The former executive director of the Greensboro Housing Authority has filed a lawsuit in Hale County Circuit Court alleging she was unlawfully terminated by an illegally constituted board acting in violation of the Alabama Open Meetings Act.
Robin Hamilton filed the complaint on May 1 against the Housing Authority of the City of Greensboro, seeking reinstatement, back pay, attorney fees, and injunctive relief against retaliation. Hamilton is represented by Robert H. Turner, Sr. of Turner Law in Marion.
According to the complaint, Hamilton was hired as executive director on or about September 1, 2024, after having moved into a Housing Authority unit as a tenant in May of that year. The complaint states that Hamilton performed her duties with a great degree of competency.
The complaint alleges that during a board meeting on December 18, 2025, Chairman Ronnie Thomas announced that an executive session would convene and asked Hamilton to leave the room. Hamilton states she was called back in approximately 20 minutes later, at which point Thomas told her the board had voted during the executive session to suspend her with pay. The complaint states Hamilton was subsequently fired.
Hamilton’s complaint contends the suspension and firing were unlawful on two grounds:
- The actions were taken during an executive session in violation of the open meetings law and the authority’s own bylaws.
- The board that took the actions was not legally constituted.
Article III, Section 4 of the authority’s bylaws, attached to the complaint as an exhibit, requires that executive sessions be conducted in accordance with the Alabama Open Meetings Act, effective October 1, 2005, and that Robert’s Rules of Order be followed. The bylaws also require that minutes be kept of all public meetings.
The lawsuit is the latest development in a period of upheaval at the public housing agency. As reported by the Watchman in March, the authority has been operating under interim management since at least early 2026 while a search for a permanent executive director was conducted.
At the March 10 Greensboro City Council meeting, Mayor Ralph Howard said federal officials were involved in looking into concerns at the authority and that the agency was at risk of losing its federal funding.
The Housing Authority had not filed a response to the complaint as of press time.
