The mission of the Atlanta Housing Authority is to “develop, acquire, lease and operate affordable housing for low-income families.” Under the leadership of Renee Glover, public housing has been transformed.
There is much disagreement among housing advocates as to whether that transformation has benefited those low-income families. Heavy-handed and sometimes draconian methods were used to implement changes. For example, it is unclear where low-income families who were displaced have gone. Some hypothesize that some have descended into homelessness.
It is therefore ironic that an agency with such a mission is rife with employees who make such grossly inflated salaries. Should AHA have 22 employees who make more than the mayor of Atlanta ($147,000) and the governor ($139,000)? Not to mention the $325,000 salary of Housing Authority CEO Glover.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting has revealed that the Chicago Housing Authority, with a budget four times that of AHA, has only five employees who make more than $150,000. The housing authority of the city of Los Angeles also has a budget four times that of Atlanta’s and only 11 employees with salaries over $150,000. Miami’s housing authority, which has a budget roughly equal to that of Atlanta’s, has only one employee whose compensation exceeds $150,000.
More than 20 percent of AHA employees make more than $100,000.
How many needy homeless families could be given shelter if excessive fat-cat salaries were directed to AHA’s true mission?
This situation has resulted in congressional inquiries and requests for data about how AHA pays its employees.
The public has a right to know. What does AHA have to hide?
The argument that AHA salaries should be competitive with the private sector is unacceptable. Other housing authorities are able to function without such outrageous salary scales. The fact of the matter is, AHA is a public agency that operates with public money. AHA’s executives should not expect to make salaries comparable with the private sector.
Hopefully, this issue will not be politicized as a conflict for control of AHA between Mayor Kasim Reed and Glover. Atlantans in general and the poor people AHA is supposed to serve would not be well served by playing politics.
Rather, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development should follow through with its proposal to cap the salaries of housing authority employees. If HUD does not act, Congress should.
Derrick Boazman is a former Atlanta City Council member.
