Renee Glover’s long and sometimes controversial tenure as head of the Atlanta Housing Authority may not be over after all.
Glover, the architect of Atlanta's move to demolish most of its housing projects in favor of voucher programs, announced in early October that she would negotiate her departure amid a rocky relationship with Mayor Kasim Reed's appointees to the authority board. They had questioned the massive agency’s spending and oversight.
But nearly two months later, Glover remains in place, and there have been no negotiations on an exit settlement.
Daniel Halpern, a Reed appointee who is now chairman of the authority board, on Wednesday said he is "very comfortable" with Glover's day-to-day leadership.
"She's done it for a long time," Halpern said, adding that "it's not a dysfunctional environment."
Asked after a board meeting whether Glover might end up staying, Halpern said that is an option.
He didn't say what has changed since Oct. 19, when Halpern recommended hiring lawyers to hammer out a separation agreement with Glover.
"Let's see if we can move this process along," he said at the time.
Glover's attorney, Michael E. Kramer, said nothing has changed. Glover still shows up for work every day, he said. But the housing authority has not contacted her side to negotiate a separation, Kramer said.
The authority board met in executive session Wednesday to discuss "personnel matters" but took no action and gave no details of the discussion. But Halpern said afterward that no law firm has been hired and he doesn't know when one will be.
Glover declined to discuss her employment status Wednesday.
Glover's contract, which pays her $325,000 per year for five years, raised the ire of Reed, who took office seven months before it was signed and wanted more say on who ran the agency. Reed told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he also wanted the board to exercise more oversight of a $10 million contract with the Boston Consulting Group, among other matters.
The authority has about 250 employees and a budget of roughly $250 million. It owns 11 highrise buildings and two smaller properties and also coordinators housing vouchers for low-income families. It serves about 50,000 people.
Once Reed named him to the board, Halpern criticized some of Glover's actions, including a $750,000 communications contract for an outside firm. It was later cut to $84,000.
On Oct. 3, Glover announced that she would leave in an "orderly transition" once terms were worked out. Later that month, agency leaders predicted that the process could be wrapped up by early November, or even sooner. Reed said he hoped for a nationwide search for a successor.
Sonji Jacobs Dade, spokeswoman for Reed, said the mayor now "will leave it to the board to make it's own decisions and to work with Ms. Glover moving forward. With a new board in place, the mayor is comfortable with letting them serve and be responsible for what occurs."
If Glover, 62, leaves the agency, it will mark the end of an era. In the early 1990s, the authority was in financial disarray, oversaw rundown housing projects and was on a list for possible federal takeover.
Under Glover's leadership, the authority demolished numerous projects and became known for the "Atlanta Model" of mixed-income development. The moves were controversial at times, but Glover became nationally-known and forged deep ties in the Atlanta business community. She is on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Habitat for Humanity International.
Glover's departure could involve the agency buying out more than three years of her contract.
Halpern said he could not comment on how much it would cost to buy out the contract.
"We want to be careful and deliberative," he said.
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