The future of the Hickory Public Housing Authority remains uncertain following Tuesday night's meeting of the Hickory City Council.
Council members went into closed session when it came time to discuss a resolution to abolish the housing authority, a city spokesperson confirmed.
The city council has been weighing the possibly of dissolving the embattled agency since at least October — though there was also discussions in 2016, when the agency was accused of misusing taxpayer money and sexually harassing tenants.
In recent months, council members have criticized the agency for using only 61% of federal vouchers, according to the Hickory Daily Record.
The local newspaper also reports that after an October city council meeting during which council members talked about abolishing the agency, the housing authority's board met in closed session and changed the executive director’s contract.
Now, if Hickory fires the housing authority's executive director, Alanda Richardson, the city must pay her the equivalent of two years' salary — a total of $290 thousand dollars.