The search for a temporary director to lead the Vicksburg Housing Authority has been put on hold and the VHA commission will now focus on finding a permanent replacement for Jim Stirgus Sr., the longtime director who was fired last month. 

“Finding a suitable individual to fill the job for such a short time wasn’t really working, but things have been going pretty smoothly and we are comfortable with trying to avoid the interim step,” said VHA Commission Chairman Jay Kilroy on Thursday. “It also gives us a little urgency in finding a permanent director.”

At least two dozen applicants have submitted resumes for the director’s job, said Kirloy, and the commission will begin reviewing them to set up interviews at its regular meeting Tuesday. The hope, he said, is for a new director to be under contract by the end of the month or early July. 

“We’ve gotten applications from coast to coast, including some from Vicksburg,” he said. “In terms of experience, we’ve gotten the entire range — from people who have 20 plus years of administrative housing authority experience to people who don’t have any.” 

Stirgus, 79, had been the head of the housing authority since June 1988. The commission voted 4-0 to fire him during a closed session on May 19, with one commissioner abstaining from the vote. Reasons for his firing were not made available by the commission, as it was a personnel issue. 

The VHA has been under scrutiny since the Dec. 19 arrest of former maintenance supervisor Charles Jones Jr., 45, 924 Bowmar Ave., who is accused of having 2.2 pounds of cocaine shipped to him at VHA executive offices at 131 Elizabeth Circle. Jones is set to go to trial on the charges on Nov. 30, and separately faces an embezzlement charge stemming from a subsequent search of his home following his arrest that turned up what police claim is stolen VHA property. That charge could come before a grand jury in August. Jones has been out of jail on a $250,000 bond since four days after his arrest, and was also made to post a $50,000 bond on the embezzlement charge.

Since Kilroy and three others were placed on the VHA commission by city officials in February due to lapsed terms of former commission members, a bevy of documentation has been dug up by Kilroy suggesting Jones owned several companies with which the VHA contracted. Many of the checks Kilroy has uncovered regarding the companies have been signed by Jones and Stirgus — who have been friends for decades. A federal investigation into the matter is ongoing.

Nonetheless, Stirgus has not been charged with any crimes, and has steadfastly denied any knowledge of or participation in any illegal activities during his tenure as head of the VHA.

Unrelated to Jones’ arrest, the VHA fell into what HUD terms “troubled status” this year due to a temporary dip in reserve funds in 2005 used to repair roofs on 279 VHA homes and apartments following Hurricane Katrina. The troubled designation means the board had to draw up and submit a detailed improvement plan to HUD, and has to update the plan monthly. The commission has one year from April to get out of troubled status or it will face a takeover by HUD.

Kilroy said he’s been pleased with the applicants thus far, and believes the VHA will find a director who can lead the housing authority through its most trying times. Stirgus’ budgeted salary was $70,000 for fiscal year 2008 and $72,000 for the current fiscal year, while the job posting for the director’s job cites the salary as “dependent on experience.”

Before being fired by Stirgus following his arrest, Jones had worked for the VHA since 1983 and been in charge of maintenance, purchasing and receiving since 1991. Stirgus was a teacher, principal and superintendent of the Vicksburg Municipal of Separate School District for nearly 30 years before his work at the VHA.

Applications for the director’s job will be accepted until the position is filled, said Kilroy, and those who want to apply can send a cover letter and resume to the VHA administrative offices — where the commission’s meeting on Tuesday is scheduled for 5 p.m.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com