Housing News

Jacksonville, Florida- Jacksonville Housing Authority CEO Dwayne Alexander blames the Mayor’s administration for pushing him out as the head of the agency.

During a board meeting on Monday, Alexander announced his resignation and revealed that he was giving a 30-day notice period.

This comes after the confirmation from the Mayor’s Office that the Jacksonville Housing Authority is being audited by the HUD. Also, new investigations have been launched by Jacksonville’s Office of Inspector General.

It’s been months since the agency is in turmoil as it is dealing with an affordable housing crisis with nearly 163,000 applicants on the waiting list.

Becker reported in December that the Housing Authority was under two Inspector General investigations. One investigation revealed the agency squandered nearly $2 million of federal funds meant for utility cards.

Alexander, who was aiming for a $100,000 raise to $350,000 annually, received only a six-month contract extension with a $20,000 raise. However, he refused to sign this contract. Instead, Alexander said that he was leaving the job.

Alexander said during the meeting, “I feel like the new administration is improperly pushing me out through the board of commissioners based on comments made by some of the commissioners in the past”.

Right now, for the next 90 days, Heather Horovitz will be leading the board as vice-chair. Alexander felt like he was being pushed out in a manner that did not go well with the law.
Also, it is not known how long HUD’s audit will last.