The Jacksonville Housing Authority board meets Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. | Elizabeth Caldwell, Jacksonville Today
Published on October 27, 2026 at 1:16 pm
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The Jacksonville Housing Authority board voted Tuesday to fire its embattled CEO.
In an “emergency” meeting, the board voted to terminate CEO Cheron Corbett, who drew scrutiny last week for requesting a large bonus on top of her $300,000 salary. Corbett asked for a 12% cut of any development fees paid to the authority, which could have amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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Corbett’s request came at a time when the city’s independent agencies have been under increased attention for large salaries and failed projects. The leaders of both JEA and the Jacksonville Transit Authority have recently been embroiled in financial scandals.
As Jacksonville Today previously reported, Corbett also was prepping to perform cuts suggested by the Trump administration. She portrayed the move to enact a 40-hour workweek requirement for housing aid participants as mandatory, when the administrative rule published by the U.S. Housing of Urban Development said it was optional.
The public comment period during the meeting was more lively than usual and featured defenders of Corbett.
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A representative from the firm Doeren Mayhew, which has audited the Housing Authority in the past, spoke in favor of Corbett. Laura Anne Pray said she’s seen improvement in the authority’s finances since 2024.
“It takes two to three years to get processes, training and people in place. Based on just the trend, we are seeing those improvements,” Pray said.
A resident of a Housing Authority property, James Brooks, urged the board to move on from the failed bonus proposal. He questioned the emergency nature of the meeting, initially portrayed as a special meeting in agenda documents, and praised Corbett as more friendly than past leaders.
“I’m having a hard time understanding the emergency,“ Brooks said. “I do think you should take a long time to think about your actions and what the results will be.”
The board nevertheless moved to terminate Corbett immediately, with newly elected Chairman Daniel Blanchard calling the Housing Authority’s finances a mess and the bonus proposal “horrific.”
Blanchard said Corbett was given an opportunity to resign before the meeting but refused.
The board decided for convenience to terminate Corbett without cause, leaving her open to 22 weeks of severance pay, or more than $100,000, according to News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner.
Corbett’s attorney, Tad Delegal, told the board after it adjourned that Corbett’s lack of opportunity to defend herself was an issue. Corbett last week was presented with the option to highlight the improvements she’s made to the Housing Authority but was never given a chance to talk before she was fired.
“It was disappointing,” Delegal said. “We thought we were going to have an opportunity to respond to the allegations, but they had their minds made up before they walked in there.”
Delegal said Corbett’s executive team was prepared to offer insights, including contextualizing a multimillion-dollar shortfall in the authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program as representing more housing, since voucher use ticked up 18% in 2023, according to a report by consultant Nan McKay.
Roslyn Mixon-Phillips, who previously served as interim CEO, will take up the reins again as the board searches for a new leader.
