Housing Unit Pay Capped After Honcho Collects $644K

The Obama administration has decided that some public housing authority chiefs are being compensated a tad too generously. The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to extend Congress-imposed limits, and set a salary ceiling of $155,000 for public housing agency officials, AP reports. Members of Congress were outraged to learn last year that some top housing executives enjoyed huge compensation packages, including Atlanta's Renee Glover, whose salary, bonuses, and benefits in 2010 added up to $644,214.

The $155,000 limit applies to agencies managing more than 1,250 public housing units, and falls to $88,349 for agencies handling under 250. Sen. Charles Grassley, who called for an investigation after the housing salaries triggered an outcry, welcomed the move, but called for more transparency. "Taxpayers shouldn't have to sustain gold-plated compensation packages for public employees," the Republican said. "My review has shown that the housing authorities that go off the rails count on a lack of transparency to do what they want." (More Department of Housing and Urban Development stories.)