Former public housing chairman sues mayor over removal from commission

Jun. 21—Former Brunswick Housing Authority Chairman William Kitts has filed a lawsuit against Mayor Cosby Johnson claiming Johnson's decision to remove him from the BHA commission was a violation of his due process rights.

Johnson and Kitts — along with their respective attorneys, City Attorney Brian Corry and Stewart Duggan of Rome law firm Brinson Askew Berry — sparred over the issue on March 1 at a hearing at City Hall. Johnson, wielding a report prepared by the state Department of Housing and Urban Development and allegations from housing authority staffers, took Kitts to task on his conduct and actions taken and not taken by the Brunswick Housing Authority under his leadership.

Johnson cited inefficiency, neglect of duty and misconduct in office as the reasons for Kitts' removal — all three given in state law as legitimate reasons to remove a BHA commissioner.

HUD alleged in the report, among other things, that the BHA had failed to follow proper procedure in hiring Interim Executive Director William Baker. It also alleged the authority had misused funds, charged residents illegal fees for late payment and trash pickup, cited potential conflicts of interest with BHA commissioners and contractors, and said it exercised little oversight of hiring or purchasing decisions.

It also failed to complete Section 8-related paperwork promptly, which could have caused the authority to lose access to a substantial amount of money the voucher program provides for housing low-income residents, Johnson alleged.

Find this article on thebrunswicknews.com to read the full HUD report and other related documents and court filings.

Johnson further accused Kitts, based on his own investigation and information he said was provided by BHA employees, of sexual harassment, overreaching in his authority as a BHA commissioner, interfering with hiring and other day-to-day activities of the BHA and pushing the board to sign unnecessary contracts for services the BHA already received from other agencies.

In response, Kitts said most of all the HUD report was false and that Johnson's allegations were baseless.

During the hearing, Kitts and Baker maintained that most or all of the HUD report was false. Both sides took to shouting over each other on a few occasions and Duggan questioned the legitimacy of the proceedings, at one point calling it a "sham kangaroo court."

Both Kitts and Baker also alleged that the whole proceeding was the culmination of a conspiracy by the mayor to take control of the housing authority. By law, the mayor of Brunswick appoints all five members of the board of BHA.

Kitts claimed the mayor told him in a private conversation that he "needed a win" and wanted to take credit for recent successes of the BHA. The hearing was Johnson's attempt to get back at him for not cooperating, Kitts said.

Baker elaborated on the conspiracy claims by saying that Shemeka Sorrells, a former member of the BHA appointed by Johnson, was friends with one of the HUD employees who conducted the report and said Johnson pulled strings to get HUD to investigate the BHA after Sorrells was asked to step down by other members of the authority.

Johnson dismissed all allegations of any conspiracy.

Kitts' removal was effective on March 6. Baker handed in a letter of resignation but was fired by the housing authority before his effective date. Johnson appointed Allen Booker, also an elected member of the Glynn County Commission, to replace Kitts.

In the lawsuit, Kitts states that the mayor's allegations were false and that Johnson violated his due process rights. He asks the court to reverse Johnson's decision to have him removed.

Kitts is representing himself in the lawsuit.

In an answer and defense filing, City Attorney Brian Corry denies Kitts's rights were violated, as the hearing was not a judicial proceeding but a discretionary one.

Further, Corry's response states Kitts filed his lawsuit past the time allowed by law to appeal the decision and made other administrative errors in filing the suit.

The case was assigned to Glynn County Chief Superior Court Judge Steven Scarlett.

A hearing had not been set as of Tuesday morning.