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Housing authority hires executive director
The new director will earn $92,000 in his first year on the job.
YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority hired a top official with the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Mo., as the agency’s executive director.
Clifford Scott, 36, will begin his new job May 5.
“What I bring to Youngstown is transparency and integrity,” Scott said. “I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Since January 2007, Scott has served as Section 8 director at the Kansas City housing authority. Section 8 is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that assists low-income families with rent.
Scott signed a three-year contract with the YMHA, said Frances Gray, chairwoman of its board of commissioners.
“He has a good relationship with people [at HUD] and had strong references,” Gray said of Scott. “It will be good to have someone with an outside perspective.”
Scott will receive $92,000 during his first year, and $93,840 annually during his second and third years as executive director.
Eugenia C. Atkinson retired as YMHA’s executive director in November after nearly nine years in that position and about 23 years working for the agency. She received $101,000 during her final year.
Gray said she’s very pleased to have Scott work for the agency, but he was not the board’s first choice.
The board’s top choice was Dwayne Alexander, a supervisor with the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Alexander turned down YMHA’s offer after being promoted by the Philadelphia authority to keep him there, Gray said.
Scott was a solid No. 2 selection, Gray said.
The board conducted a national search to replace Atkinson. Of the 34 applicants, 12 were interviewed by telephone. The board then reduced the number to six.
“We had some excellent candidates,” Gray said. “It was hard to put together a top 12.”
Besides Alexander, Michael J. Krause, YMHA’s deputy executive director and general counsel, withdrew from the selection process after being interviewed.
“He felt he’s not ready at this point” to be director, Gray said.
Since Atkinson’s retirement, Krause has served as interim director.
Krause was the board’s third choice for the job.
The fourth through sixth choices, Gray said, were, in order:
UPhilip Smith, director of Choice Homes in Youngstown.
UHerman Hill, director of business development and compliance at Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership.
UJohn Hunt, a housing official in Mason, Ohio.
Robert Bush, YMHA’s former board chairman and currently an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, was not on the list of finalists. Bush resigned Dec. 28 to seek the appointment. Ohio’s ethics laws prohibit those serving on public boards to seek employment within the agency he serves.
Bush wasn’t considered, Gray said, because guidelines from HUD, which provides funding to YMHA, requires a person in that situation to wait a year before seeking such an appointment.
The federal agency does offer waivers to that restriction but denied Bush’s request for one, Gray said.
“He would not necessarily have received [the job] even if we had the waiver,” she said of Bush.
YMHA has 1,555 public housing units for low- and moderate-income families in Mahoning County, with most of its units in Youngstown.
Before working in Kansas City, Scott, a Buffalo, N.Y., native, spent 31‚Ñ2 years as director of New York State’s Section 8 program, the third-largest housing agency in the country. Scott was a principal with a real estate firm dealing primarily with affordable housing before his New York appointment.
Scott is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and sociology and a master of science degree in economics and public policy.
skolnick@vindy.com