
DATE: Wednesday, September 24, 1997         TAG: 9709250613

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MATTHEW DOLAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:  168 lines

CHESAPEAKE FIRES HOUSING DIRECTOR FALKNER SAYS HE WILL HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO SUE AUTHORITY

Douglas Falkner, executive director of the Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority for just six months, was fired late Monday after a deal to get him to resign fell through.

The authority's board of commissioners announced Falkner's termination just before midnight, the culmination of three long meetings, mostly behind closed doors, during the last week.

``It is my sad duty to refer to item 9a in Mr. Falkner's contract. . . .He has committed a serious breach of contract and his termination shall be immediate,'' said Authority Chairman Roland L. Thornton. ``That is the consensus of the board.''

That section of the contract reads in part: ``. . .in any case where, in the sole discretion of the board, Falkner's conduct poses a serious threat to the welfare of the authority. . . termination shall be immediate.''

Thornton said in an interview at a City Council meeting Tuesday night that his effort to call a vote on Falkner's employment in open session was overridden by his fellow commissioners and the board's attorney.

He added that the executive session vote against Falkner was 5-4, with Thornton, John A. Burke, John E. Hayslett and Elmer L. Jackson supporting Falkner while Robert L. Samuel Jr., Marjorie A. Arrington, Althea W. Gallop, Charles F. Sanford III and Helen L. Spruill called for dismissal.

Falkner, who acknowledged that his hard-charging management style may have driven his employees too far, said he believes his firing resulted from several factors, including allegations of sexual harassment and financial mismanagement.

But, he said, he was fired improperly and intends to hire a lawyer to sue the authority.

At the City Council meeting Tuesday night, civic activist Anne Tregembo called the firing ``a great injustice. . . (against) one of the finest gentlemen I have ever known.''

``He has uncovered fraud and corruption there, saving the city thousands of dollars,'' Tregembo said. ``He has been dismissed without thought and without meaning.''

Gene Waters, president of the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations, called on the City Council to reverse the board of commissioners' decision.

This was not the first time the housing authority, which provides subsidized housing for about 2,100 city residents with a budget of more than $7 million in 1996, has been embroiled in controversy. The City Council fired the entire board of commissioners in 1993, citing neglect of duty.

The board stood behind Falkner in April after it was learned he had misrepresented his education and work experience to previous employers.

In an interview immediately following his dismissal, Falkner said some employees of the authority had raised questions about his management after he asked his budget office to draw up two budget scenarios, one of which would have downgraded three managerial positions with a loss in pay.

The three affected employees, he said, knew about the budget scenario - which would have saved the agency $30,000 annually, he said, and complained to the board.

``I have done the job the board asked me to do,'' Falkner said in an interview. ``And now they are listening to employees and job candidates over their executive director? They are supposed to report to me, and I am supposed to report to the board. How could this have happened?''

Falkner said one manager charged that the authority would be bankrupted by borrowing $923,000 for the purchase of a new headquarters building. But the move to buy a 20,000-square-foot building at 1468 Military Highway was approved by the board Monday, with only Commissioner Sanford voting against the measure.

A commissioner had been contacted by a job candidate who claimed she had been discriminated against by Falkner while interviewing for a job, Falkner said in an interview after Monday's meeting. He denied the charge.

Thornton said Tuesday night the charge was unfounded. He said that the candidate, who was black, was upset that a white candidate had been chosen.

Spruill said she was not worried about the future of the authority with Falkner gone. ``I don't think we'll have any problem with any current projects,'' she said. ``We have a good enough staff until we have someone in charge permanently.''

Theresa Brewer, 35, the authority's new director of administration and finance, was appointed interim executive director. Brewer, who spent five years working for the Hampton Housing Authority, said she was approached by board members Monday evening and asked if she would be interested in the position.

Falkner said the board confronted him with specific allegations of sexual harassment or inappropriate comments lodged by staff members.

Falkner admitted that he had asked Brenda Willis, who is director of community development/programs, for a date and had invited Willis and the authority's director of resident initiatives, Margaret Freeman, on a shopping trip to Potomac Mills in Northern Virginia.

Falkner said neither action was inappropriate.

In response, Willis said Tuesday, ``I am not going to make any comment about Mr. Falkner.'' Freeman also declined to comment.

Falkner characterized his firing as ``a palace coup'' by at least three of his top managers concerned about excessive work and his management style who were able to schedule a special board meeting while Falkner was out of state on vacation.

The authority's commissioners are appointed by the mayor and the City Council to four-year terms. The council's liaisons to the board are Councilmen Dwight M. Parker and Dalton S. Edge. Both left Monday night's meeting early, declining to comment on the board's actions.

The board did not take a member-by-member vote in public session on Falkner's termination. Instead, the board affirmed that it was the ``consensus'' of the board to approve his termination. City Attorney Ronald S. Hallman said Tuesday that the vote process sounded legal, but was in contrast to a vote by the City Council to oust former City Manager James W. Rein, which was taken in open session last year.

Thornton, who earlier described his call for a drawn-out gripe session for top managers against Falkner in front of the board as a ``mistake,'' said Monday night that he believes the outcome would have been different had the authority followed its established grievance procedures.

But the authority's attorney, Robert Kinser, quickly cut Thornton short that night, saying, ``There were no aggrievable matters here.''

No commissioner would comment on the specific reasons for Falkner's dismissal.

Falkner, speaking to the board in a calm tone, said he appreciated the opportunity to serve as executive director. But he quickly added that he disagreed with the board's action.

``Your decision is totally in error, but I respect your ability to make your decision,'' he said. ``I believe it was more personal than professional.''

The board did not give Falkner any severance pay, but agreed to let him use a staff car for two weeks.

In a separate interview after his dismissal, Falkner said he was approached by Commissioners Hayslett and Kinser about the board's intention to fire him if he did not resign. Falkner balked at the authority's initial offer of four months' salary and asked for salary for the remaining 18 months on his contract.

But within an hour, the board announced it was firing him instead.

The board also approved several major initiatives in the late moments of the meeting that had been proposed by Falkner. Those items included continuing negotiations to purchase a new authority headquarters building on Military Highway, negotiations to build a new housing development and revisions of the authority's lease and grievance contract for its tenants. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

The dismissed Douglas Falkner says, ``I have done the job the board

asked me to do.''

Chesapeake civic activist Anne Tregembo criticized ``a great

injustice. . . .''

Photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Gene Waters, the president of the Chesapeake Council of Civic

Organizations, called on the City Council to reverse the decision to

fire Douglas Falkner.

Graphic

CHESAPEAKE REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AUTHORITY

The Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority is a political