Jacksonville Housing Authority CEO Dwayne Alexander speaks at a board meeting Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. | Casmira Harrison, Jacksonville Today
Published on December 18, 2023 at 8:39 pm
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A report on an investigation into the Jacksonville Housing Authority won’t become public for a while longer, but the agency is extending the CEO’s contract for now and granting him a $25,000 performance bonus.
Housing Authority CEO and President Dwayne Alexander told board members Monday that he had just submitted the agency’s response to a draft report by the Office of the Inspector General regarding the investigation.
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Details of the investigation are unclear until the inspector general’s office publishes its final report, but the draft has circulated among management for days.
Meanwhile, the board agreed to extend Alexander’s existing contract through the end of June, giving the agency more time to gather information about a fair compensation package for him.
The board stopped short of giving Alexander a raise above and beyond the cost-of-living increase stipulated in his contract.
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Alexander received a pay raise in the spring to $250,000 a year, and the board was discussing another raise to about $310,000. Mayor’s Donna Deegan’s office intervened to put that raise on hold. She said it would send a bad message to the community.
A majority of board members agreed that there needs to be more communication and transparency at the helm of the Housing Authority. Board Chairman Christopher Walker said policy changes are in the works to keep board members in the loop on matters such as the inspector’s general’s investigation.
“I have asked that the board be made aware if there’s a draft report,” Walker said.
Deputy General Counsel Lawsikia J. Hodges, who represents the board in legal matters, said that from now on, the board can expect to receive draft reports from the city’s Inspector General’s Office at the same time that Alexander, the mayor’s office and City Council receive the information.
The board did agree Monday to give Alexander a $25,000 performance bonus while they gather more information and discuss goals over the next few months.
“Based on the information presented about what Mr. Alexander has done under the existing guidance of the board, I believe that there was performance and money owing, meaning there should be a bonus at some level there,” Walker said, adding that he couldn’t fault Alexander for a lack of guidance on the board’s part regarding communication and transparency.
“That said, I am not in favor of a raise at this point,” Walker said, “Because I don’t have the independent data to back it up.”
He said it was extremely important to get an executive compensation firm working on the issue “this week.”
Despite the outcome, tension surrounded the discussion of Alexander’s contract. Earlier in the meeting, some board members derided a lack of information getting to them.
“I feel that this board is forced to go into the details because there’s just so much that is being overlooked,” said board member Heather Horovitz. “We don’t have the transparency, the communication or the expertise, giving us the information that we need in order to make policy decisions at the board level.”
Others, like board member Harriet Brock, defended Alexander, saying his evaluations had always been late and he was due a raise.
When asked by a board member if he felt there was room for improvement at the Housing Authority, Alexander shared frustration about the inquiry.
“I think we waste too much time bickering back and forth,” said Alexander, who has been at the helm of the Housing Authority for 2½ years.
“I think it’s just that I get dragged through the mud,” Alexander said. “We are in the forefront of the top housing authorities in the state, and we are at a forefront in the country, and I’m just baffled how I’m being questioned of my ability to move forward.”
Lead image; Jacksonville Housing Authority CEO Dwayne Alexander speaks at a board meeting Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. | Casmira Harrison, Jacksonville Today
