Jacksonville Housing Authority Board Fires CEO Cheron Corbett After 12% Bonus Request on Top of $300,000 Pay

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Jacksonville Housing Authority board voted Tuesday to fire CEO Cheron Corbett at an emergency meeting, ending a week of scrutiny over her request for a large bonus on top of her $300,000 salary. Newly elected board Chairman Daniel Blanchard said Corbett was given a chance to resign before the meeting and refused. The board terminated her without cause, which according to News4Jax leaves her eligible for 22 weeks of severance, or more than $100,000.

The bonus request

Corbett drew attention the previous week when she asked for 12% of any development fees paid to the authority. According to Jacksonville Today, that could have added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The board scrapped executive bonuses on Oct. 20 as financial questions mounted. The firing came as Jacksonville's independent agencies face public attention over large salaries and troubled projects. Jacksonville Today noted that the leaders of JEA and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority have recently been involved in financial controversies of their own.

What was said at the meeting

Public comment ran livelier than usual, and several speakers defended Corbett. Laura Anne Pray, a representative of the accounting firm Doeren Mayhew, which has audited the Housing Authority before, said she has seen the agency's finances improve since 2024. She said, "It takes two to three years to get processes, training and people in place."

James Brooks, a Housing Authority resident, urged the board to drop the bonus proposal but questioned why the meeting was called an emergency. He noted that the agenda first listed it as a special meeting. He said he was "having a hard time understanding the emergency," and described Corbett as friendlier than past leaders. Blanchard described the authority's finances as a mess and called the bonus proposal "horrific." The board voted to end Corbett's employment immediately after that discussion.

Corbett's response

Corbett's attorney, Tad Delegal, said after the meeting that she had no chance to defend herself. He called the outcome "disappointing" and said the board "had their minds made up before they walked in there." Delegal said her executive team was ready to explain a multimillion-dollar shortfall in the Housing Choice Voucher program, which they would argue reflects growth in housing use. He cited a report by consultant Nan McKay showing voucher use rose 18% in 2023. Jacksonville Today reported in June that Corbett was preparing cuts suggested by the Trump administration. At the time, the paper said she described a 40-hour workweek requirement for housing aid participants as mandatory, though a HUD administrative rule made it optional.

What happens next

Roslyn Mixon-Phillips, who previously served as interim CEO, will return to lead the authority while the board searches for a permanent replacement. The board has not said how long the search will take. No upcoming meeting dates or deadlines were listed in the coverage reviewed. The Housing Authority is one of several Jacksonville public bodies under pressure over spending. Its board has now acted twice in eight days, first to scrap bonuses and then to remove the CEO.

Source: Jacksonville Today (Elizabeth Caldwell) and News4Jax reporting, reviewed by Jax Times.