Pittsburgh Housing Authority CFO hired to head 2 Butler County authorities

Nearly six months after they fired their longtime director, Butler County's housing and redevelopment authorities hired an executive director Monday.

County officials say that Edward Mauk, chief financial officer of the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, has plenty of work ahead in restoring confidence in the troubled twin Butler agencies.

“His credentials are pretty impressive. But the authorities are not through with their problems. They need to re-establish credibility with the community. The public became suspicious this year. Accusations cause a lot of people to wonder what's really going at the authority,” said Bill McCarrier, chairman of the three-member Butler County Commission, which appoints authority board members.

Mauk, 47, a graduate of Penn State and Saint Vincent College, did not return phone calls.

“He has impeccable credentials, experience in the housing industry,” authority Solicitor Andrew Menchyk Jr. said. “He has a great deal of understanding and brings a high degree of integrity. The authority's biggest challenge is permanent leadership.”

Mauk replaces Perry O'Malley, 66, who was fired in March and is challenging his dismissal with the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9.

The authorities' board approved a five-year contract with Mauk at $135,000 per year, more than O'Malley's $128,435 salary.

That salary is excessive, said county Treasurer Ben Holland, who this year clashed with the authorities' board.

“It's just too much pay for a government position. Perry was overpaid to begin with,” he said.

When firing O'Malley, the board said he used public resources for “personal and private business endeavors” that conflicted with his duties. He abused travel, expenses and leave time, and neglected his duties, according to a resolution the board passed.

In his appeal, O'Malley wrote that he felt he was discriminated against because of “statements and baseless accusations made personally to me.”

O'Malley did not return phone calls Monday.

In February, Holland withheld nearly $41,000 in state money from the county's housing authority because it refused to say why O'Malley was on paid leave.

“I do not know why there is this secrecy. They are an entirely public entity. They need to come forward with this information. Does he owe the authority any money?” Holland said.

Emails from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the housing authority in January stated that O'Malley spent too much time on outside consulting work and had not submitted documentation from the housing authority for a federal program.

Mauk's appointment was made after a search by a national recruitment firm, Menchyk said. The board interviewed four candidates for the job.

Mauk lives in Pittsburgh and will become a resident of Butler County, a requirement of the job, Menchyk said.

Rick Wills is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7944 or rwills@tribweb.com.