The Wilmington Housing Authority has hired a new director with a troubled stop in Nevada.
Delaware Online reported that John Hill, a veteran housing authority executive, was hired by the board to head the agency after a lengthy search.
Hill’s job history includes a stint as director of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority that led to his resignation and settlements by the Las Vegas-based authority over discrimination claims.
While with the Nevada organization, he helped engineer a merger that combined three authorities.
The Nevada housing authority changed policies in response to the claims.
After working in Nevada, he was hired for a similar post in Rochester, NY and held that positon up unti his planned hiring in Wilmington.
The Wilmington Housing Authority, like many of its counterparts around the country, operates with what some critics see as limited oversight and long-running governance issues.
WHA is landlord to 7,000 residents in the city.
A recent report indicated that the a few residents are making more than $90,000 a year live in WHA housing, which is supposed to go to poorer residents and comes with rent subsidies.
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki led an effort to overhaul the board last year, with many of his picks voting for the new director.
The long-time director of the Wilmington authority was ousted last year, following a feud with a longtime political leader in the city amid allegations of problems within the agency.
