SWAMPSCOTT — Housing Authority Executive Director Irma Chez announced her resignation — effective Aug. 31 — at this week’s Housing Authority meeting.
In her resignation letter, Chez said she initially sent notice of her resignation to the Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners in December. She said she negotiated with the board to stay in her position in return for a new contract with higher pay and more vacation time, and rescinded her resignation in January.
Recently, Chez said, the Commonwealth’s Department of Public Housing and Community Development denied her proposed contract, prompting her resignation.
“They stated that my salary is based on number of units, not performance. Many of our board members were not happy with such news, as they know how hard I have worked in the last three years and two months,” Chez said.
Chez was hired as executive director of the Housing Authority in March 2020 after working in the private sector, where she oversaw commercial, Section 8, and tax-credit market properties on the North Shore and in Boston. She began her career in housing in 2000, when she took a job at Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development.
In 2021, Essex Media Group named Chez Swampscott’s Person of the Year for her dedicated work on public housing. In three years, Chez secured a combined total of roughly $2 million in grant funds, which she used to shepherd a number of projects such as upgrading boiler systems at Duncan Terrace and installing new heat pumps, insulation, shower heads, and LED bulbs at Doherty Circle.
Chez also oversaw the installation of new roofs for eight buildings at Cherry Street and Cherry Court, and worked to secure funding for new electrical panels and porches at Duncan Terrace.
Following her departure, Chez said she plans to open Precise Management and Resident Services — a housing-management company that would provide painting, cleaning, kitchen renovations, answering services, mobile notary public services, and business consultations to property owners.
“During my tenure, my staff and I have made significant progress in restoring the public’s faith in the authority and in our mission to work with integrity in providing safe, decent and affordable housing to our community,” Chez said. “My priority was always what was in the best interest of my residents.”
