OGDEN — Susan Manning of the Salt Lake City Housing Authority has been picked to head the beleaguered Ogden Housing Authority.
The announcement comes four months after Jennie Montoya left the post.
"This is a great day," Mayor Matthew Godfrey said. "I'm very excited about the direction the housing authority is taking. This marks a change and a new direction."
Manning, a South Ogden resident, has been the manager of the Salt Lake City Authority's nonprofit division. Before that she was the executive director of the Logansport Housing Authority in Indiana.
Manning assumes her new duties Monday and will be paid about $60,000 a year.
"I care about Ogden, because I live there," Manning said. "I look forward to having the housing authority coordinate services with the other agencies in town to provide affordable, decent housing and to expand the housing stock as needed."
Clorinda Cordova, who initially was hired to succeed Montoya, was not a finalist for the post. Carolyn McComb, the agency's bookkeeper, has been the interim director.
Last fall, Montoya abruptly fired Cordova, who was then the assistant director. The agency had not received almost $400,000 in Housing and Urban Development funds, because it had not completed a required five-year plan.
Cordova alleged that Montoya's erratic management style prevented her from getting the plan done. Her concerns were echoed by former staffers who complained the board had not investigated their complaints about Montoya's management. Tenants also complained that the housing authority's units were not maintained well and that complaints were ignored.
In November, the board reinstated Cordova.