As the Oak Park Regional Housing Center struggles with finances and funding — problems so severe that staff were not paid on time for seven weeks in 2023 — village trustees said they do not feel confident in funding the organization until corrective action and accountability is taken.
Trustees did not vote Tuesday night, but said they were disappointed by what they called a lack of corrective action from the OPRHC despite strong personal support for the organization’s role in the village.
“All I heard was a lack of accountability,” Village President Vicki Scaman said. “I am devastated that this is the inevitable reality. We can no longer put the blame on the village.”
OPRHC Executive Director Athena Williams has disputed allegations she has mismanaged the organization’s money and said a lack of funding contributed to the problems.
She told Wednesday Journal that without enough funding to pay off debt from 2023 and operate in 2024, Live in Oak Park, an esteemed program that helps foster racial integration in the village, will have to be shut down.
This is part of the OPRHC’s mission as a nonprofit organization “to achieve vibrant communities and promote intentional and stable residential integration throughout Oak Park and the region.”
“The integration work has helped to increase the overall value of the community,” Williams has said. “This work is intentional. We have to continue to do this work, to make this difference.”
But now, the Live in Oak Park program will likely be shut down.
At Tuesday’s village board meeting, 12 residents spoke in support of the housing center during public comment, including OPRHC current and former board members and employees. The commenters expressed their support for continuing to foster racial integration in the village through a continued partnership with the housing center.
Scaman, however, responded angrily to some comments that she said accused the village board and village staff of unprofessional behavior while addressing issues with the housing center. Other trustees agreed, also defending the integrity of Village Manager Kevin Jackson and village staff.
Funding for the OPRHC has come into question because for several reasons. The village paused funding for the organization in August 2023 after discovering the housing center had an “inactive status” with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a center funder, for its West Cook Homeownership program. HUD also put the organization on probation last year, which was extended to October 2024.
A financial monitoring shortly after the village paused funding revealed housing center staff had not been paid for three pay periods in 2023. The wages were later received. And last fall, Kolnicki, Peterson & Wirth, a consultant hired by the village, could not complete its performance review of OPRHC because of what it said was the lack of financial documentation from the center.
Finally, village officials said the housing center ended fiscal year 2023 with a deficit of about $356,617.
Williams, however, has countered, saying she is operating at a loss, not deficit. According to her, the problem is more of a cash flow issue. Without village funding, Williams added, staff salaries needed to be paid from other funds, and she needed to take out lines of credit to continue operating.
Now, Williams said she’s open to oversight from the village, but that the lack of funding has harmed the agency, including staff and clients. Trustees, however, pointed out the longstanding struggling relationship between the village and the housing center.
“We don’t have a healthy partnership,” Trustee Lucia Robinson said.
Scaman said she believes the housing center may be threatened due to “poor management.” Trustee Susan Buchanan also listed several instances of late financial reports from the housing center, calling it “mind blowing” that Williams said she didn’t recall all of them.
Village trustees and housing center officials both expressed desires to find a path forward together.