Fair Housing Council Put on Probation Over Leadership Issue

The Fair Housing Council of the San Fernando Valley, which last week fired its director for allegedly making an anti-Semitic remark, has been put on six months probation by its parent organization for failing to find a competent director.

Under the terms of the probation imposed Aug. 18 by the Fair Housing Congress of Southern California, the council must hire a director by Feb. 20 or risk losing $102,500 in government funds, said Mary Lee, president of the congress’s board of directors. The council has an annual budget of $178,500.

The private, nonprofit council, which investigates complaints of housing discrimination, was put on probation three days after it fired executive director Betty J. Bankhead.

The agency’s board of directors, in an action disputed by some members, fired Bankhead after witnesses said she called an ex-employee a “money-hungry Jew.” Bankhead has denied making the comment.

Lee said Bankhead’s ouster was not the reason the council was put on probation. “This is a decision the board has been looking into for some time and was not made in response to what transpired last week,” Lee said. “The Valley council needs assistance in getting staff and in carrying out their contracts with the city and the county. They have a problem in hiring and keeping staff.”

The council has not had a permanent executive director for a year and 10 months, said Janet Sohm, the congress’s assistant director. Bankhead, who served about five months, and her predecessor, who served about nine months, had both remained on probation for the duration of their terms, she said.

The position, which pays an annual salary of about $30,000, was vacant for about eight months before Bankhead was hired, Sohm said.

Holly Azzari, on the council board of directors, defended the agency’s hiring record, saying the probation is unneeded.

“It’s been our intention all along to hire someone permanent,” Azzari said. “It’s really been a fluke that the last two persons didn’t work out.”

But Trudy Sibley, another council board member, said she welcomed the congress’s action. Until a new director is hired, Patsy Serrano, the council’s office manager, will act as its executive director, Sohm said. In addition, Marcella Brown, president of the congress, will make weekly visits to the council office on Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, as well as oversee the selection and training of the new executive director, she said.

“It’s a good move,” Sibley said. “I’m frustrated things had to get to this point, but things are in such disarray that maybe we do need big brother watching over us. We’re not effective now, as I see it.”

Lee said the council is meeting its contractual obligations despite the lack of a director. The council contracts with the city and county of Los Angeles to investigate complaints and provide tenant-landlord counseling.

But Sohm said the lack of a competent director caused the council to make repeated bookkeeping mistakes, which have to be corrected by the congress’s accountant.

“I just know he spends too much time correcting their cash requests,” Sohm said. “When they don’t improve and they still come in incorrect, it’s a sign of a problem.”

The council’s president was out of town and could not be reached for comment.