PHA board to revamp inspector general, general counsel offices

The Philadelphia Housing Authority's board voted Friday to revamp its general counsel and inspector general offices, both gutted under ousted Executive Director Carl R. Greene.

The board also authorized PHA's interim executive director, Michael P. Kelly, to "implement comprehensive ethics policies and procedures."

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Kelly said the actions were aimed at preventing the problems that plagued the agency under Greene, fired in September for secretly settling harassment claims filed against him by female employees.

To some critics, the changes called into question why the board had failed to take action previously.

They noted that PHA has been without a permanent inspector general since 1999. For 10 years the watchdog post was filled by acting Inspector General Joseph Daly, who left in 2009 while still serving in acting status. No one has been named to replaced him.

The staff in the Inspector General's Office has dwindled, as workers retired and weren't replaced.

In 1994, the PHA board - including John F. Street, then City Council president - passed a resolution giving the board power to appoint the inspector general.

The official was required to report to the board. Street, who later served as mayor, is now chairman of the board.

Kelly told reporters that he expected a quick appointment to run the reconstituted Inspector General's Office, which will now be the Office of Audit and Compliance.

He said the office initially would be staffed by the people who have been working in the Inspector General's Office.

Kelly, who is on leave from his high-ranking job at New York City's housing agency, said the new office was part of his commitment "to make PHA a more transparent and accountable agency" and that it "demonstrates our desire to make sure our funding is effectively used."

PHA spokeswoman Nichole Tillman said in a statement that "the responsibilities of the new office are somewhat similar to the inspector general, but this department will be more visible, with a broader scope, assuring compliance across the board on policies such as ethics, procurement, and sexual harassment."

Street said he could not explain why the board never took action after the last permanent inspector general left in 1999.

"It [is] not possible to know for sure how the events which troubled Carl Greene and therefore PHA would have been different had the board acted to hire an inspector general back at that time," Street wrote.

Kelly said the Office of General Counsel would be responsible for overseeing PHA attorneys and outside lawyers hired by the agency.

It will be required to report to the board as well as the executive director. Under Greene, board members said they were blindsided by work he assigned to outside lawyers, including secret settlement of harassment claims.

Between 2007 and mid-2010, PHA paid $33 million to outside attorneys. Experts say that was far more than other public housing agencies paid.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is reviewing the outside legal fees as part of a wide-ranging forensic audit.

During Friday's board meeting, Kelly announced that he had appointed Audrey Lim, who holds a doctorate in psychology, as his acting director of human resources, and Stacey Thomas as PHA's acting equal opportunity officer.