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Spokane's Ethics Commission found no issues with the relationship between the director of Neighborhood, Housing and Homeless Services and other organizations that work on homelessness, but still recommended the city draft a policy clarifying who can be involved in scoring grant applications.
The world of homeless service providers in Spokane is small.
The work is difficult, and there aren't many people qualified to do it. That means the same few administrators often bounce between a small pool of government and nonprofit organizations.
The tangled web of connections can lead to awkward situations. What happens when someone who used to work for a nonprofit finds themselves leading the government department that oversees the taxpayer money flowing to the same organization they used to work for?
That's essentially the situation Dawn Kinder found herself in this winter, when newly-elected Mayor Lisa Brown appointed her to lead the city's Neighborhood, Housing and Human Services (NHHS) department.
Before Brown hired her, Kinder worked as a senior stabilization officer at Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington. She joined the nonprofit homeless service organization in 2019. Before that, she worked in the city's Community, Housing and Human Services (CHHS) department, which is under the umbrella of NHHS.
Kinder's connections to Catholic Charities were already known. But it wasn't until May this year that several Spokane City Council members learned that Kinder is married to Kelly Keenan, who was working as Catholic Charities' senior vice president of advancement and impact during Kinder's first few months as NHHS director. (Before Catholic Charities, Keenan also worked for the city at CHHS.)
Keenan left Catholic Charities in late April this year for a job as the director of housing assistance programs at the Spokane Housing Authority. That Housing Authority job was previously held by Arielle Anderson, who was hired by the city in March this year to lead the CHHS department that Kinder oversees.
Both Catholic Charities and the Spokane Housing Authority frequently apply for and receive millions of dollars in competitive grants from the city. The grant applications are processed through the CHHS department.
In May, multiple City Council members told the Inlander they were surprised to learn about Kinder's spousal connection to Catholic Charities. They didn't believe anything nefarious was going on, but still wondered about the potential for an appearance of a conflict of interest. Council member Jonathan Bingle said there had long been a "revolving door" between service providers and the city, and expressed an interest in clarifying city policies.
Kinder didn't see an issue when the Inlander asked her about it in May.
"I know lots of people who work in the same field as their spouses," Kinder said. "Spokane is a small community at the end of the day, especially when you look at folks who have experience and passion for this space. The idea that the city is going to hire someone to lead that department who has no connection to a local nonprofit is kind of silly to me."
Kinder added that she planned not to sign any contracts with Catholic Charities during her first year of employment, and would not sign any contracts with an entity involving a family member. Instead she planned to delegate that to another city staffer if either situation should arise.
City spokesperson Erin Hut said in May that Brown had been aware of Kinder's connections to Catholic Charities and the Housing Authority for a while, and didn't see a problem either.
"They've always been open about that relationship," Hut said. "It's never been something that they've hidden."
Several weeks later, on June 13, Kinder submitted a formal request asking the city's Ethics Commission, a volunteer board, to review the matter and issue an advisory opinion.
City code prohibits employees from "having influence on the City's selection of a person or firm having or proposing to do business with the City if the City officer or employee has a personal interest in the selected person or firm."
In her letter to the board, Kinder wrote that grant applications are generally processed through the CHHS department, which has committees that help score and evaluate applications for competitive grants. After applications have been scored, the committee presents their funding recommendations to the CHHS board, which then votes on a recommendation to send to City Council for final approval. (Some grants go through the regional Continuum of Care board, which is supported by CHHS but separate from the city.)
As NHHS director, Kinder said she does not personally score, evaluate or recommend applications that go through the board.
On Thursday, Aug. 8, the Ethics Commission voted 5-0 to approve an advisory opinion in response to Kinder's request. They concluded that Kinder's description of her duties "satisfies any concerns about the potential for unethical conduct."
The Ethics Commission acknowledged that Kinder signs contracts for final approval, but noted that the signatures are an "official sign-off" for decisions made by the CHHS board and "do not reflect independent decision making on her part."
The commission said it would not be a conflict for Kinder to sign contracts awarding funds to Catholic Charities because she does not have a "personal interest" under Spokane Municipal Code, which defines it as a "direct or indirect pecuniary or material benefit." A city employee is deemed to have a personal interest in the affairs of "any person who is a family or household member," including spouses or domestic partners.
When it comes to matters involving the Spokane Housing Authority, the commission also said Kinder doesn't have a "personal interest" because her spouse's salary is fixed and not dependent on any award of grant funds.
Regardless, the commission acknowledged that Kinder had requested an advisory opinion because of "an appearance that her connections with these two organizations could result in favoritism." To alleviate the concerns and "ensure public trust" in the grant process, the commission recommended two steps.
The first is for NHHS to officially delegate signature authority to someone other than Kinder for all contracts involving Catholic Charities or the Spokane Housing Authority. The Commission said Anderson, the CHHS director, would be a logical choice. (The advisory opinion doesn't mention that Anderson worked at the Housing Authority until March this year.)
The second recommendation is that NHHS establish a written policy "setting forth which individuals may be involved in the scoring of applications and in any other aspects of the process that awards grant money through the competitive bidding process." The policy should state that Kinder is to have no involvement in decisions related to grant awards involving Catholic Charities or the Housing Authority, the commission said.
In conclusion, the commission wrote: "Although her duties are performed at a higher level of leadership and she has no involvement with, or influence over, the City's selection of a person or firm having to do business with the City, Ms. Kinder and NHHS must take measures to ensure that signature authority is appropriately delegated, and she should draft written policy that makes her separation clear."
