LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Over the past several months, the Lee’s Summit Housing Authority (LSHA) has been under federal audit conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

There was accusations former staff members shredding sensitive documents and complaints from landlords about late rental assistance payments.

Today, the housing authority is in the midst of a wave of resignations from the top. The executive director LEFT in September. All board members followed last week.

Although the City of Lee’s Summit has no control over the housing authority since it is a federal agency, the mayor appoints board members.

Lee’s Summit Mayor Bill Baird accepted all the resignations during a closed session Tuesday evening. It’s unclear why their decisions were all made at the same time.

KSHB 41

KSHB 41 attempted to contact all board members. Only one volunteer shared what led to their departure.

“I appreciate their service — some of them had been on the board for decades,” Baird said. “They were just in a tough situation and it was time to reset and we will reset.”

In closed session, Baird also named a new board member.

Heather McKinney, grant writer for the city, will be one of five new members to join the housing authority.

“I work really hard so they can be taken care of,” Baird said. “I’m passionate about affordable housing. It’s not easy for me. It breaks my heart.”

The city’s public housing tenants said they have gone to board members and a revolving door of executive directors for years about unhealthy living conditions and a lack of accountability.

Many tenants felt ignored by management. They placed the blame on the mayor who appoints the board.

“I’m not the type of person to say, ‘Oh, I don’t have regrets,’ because it’s quite the opposite. I say over and over, ‘Did I do it right? the right way? Did I give it?’ my best?” » said Baird. “We may not be done with them, but we want to help.”

The mayor said the city is currently awaiting the results of an on-site housing authority compliance audit conducted by HUD in October.

“We want to know what happened,” Baird said. “We don’t have the ability to go and look at their records; we don’t have any oversight or jurisdiction, but that’s part of the Lee Summit.”

A HUD spokesperson shared a statement with KSHB 41 regarding any investigation or review into LSHA.

“We work to ensure that all the families we serve have access to the quality, affordable housing they deserve. From eradicating housing discrimination to ensuring that the public housing stock of our nation provides safe, quality places to live, HUD is working with Lee’s Summit Housing Authority to ensure these residents are well served,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Beyond recent issues, he acknowledged the housing authority has been on the city’s radar for the past year.

“We are awarding CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds and we were trying to get compliance,” Baird said. “It was a tough decision, but we couldn’t fund their next application because we couldn’t get compliance. It’s not a lot of money, but we had money for repairs and renovations.”

The Town of Lee’s Summit has posted board vacancies here. The mayor said he was looking for experienced candidates living in the city.

They prefer candidates with government experience, skills working with state/federal funding, experience hiring an executive director for a nonprofit, and people who care about affordable housing.

The new board members will be responsible for hiring a new executive director to replace the interim.

Baird hopes the process will be completed by the end of the year.

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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers parts of Johnson County, including the Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission neighborhoods. Share your story idea with Alyssa.