Community Action Alger-Marquette (CAAM) is back in the news as concerns about valuable programs and agency leadership have resurfaced … this time with the Marquette County Board of Commissioners.
Regular readers may recall an article that appeared in Word on the Street almost two years ago which recounted a litany of grievances raised by former employees, current constituents, agency associates, and program clients. Dissatisfaction was directed primarily at CAAM Executive Director Michelle LaJoie and her leadership tendencies.
Though many accusations of malfeasance centered on LaJoie’s treatment of staff and others who work with the agency, as well as those who depend on it for a variety of services, there were also questions about program shortfalls, both financial and practical.
Out In The Open
Well, some of those questions came to the fore again at the county board’s most recent meeting, held last week, on February 4th. LaJoie was there to update county officials on the current status of the Meals on Wheels program, administered by CAAM, and financed largely by the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress (UPCAP).
The Marquette County Board of Commissioners has no real oversight power over CAAM and its director, but they do have a relationship with UPCAP and how Meals on Wheels funds are assigned and implemented. The board had recently heard concerns from citizens and agency watchdogs specifically regarding that program, which puts food on the table for area citizens unable to provide for themselves… mostly seniors and often veterans.
Problems with Meals on Wheels came to a head last October when the Alger County arm of the service left CAAM and enlisted the Alger County Commission on Aging to administer the program. It seems the folks in Alger County thought they could serve their citizens better than CAAM, and to date, that’s what they’ve found.
According to Kris Lindquist, the commission’s Project Director, they’ve been getting great feedback. “Since beginning the meal program, we have had tons of compliments. We have also tripled the number of meals we anticipated delivering, since October.”
Some of the improvement in service can be attributed to meals being prepared locally, in Munising, rather than prepared in Marquette and trucked to Alger County. Regardless, losing the Alger County portion of the contract was a blow to CAAM, both financially, and likely to agency morale as well.
Questions posed to LaJoie at the county board meeting were met with answers that didn’t seem to satisfy commissioners. And it wasn’t just the Meals on Wheels program that had them concerned about the agency’s leadership. One commissioner said he’d heard of “turmoil” at the agency, while others appeared perplexed at specious answers and LaJoie’s rejection of accusations she labeled as “rumors.”
It was obvious county commissioners were uncomfortable challenging the veteran director’s management of what is possibly the area’s most important public service agency, particularly when her continued employment is ultimately in the hands of someone else… the CAAM Board of Directors.
CAAM board chairperson Karen Kovacs was in attendance at the meeting, and likely also unimpressed with LaJoie’s presentation. Though she won’t comment on personnel matters, I imagine she was disappointed her Executive Director was more evasive than informative. My words.
Why Should We Care?
Normally Word on the Street wouldn’t get involved with issues that deal with how someone’s job performance might impact their professional career and future earnings. But an agency like Community Action Alger-Marquette, formerly known as AMCAB, has a long history of providing valuable services to those in our community… services that might not have any other origin, if not for CAAM, and the efficiency of its operation.
In addition to meals delivered to the aged and vulnerable, CAAM offers housing assistance, early childhood education, help with bills, and other services out of reach to a number of our community members. Thousands have been impacted by the work of CAAM, and continue to rely on that assistance.
It’s imperative that an agency tasked with the types of services delivered by CAAM has a director with the essential heartfelt passion for the agency’s mission. Apparently LaJoie has been able to satisfy the written demands of her job description, at least to the board’s satisfaction, but ancillary responsibilities… like fostering good relationships with partner agencies, has occasionally escaped her.
It brings no joy here to suggest the walls are closing in on LaJoie, and her tenure as Executive Director at CAAM might be in jeopardy. But it brings even less joy to hear of elderly residents missing meals because the person responsible for their delivery is busier covering her tracks than serving her constituency.