LONDON, ONT -- London Middlesex Community Housing CEO Josh Browne resigned from his job March 20, according to City Hall.
The move comes several weeks after CTV News revealed he was on leave from the troubled organization.
The resignation of Browne is just the latest event in what’s been a very turbulent nine months for the public housing provider.
Last summer an external auditor discovered LMCH had 174 vacant rent- geared-to-income units even as almost 5,000 people sat on a waiting list.
It was taking months on average to repair and reoccupy vacated units.
The nine member board of directors was ousted by council, replaced by the city’s head of social services, Sandra Datars-Bere, as a one-member board.
Now Datars-Bere is leaving for a job in another municipality, requiring council to appoint yet another board.
“The challenges faced by LMCH right now are large,” said councillor Stephen Turner.
A majority of council decided the temporary board to replace Datars-Bere will be made up of four senior city staffers.
“They’re going to provide some really phenomenal expertise that is going to help this organization with the challenges that they have,” said councillor Josh Morgan.
LMCH’s third Board of directors since September will be tasked with hiring a new CEO, who will then work with the next board of directors who will be brought in by the end of the year.
That eventual fourth Board will represent a return to norma being a mix of citizens and politicians.
No timeline has been set to hire a new CEO. The position is being temporarily being filled by another staff member.
