The Hickory City Council has voted to abolish the city's public housing authority.
The vote at Tuesday night's meeting was unanimous, and it caps months of turmoil within the agency, which council members have accused of misusing taxpayer funds and failing to distribute public housing vouchers to low-income residents.
Under the city council's resolution, the powers and responsibilities of the Hickory Public Housing Authority will be transferred to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) effective July 1, 2025.
Anthony Starr, executive director of the WPCOG, will take over as the housing authority's interim executive director. The transfer of power requires final approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development before taking effect.
Closed - door meetings, resignations and a firing
The Hickory Public Housing Authority has drawn the ire of city leaders as far back as 2016, when agency administrators were accused of misspending taxpayer money and sexually harassing tenants, according to reports in The Charlotte Observer.
On Oct. 1, 2024, council members restarted discussions about abolishing the agency amid repeated complaints from tenants and a revelation from City Manager Warren Wood that the housing authority was using only 61% of its available vouchers.
Two days later, the housing authority's board held a closed door meeting and approved a $290,000 severance package for Executive Director Alanda Richardson, should she be fired, the Hickory Daily Record reported.
Later that month, five of the housing authority's seven board members resigned after Mayor Hank Guess said he intended to remove them.
Drama continued to build after the city released credit card statements that showed Richardson had spent thousands on hotels, plane tickets, florists, food and at Dillard's.
On Jan. 16, Richardson was fired by the housing authority's new board. Richardson could not immediately be reached for comment.
'My conviction now is even stronger'
Tuesday night's resolution passed with little discussion among Hickory City Council members.
Only Councilman Anthony Starr spoke on the resolution, saying his belief that the housing authority needed restructuring had only grown since he first raised concerns about the agency in June 2024.
"I want to certainly say not just as a city councilman, not just as a pastor, but also as a concerned advocate for positive progress and change, it's no secret that I started with this comment back in June 2024," he said. "It's always been about serving people. My conviction now is even stronger as it was when it first began."
