Letter explains dismissal of HRA director

The former executive director of the Cloquet/Carlton Housing & Redevelopment Authority was fired on May 12 for a long list of reasons outlined in a letter its board gave her that day. In the letter, board members declared that the “serious nature” of its concerns left it “no recourse but to terminate” her employment after more than 16 years there.

The Pine Knot News obtained the letter to Debra Shaff from an attorney representing the HRA after the newspaper made a request for information regarding her dismissal under the Minnesota’s data practices act.

The letter is damning when it comes to what the board described as “significant concerns” about Shaff’s behavior toward staff, sloppy recordkeeping, and the use of credit cards and using gift cards to pay a family member.

Although HRA board chairwoman Cindy Slater insisted the week after the firing that there were no criminal aspects to Shaff’s behavior, the letter reprimanded her for “not resolving the missing money issue,” which wasn’t explained.

The letter said Shaff was not “fully sharing records of expenses,” leaving no explanations for expenditures on the company credit card and deficits in the annual audit. She was also accused of not using allocated HRA capital funds in a “timely fashion.”

The board said Shaff gave her husband access codes to HRA properties. It wasn’t clear why he had that access, but the board said Shaff “reimbursed” him through gift cards and paying for fuel for his vehicle. The HRA has a strict policy on relatives not supervising relatives, and the “gifts” for any work he may have been doing for the HRA were not authorized.

The letter said Shaff “created a hostile work environment” within the HRA. It wasn’t clear what “unwanted comments or behaviors” Shaff directed toward staff, but the letter stressed in bold the word “disability” along with “legally protected characteristics” of employees.

The letter also said Shaff broke health confidentiality law by discussing with others the health issues of employees and residents.

The letter said Shaff was inconsistent in providing benefits to employees, telling some employees that a “snow day” was paid time off (it isn’t, under HRA employment policy) while withholding the made-up benefit from others.

Shaff was also accused of moving too slowly in updating technology and preparing materials outlining financial needs of the HRA to state and county officials. The letter also said Shaff did not keep adequate records on employee performance issues. The board asked repeatedly for warning letters sent to employees but Shaff never provided them, the letter said.

The HRA is advertising for a new executive director. The board has met with residents in HRA properties over the past two months to answer questions since Shaff was fired.