The Española Public Housing Authority Board violated the state Open Meetings Act when it met Sept. 10 with representatives of the federal Housing Department, according to city attorney Spence Pacheco.
For special meetings, the Act requires an entity to post notice of the meeting at least three days prior to the meeting as well as the agenda that will be covered or information as to where to get the agenda. The Board failed to do this, and prior to the meeting, Board Chairman Francisco Simbona said the meeting was not open to the public because it was a workshop.
At the meeting, the Department said the Española Public Housing Authority will have to decide by the end of September whether to be absorbed by another housing authority or have the federal Housing Department take receivership of the Authority. The Department gave the Authority a new deadline of June 30, 2009, by which time it has to find another housing authority to merge with, Department spokeswoman Patricia Campbell said. But the Authority has until Sept. 30, to sign a memorandum of agreement concurring to the Department’s recommendation, she said.
If the Authority does not agree to the proposed memorandum the Department will take over the Authority Oct. 1, she said.
“This is the ultimate repercussion, when your facing receivership or transfer of your program,” she said.
Four of the five Board members attended the meeting with the Department. They were Simbona, Francis Lopez, Jim Whittington and George Martinez.
Pacheco said the Board should have posted notice that there would be a possible quorum to meet with the Department.
“That would be absolutely open,” she said.
If the Attorney General finds that charges of violating the act are valid, a criminal prosecution can be initiated against the individuals involved in the violation, according to the act. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor offense and punishable by a fine of up to $500.
Since the meeting violated the Act any actions taken would be void, Pacheco said. A proposed memorandum of agreement was presented to the Board by the Department, but it has not been signed yet to make it official. Pacheco said in order to discuss or approve a memorandum of agreement the Board would have to post notice, provide an agenda and discuss it in public. The next Board meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Interim Authority Executive Director Leroy Garcia said,
The Authority was originally given a deadline of Sept. 30 to find a management company to take over its operations. The Department has been pushing the Authority since a May 7 meeting between the Department and the city council to merge with another authority. The Authority’s Board rejected an offer to join the Rio Arriba County Public Housing Authority in July, but Interim City Manager Veronica Albin said that Rio Arriba is still an option.
The Authority is currently looking into a merger with Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority, Albin said. She said she met with Santa Fe in July and they have shown an interest in the merger.
In the meantime, Campbell said the Department is awaiting approval from its headquarters in Dallas, Texas, to hire a temporary on-site board advisor for the Authority. The advisor would give guidance and assistance to staff and Board members to address issues brought up in a Department audit conducted in May, which categorized the Authority as “troubled” with substantial deficiencies in its operations and management.