During the last year, DuPage Housing Authority board members have been unable to persuade Zirl Smith to sign on as the agency’s full-time executive director.
So DuPage Housing Authority board members agreed Tuesday on the next-best alternative, voting to extend for another year Smith’s contract as the agency’s interim executive director.
Smith, a former chief of the Chicago Housing Authority who now runs a consulting business in Chicago, has said he does not want the DuPage job on a permanent basis.
The contract extension gives the agency some sense of short-term stability. But it puts off at least for several months a decision on who will head the housing authority.
More Top Picks Best Anti Glare Laptop Screen Protectors
Smith has won much praise from board members and affordable-housing advocates in the county since taking over as interim director in May 1993.
He has helped guide the authority’s efforts to broaden its role and take a higher profile in addressing the county’s need for affordable housing. The authority traditionally had limited its housing efforts to administering the federally funded program that provides rental assistance to about 1,500 families in DuPage.
The DuPage Housing Authority itself does not own any public housing units.
Smith, an acclaimed housing expert in Wilmington, Del., before coming to Chicago, took over as interim executive director at a time of turmoil within the agency.
Former longtime executive director Elaine Libovicz had been the target of criticism from housing advocates and reportedly had clashed with board members over efforts to change the agency’s image. She was demoted in February 1993 and resigned in June 1993.
Smith said he will leave his post if board members agree on a replacement before next June when his contract extension ends. The contract calls for Smith to be paid about $60,000 for what essentially is considered a part-time job.