Housing authority won’t complete investigation into fired Pasco director
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Outside law firm hired Oct. 15 for an impartial probe
- Truman was placed on paid administrative leave in Nov. 2025
- Agency paid lump‑sum severance equal to salary through March 31
A new leader has been named to head the Housing Authority for Pasco and Franklin County following the firing of its executive director.
Matt Truman left on Jan. 20 after reaching an agreement with the housing authority to call off a three-month investigation into an unexplained complaint. He led the agency for nearly six years.
The housing authority is a public agency with 21 employees and an annual budget of $6 million. Its housing programs serve more than 1,200 people.
Truman was placed on paid administrative leave in September. An outside law firm was hired the following month to investigate the complaint, according to documents obtained by the Tri-City Herald.
Under the agreement, the investigation will not be completed and no information about it will be released.
Meeting minutes from the housing authority’s board of commissioners meeting on Jan. 12 say the board authorized Chairman Les Domingos and Pasco attorney Allyson Dahlhauser to enter into separation agreement negotiations with Truman.
The agreement obtained by the Herald says Truman’s employment ended with a mutually agreed to termination on Jan. 20.
In February, Truman began working as the director of financial services for Grant County Renew, the largest behavioral health provider in Grant County, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Truman investigation
Documents obtained by the Herald show attorneys Kathy Feldman and Jennifer Berry of Ogden Murphy and Wallace law firm in Seattle were hired Oct. 15 for investigative legal services “in the form of an impartial investigation of an employee complaint, including issues that may arise under the (housing authority’s) policies and procedures.”
Their legal services cost $635 per hour, plus the $350 hourly rate of Pasco attorney who supervised the investigation. It’s unclear the total cost of the investigation.
The Herald requested a full report related to the investigation. Housing authority staff told the Herald that there was no report generated.
The separation agreement says Truman and the agency agreed not to complete the investigation as a condition of his leaving.
The agency agreed to pay Truman a severance amount in a lump sum equal to his base salary through March 31. His annual salary was nearly $147,000, according to his employment agreement obtained by the Herald.
Role of the housing authority
The housing authority is a public entity with a board appointed by the county and the city, but it is not operated by city or county employees.
It helps place people in low-income housing, public housing and the Varney Court farmworker housing complex.
It also provides rental assistance for veterans, families who qualify and other groups.
In 2023, the Pasco housing authority and the Kennewick Housing Authority merged to form the Benton Franklin Housing Consortium. Truman led the consortium.
But the consortium, which was envisioned as a means to strengthen applications for larger, regional initiatives, was dissolved in June 2025. In meeting minutes from that month, Truman reported, “The Benton Franklin Housing Consortium is almost completely dismantled.”
New executive director
Brett Sanders, the agency’s former director of maintenance and capital fund, was named interim executive director on Sept. 25 when Truman was put on paid administrative leave.
The agency’s website now lists Sanders as the executive director. He was first listed as the executive director in a Feb. 23 meeting notice.
The Housing Authority board includes Domingos, Vice Chair Jeremy Bishop and commissioners Paul Cook, Brian Griffith and Mack Funk.
Funk was appointed by the Pasco council to replace Commissioner Linda Dukelow who died on Nov. 29. His term ends in January 2031.
