The board of Community Action of Minneapolis has suspended its longtime chief executive without pay after a state audit found the agency had misspent taxpayer dollars.
The board approved Bill Davis' suspension Monday. It is in place indefinitely.
"That's all I can say right now," said board chair Mike Anderson. "We will have another meeting later on."
The suspension comes two weeks after the organization was shut down by the state after an audit by the Department of Human Services found leaders of the organization misspent more than $800,000 between 2011 and 2013 in taxpayer money on travel, a celebrity cruise, spa visits and a personal car loan to Davis.
Davis could not be reached for comment.
In an interview last month, Davis defended the financial management of the organization, which gets about half its funding from tax dollars. He said they sent the state more than 100 pages of documents to refute the most damaging findings, but state leaders never included it in the final report. Davis has not provided that document to the Star Tribune after numerous requests.
The board of directors that approved the suspension was only made up of four members. Numerous board members have resigned since the audit was obtained by the Star Tribune, including Sen. Jeff Hayden and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison. Both served during the time covered in the audit, but had appointed alternates.
Despite denying that he was involved in any misspending, Hayden was hit with an ethics complaint by Senate Republicans who allege that Hayden participated in the misuse of funding.
