The Salem Housing Authority

Scroll downward past “Background” for information on “The Current Controversy.”

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) Preview:

On August 7, the steering committee of the League of Women Voters of Salem sent a statement to the board of commissioners of the Salem Housing Authority regarding proper conduct of meetings in accordance with law and regulation.

On August 14, the SHA board meets again and will discuss the report on the investigation of its chairperson following employee complaints about her behavior as a board member.) The long-postponed election of SHA board officers is on the agenda following discussion of the investigatory report.)

On or about August 13, the SHA posted the report resulting from the investigation of Chairperson Miranda.

background

Since at least 2019, the LWV-Salem Affordable Housing Working Group has taken a great interest in the Salem Housing Authority (SHA). The SHA is one of hundreds of local housing authorities (LHAs) around the Commonwealth. The SHA owns and manages 715 units of state- and federally-funded public housing for the elderly, families, and/or people with disabilities. These units are located at 22 sites throughout Salem. The SHA also manages “Section 8” housing vouchers, which subsidize the rents of tenants living in units not owned by the SHA, but rather by private landlords.

LHAs are political bodies that are considered local government organizations under state law and are therefore subject to open meetings law and public records law. LHAs have a governing board of five Commissioners, each appointed for a five-year term. One member of each board is appointed by the governor. In cities, the other four members are appointed by the mayor. One of the mayor’s appointees must be an LHA tenant. Another must be a representative of organized labor. LHAs are responsible for managing properties and systems in accordance with state and federal policy and guidelines. The executive director of each housing authority reports to its board. (Training Manual for Local Housing Authority Board Members) 

Under its by-laws, the SHA board elects its officers annually in February. That February election did not occur in 2024. An election is scheduled for August 14, 2024. As of August 11, 2024, the current board consists of:

  1. Veronica J. Miranda, Tenant Representative and “Temporary Chair” (so-elected in December 2023 to fill the absence of the resigning chair)

  2. Aaron Paternoster, Labor Representative and “Temporary Treasurer” (so-elected in January 2024 to fill the absence of the resigning Treasurer)

  3. Carly McClain, Esq., Governor’s Appointee and Assistant Treasurer (elected in January 2024)

  4. John A. Boris

  5. Romell Kidd

The Current Controversy (2024)

In April and May 2024, five staff members of the SHA submitted complaints against Chairperson and Tenant Representative Veronica J. Miranda. The gist of these complaints was that Chairperson Miranda had damaged employee morale by not being supportive enough of Executive Director Cathy Hoog and the staff in various ways. The fifth complaint, dated May 6, 2024, alleged that Ms. Miranda created a “hostile workplace environment” at board meetings, because the chairperson allowed them to run too long, allowed too many comments and too much questioning, and “on a continuous basis accuse[d} the executive director of wrongdoing.” Read the complaints in their entirety here:

On May 30, 2024, the SHA board held an executive session to discuss the complaints against Chairperson Miranda. The executive session resulted in controversy. At the board’s June 12, 2024, meeting Ms. Hoog suggested via the agenda that the board admit that they had violated open meetings law. The board declined to make that admission. You can view materials related to the meeting of May 30 by clicking below. Please note that the board voted to release the minutes, but has not yet voted to approve the contents as accurate.

On June 12, 2024, the SHA board voted in open session to hire an independent attorney to investigate the complaints against Chairperson Miranda. Ms. Miranda had floated the idea of hiring an independent attorney to determine whether the complaints were “hostile workplace complaints,” but the board chose to have a full investigation of the complaints conducted. It should be noted that one complainant, Ms. Massiel Garcia, stated before the vote that she did not want an investigation but rather “a safe space to have a conversation” because that would be more beneficial than an investigation. Also, Ms. Garcia did not think “anybody wants to spend any tax dollar money” on an investigation. By clicking below, you can view the full video of the June 12 meeting or read an uncorrected transcript.

Subsequently, Regina M. Ryan, Esq., was selected as the attorney-investigator. Her company is Discrimination and Harassment Solutions, LLC.

At the July 23, 2024 meeting of the SHA board, Chairperson Miranda stressed the importance of the board complying with Massachusetts law and regulations and the US Constitution, with respect to public comment, tenant comment, and attendee conduct during board meetings. Chairperson Miranda announced that she would allow the public comment period to last 15 minutes and that those wishing to speak in person could sign up on a paper form and those on Zoom could use the Raise Hand function to indicate that they wished to speak. Employees who wished to speak could also sign up for public comment. Chairperson Miranda stressed that public comment was not the only way to contact the board. She stressed that she would not allow anyone to speak over anyone else or to speak if not called upon. She set out ground rules (see below).

One item on the agenda for July 23, 2024 was for the board to go into executive session. It turned out that Executive Director Hoog had put this item on the agenda because she believed that the board had voted improperly on June 12 to release the minutes of the executive session of May 30. Ms. Hoog had refused to release those minutes and had obtained a legal opinion, dated July 9, and included with the board materials for July 23. This opinion said that the board first must “determine whether the purpose of the executive session has been concluded” before voting to release the minutes. The legal opinion did not say that the board must enter executive session to vote.

The legal opinion was an interpretation of written advice from the Attorney General that had been obtained by Chairperson Miranda via email. The legal opinion and those emails had been included in the board packet. Ms. Miranda declined to call on Ms. Hoog to speak about the legal opinion. Ms. Hoog spoke to address the board members. Ms. Miranda asked her to be silent as Ms. Miranda had not given her the floor. Ms. Hoog spoke again. Ms. Miranda asked Ms. Hoog to be silent and said that if Ms. Hoog kept talking, Ms. Miranda would ask her to leave. Ms. Miranda’s actions were in accordance with the open meetings law (MGL Ch. 30A, Sec. 20(g)).

On August 7, 2024, the steering committee of the League of Women Voters of Salem sent a statement to the SHA board in support of a chairperson’s right to conduct SHA meetings in accordance with law and regulations, the board’s need to control requests for legal opinions, and the board’s need to obtain training on open meetings law.

The investigation of the employee complaints against Chairperson Miranda is complete. The board will discuss the resulting report in open session at its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, which begins at 6:00 pm. It is a hybrid meeting at the 27 Charter Street Community Room and on Zoom. The Zoom link is posted on the SHA website.

As of August 11, the report had not been posted with the board materials for the meeting. (After it had been discussed in open session, open meetings law would have required the report to be maintained as a public document.) On the evening of August 11, LWV-Salem posted this webpage and expressed dismay that the public would not be able to read the report prior to the public comment session of the August 14 board meeting.

On or about August 13, SHA published the investigative report with the board meeting materials.

If members of the public wish to send comments to the board members, their emails are listed on the SHA website. There will also be a short public comment period at the board meeting on August 14.