The 10 Public Housing Authority Officials Paid the Most from Federal Coffers

The Housing and Urban Development Department reported on May 16 that 100 percent of public housing authorities complied with a congressionally-mandated executive salary cap in 2013. PHAs -- which are state and locally-run entities that receive a significant amount of federal funding -- were prohibited in fiscal years 2012 and 2013 from using federal Section 8 and Section 9 funds to pay the salaries of their top officials in excess of $155,500. Lawmakers extended the prohibition in the fiscal 2014 HUD appropriations law, and the current cap is $157,100, based on Level IV of the Executive Schedule pay scale.

In the current statute, however, the cap does not cover total cash compensation. So, some top PHA officials earned more than $155,500 last year in federally-funded salary and bonus because of a loophole in the law. Below is a list of who received the most compensation (salary and bonus) from Section 8 and Section 9 funds at the country’s PHAs in 2013. This list does not necessarily include the highest-paid PHA jobs in the country, many of which use a mix of funding streams to compensate employees. We’ve listed the total compensation including federal and non-federal funds for certain positions where applicable, if the person received more money on top of compensation from the federal coffers.

The highest-paid PHA executive in 2013 was the city manager of the Santa Monica Housing Authority, who received a total compensation of $353,484 (salary, no bonus). That figure does not include any Section 8 or Section 9 funds.

Top Federally-Funded Compensation in 2013 Paid to Public Housing Authority Executives

1. $218,750 – Chief Finance Officer, Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia. The total compensation for this position in 2013, including federal and non-federal funds, was $305,350.
2. $200,750 – Interim President and CEO, Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia. The total compensation for this position in 2013, including federal and non-federal funds, was $306,350.
3. $197,989 – Executive Director, Housing Authority of the Borough of Lodi, New Jersey
4. $195,639 – CEO, Guttenberg Housing Authority, New Jersey
5. $181,769 – Executive Director, Housing Authority of Baltimore City
6. $178,070 – Acting Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Bradenton, Florida
7. $175,430 – CEO, Corpus Christi Housing Authority, Texas
8. $174,900 – Director of Capital Programs, D.C. Housing Authority. The total compensation for this position in 2013, including federal and non-federal funds, was $213,400.
9. $171,142 – Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Augusta, Georgia. The total compensation for this position in 2013, including federal and non-federal funds, was $217,695.
10. $166,510 – Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Bradenton, Florida. 

(Image via Rudy Balasko/Shutterstock.com)