Bill would let Mayor Karl Dean appoint housing agency director

A bill introduced in the General Assembly would allow Mayor Karl Dean to appoint the executive director of the Metro agency that drew heat last year for its planning work on Nashville's convention center project.
The legislation would let Dean decide who runs the Metro Development and Housing Agency, an agency chartered by the state, starting Sept. 1. MDHA's board, which is appointed by the mayor, has the power to hire and fire the executive director.

Dean's administration said it had nothing to do with the bill.

"The Mayor's Office was not involved in initiating the legislation," spokeswoman Janel Lacy said. "All of the state-created authorities in Metro are governed by boards — MDHA, Hospital Authority, Airport Authority, Sports Authority and Convention Center Authority — and that governance structure serves the city well."

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State Rep. Mike Turner, a Democrat from Old Hickory who is sponsoring the bill, said a group of business people, and some members of the Metro Council, approached him about introducing the legislation.

"They thought the mayor treating (MDHA Executive Director Phil Ryan) like any other department head would be better for the citizens of Nashville," Turner said.

MDHA runs Nashville's public housing and urban redevelopment efforts and has played a key role in major downtown construction projects, like LP Field and Sommet Center.

The agency led the planning for the $585 million convention center, which was recently approved by the Metro Council, for most of the past two years. An audit last fall found problems with some of the contracts it administered, including changes in payment amounts that weren't approved by the board and a "commitment" for $104,720 that the board didn't get a chance to review.

PR bill gained attention

Ryan and the agency first came under intense scrutiny last summer after records surfaced showing a prominent Nashville public relations firm had billed nearly $500,000 on a contract with an initial $75,000 cap. The episode raised questions about MDHA's accountability.

Ryan said some of the audit findings were matters of interpretation or speculation by the auditors. In any case, the agency's role in the convention center project will end soon, with some key employees moving over to the staff of the Metro Convention Center Authority.

Chase Cole, chairman of MDHA's board since 1999, criticized the legislation. He said the board, made up of volunteers, represents "a broad constituency" and is accessible to the mayor.

"Certainly, if the mayor had an issue with the executive director, he would have the ability to call any one of us," Cole said. "Fortunately, that hasn't happened."

Cole also said the board's hiring and firing authority "depoliticizes" the executive director's job, making it easier to hire a competent professional and keep that person in place from one administration to the next.

Contact Michael Cass at 615-259-8838 or mcass@tennessean.com.

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