Hours before Fulton County commissioners were scheduled to discuss removing Antavius Weems and Lamar White as the last two members of the Housing Authority of Fulton County board in a special meeting Monday, Weems broke his long public silence by blasting Commission Chair Robb Pitts.
In a lengthy written statement, Weems claims the troubled housing authority has “successfully completed a 75-day turnaround plan,” but that “the final pieces, hiring key staff,” are somehow being blocked by Pitts.
“Further, Board Chair Pitts continues to hinder the work of the Authority by falsely citing sexual harassment claims,” Weems said in the statement.
Pitts declined to comment Sunday night.
The housing authority, which in both June and July was weeks late delivering Section 8 rent voucher payments to dozens of landlords, is threatened by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development with the loss of federal funding. HUD cited multiple failures by the housing authority, including a lack of qualified staff, and set a July 31 deadline to receive extensive documentation that the authority has failed to provide since late June.
The failure to pay Section 8 rent on time left close to 2,000 people at risk of eviction. Voucher recipients, landlords and former housing authority staff all described the lapse as unprecedented.
County commissioners asked for the authority’s remaining board members to resign, and all did except Weems and White. So the commission scheduled a special meeting for 10 a.m. Monday to discuss removing Weems and White, and to take nominations for an all-new board.
Weems will be at Monday’s meeting, according to a spokesperson.
Commissioners removed housing board member Ronnie Shakir in January, after Weems and other board members alleged Shakir had disrupted meetings and sexually harassed staff — allegations Shakir denied.
Now Weems’ statement gives the housing authority credit for removing Shakir, and says Pitts ignored allegations about Shakir for months.
“Recently, rather than acknowledging that the claims of harassment were against Commissioner Shakir and have been resolved, Chairman Pitts continues to allege that there are similar allegations against the remaining commissioners, Commissioner White and myself. That is not true and he knows it,” says the statement. “Further, as part of a continued pattern of attempting to undermine the work of the Authority, Chairman Pitts is now blocking the full implementation of our 75 day plan to comply with HUD’s recommendation. This must stop.”
Weems’ statement says after Shakir’s removal the housing authority held an internal review, asking for HUD’s assistance.
“The Authority discovered misconduct by the then Executive Director and removed her,” the statement says. It has now given “major hiring recommendations” to HUD. The statement says HUD will not accept the new hires until after Monday’s meeting.
The statement denies any sexual harassment claims against Weems or White, but it does not address allegations by former board members and employees that he dominated board meetings, intimidated staff and demanded that his candidates be hired and paid without required approval.
Along with the written statement, a spokesperson for Weems provided a five-page summary of the claimed internal review.
“The Fulton County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners contracted with a three-member expert team on an emergency basis to assess the state of the Fulton County Housing Authority and to provide recommendations for corrective action,” it says.
