Mayor Parker will replace Homeless Services leadership following financial mismanagement

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker will replace David Holloman, the current head of the city’s Office of Homeless Services, following revelations about financial mismanagement in the office, a top city official said Monday.

With Holloman sitting next to him, Managing Director Adam Thiel announced during a City Council budget hearing that the city is “currently in search of new leadership for the Office of Homeless Services.” It was confirmation that Holloman — who has been serving in an interim capacity — won’t lead the office moving forward.

“Mr. Holloman has provided dedicated service to this agency for a long time. He continues to do so,” Thiel said. “And we certainly expect to continue to have his expertise going forward, albeit not in his current role as the director.”

Holloman, the office’s former chief of staff, has led the office since former executive director Liz Hersh left last year to take a job at a national nonprofit. Following Hersh’s departure, news emerged that the office overspent its budget by nearly $15 million over four years under her leadership.

Council’s microscope on the office has made for multiple tense hearings during what has otherwise been a largely cordial budget season in City Hall. Lawmakers are negotiating with Parker’s administration over the mayor’s $6.29 billion spending and revenue plan, and the sides must come to an agreement by the end of June.

The Office of Homeless Services is requesting an additional $16 million in funding, an amount Holloman said would allow it to continue offering shelter to the city’s homeless as its costs rise. Without the money, the city could lose as many as 500 beds at short-term shelters, he said.

The request comes at the same time that several investigations into the office’s fiscal practices are underway, including by the city controller and an outside accounting firm.

The city’s inspector general Alexander DeSantis released preliminary findings of his own probe last month and said the office’s leadership “knowingly” entered into contracts with service providers that it did not have enough money to pay for. Officials in some cases underestimated costs, then delayed paying contractors until a new city budget was approved.

Under questioning by Council members Monday, Thiel — whose office oversees the Office of Homeless Services — said the Parker administration has taken a variety of steps to reform the office, including hiring independent consultants to review its fiscal practices and fortifying oversight by other agencies.

“We are changing essentially everything about how OHS does business, except for its vital mission,” he said.

» READ MORE: Investigation finds ‘deliberate’ overspending in Philly’s Office of Homeless Services

Some Council members expressed continued reservations about the agency.

Katherine Gilmore Richardson, the Democratic majority leader who has been reviewing the Office of Homeless Services for more than a year, peppered its leadership with in-the-weeds questions about specific budget items, unpaid bills, and existing contracts, some of which they couldn’t immediately answer.

And she chided them for not sending a breakdown of how the $16 million budget request would be spent until just 40 minutes before the hearing was scheduled to start.

Other members indicated they’re concerned that if the city does not agree to the Office of Homeless Services’ budget request, it could negatively impact vulnerable populations.

“Despite the recent controversies that were noted,” Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents West Philadelphia, said, “we cannot deny the fact that the Office of Homeless Services fulfills a critical need in the city.”