Alanda Richardson, the CEO of the Hickory, North Carolina, Housing Authority is under scrutiny, after credit card statements revealed some questionable purchases, the Hickory Daily Record reports.
After contacting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, city officials with the Hickory Public Housing Authority (HPHA) questioned purchases between July 5, 2022, and Sept. 9, 2024, made with a credit card in Richardson’s possession. These included a $388 payment to Ecostyle Chauffeured Transportation in Raleigh, a $1,415 charge from online retailer Temu, a $2,600 payment to Caribbean restaurant Bahama Breeze.
A massive number of purchases were allegedly made on Dec. 14, 2023, including a $445 at a Lowe’s hardware store in Morganton and $98 payment to Village Inn Pizza in Hickory.
“Since the (Hickory Public Housing Authority) exists to administer HUD’s Section 8 Voucher Program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has been contacted and made aware of this situation,” city officials said in a press release. “As more comes to light through the ongoing evaluation of the HPHA’s financial situation and past activities, more information will be shared.”
Due to Richardson, who has served as CEO for over 20 years, not being a Hickory city employee and the city’s finances being separate from the housing authority, none of the city’s finances were affected.
However, it does heighten some of the growing drama city agencies are facing. According to WHKY News, a discussion to abolish the Hickory Housing Authority has been circulating since October 2024.
The city council first presented a resolution to transfer duties to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) as a result of HPHA’s poor performance and complaints by citizens against the agency. Following the proposed resolution, five long-serving board members resigned on November 4.
The credit card accusations are the latest in a growing number of allegations against Hickory’s housing authority.
In 2015, a 10-page complaint was filed against a former agency manager alleging they offered to pay female tenants’ rent for sexual favors. Richardson claimed the complaints came from disgruntled employees and that her knowledge, “no staff member ever brought it to my attention” and “no resident ever complained.”
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