter notifying them of the hearing and the charges against them.
Weems said an emergency motion for a temporary protection order and a motion for declaratory judgment had been filed in Fulton County Superior Court.
He said he contacted HUD after the Fulton Commission told the Housing Authority board members that they could do nothing to help them with issues created by board members and staff. The Housing Authority conducted its own investigation and held a hearing that recommended the removal of board member Ron Shakir, whom they claimed disrupted meetings and sexually harassed staff members. In January the Fulton County Commission voted to approve his removal from the board.
“My appointee on that board resigned in February because of the dysfunction on that board. They just couldn’t get anything done,” Commissioner Bridget Thorne said.
She said the board may not be directly responsible for day-to-day operations, but they are responsible for how the Housing Authority of Fulton County is operating overall.
The four new Housing Authority board members include:
- Felicia A. Moore, nominated by Chairman Robert L. Pitts (At-Large)
- Stephen Davis, Commissioner Bridget Thorne (District 1)
- Holly M. York, Commissioner Bob Ellis (District 2)
- Lauren Waits, Commissioner Dana Barrett (District 3)
