JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Housing Authority (JHA) Board of Commissioners held an Emergency Meeting in person on Thursday to discuss how to move forward after JHA’s acting CEO Vanessa Dunn resigned.
Dunn was named acting CEO in February after former JHA CEO Dwayne Alexander resigned in January claiming he was being “pushed out.” Dunn had a 12-month contract.
The board did not have a physical quorum so they were not able to take any action to appoint an interim CEO, but they did discuss who they’d like to appoint.
The board is in favor of appointing Roslyn Phillips as interim CEO, while they continue the search for a permanent leader.
Phillips has previously worked for the City of Jacksonville in various leadership roles and also served as a commissioner and chairwoman for the Jacksonville Housing Authority in the past. Most recently she was Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners under Alexander.
Alexander’s resignation came after an investigation by the Inspector General revealed that the housing authority misused funds intended to be used for utilities. Nearly $2 million was loaded onto utility reimbursement payment cards and less than $270,000 of the funds were spent on utilities.
In a one-on-one interview with News4JAX, Alexander emphasized that the funds in question were reimbursements. They’re intended to cover utility costs that were already paid for, which is why most of it was not spent on utilities.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan has maintained that Alexander was not pushed out, even as there were calls from city officials for him to resign last year.
