Politics & Government

Housing Authority Determined to Regain Trust

The Housing Authority has been under fire for holding a non-advertised meeting and approving a contract some deem questionable.

 

The chairman of the Princeton Housing Authority was at times emotional at the board’s first meeting of 2012, but said the Authority plans to regain the public’s trust in the New Year.  

“I would be remiss to sit here as if everything has been status quo and everything had been functioning without any turmoil for public notification or media over the past month or so,” Chairman Leighton Newlin said on Tuesday.

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Last month, Princeton Borough officials questioned some of the authority’s practices, specifically citing a contract approved during a meeting held in violation of the state’s Open Public Meetings law.

The $65,000 contract with Lakewood Housing Authority provides for a minimum of 10 hours of work per week, preferably in Princeton during business hours. The services are primarily filled by Scott Parsons, who was the authority’s full-time executive director until September when he resigned to take a job with Lakewood.

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Borough Councilman Roger Martindell calculated that Parsons previously earned $57 per hour in Princeton, including benefits, and now earns $125 an hour under the Lakewood contract. 

Martindell has called for a state investigation into the Authority, which owns and manages 236 affordable housing units in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township.

On Tuesday, the issue of Parsons’ contract resurfaced after Authority member Linda Sipprelle asked if Parsons, a certified public accountant, was able to complete specific accounting tasks during his 10-hour a week contract.

Newlin immediately interjected.

“Linda, we have gone through the 10-hour a week situation ad nauseum,” he said. “You have just talked about and referenced his 10 hours a week and to me, that’s counterproductive and undermining and as a member of this board, shame on you for bringing the 10 hours a week up in the way that you did. This gentleman here (Parsons) consistently works more than 10 hours a week.”

When questioned after the meeting, Parsons estimates he works an average of 20 hours per week on Princeton's behalf.

Board member Henry Pannell said the 10-hour per week minimum was only inserted into the Lakewood contract at the suggestion of the Borough attorney.

Newlin said the Authority’s lapse in initially approving a contract during an unadvertised meeting wasn’t an isolated incident in Princeton. He picked up a copy of The Princeton Packet and pointed to a front-page article about three members of Borough Council, mayor-elect and a councilwoman-elect violating the Open Public Meeting Act on Dec. 28.    

Authority Attorney Glenn Cochran said the Borough rectified the situation the same way the authority did, by re-noticing the meeting as required.

“It’s not necessarily intentional, we all can make mistakes,” Newlin said. “Things should never be blown out of proportion. The intent is what the important thing is. If things are not done maliciously, they should not be portrayed as malicious.”

The Authority’s board has changed membership over the last month, as longtime Commissioner Jacqueline Swain’s appointment expired and Vice Chairman David DeGeorge resigned.

Newly appointed is Rev. Deborah Brooks. Also new is Lance Liverman, the new Township liaison, who joins Barbara Trelsdad the Borough’s liaison. Neither Liverman nor Trelsad are voting members.

One position on the authority remains open.

The Authority will reorganize and elect a chair and vice chair when it has a full complement of members next month. 


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