CHFA declines to renew Kilduff as executive director

The quasi-public Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, an important player in the development of affordable housing in the state, is holding a special meeting Wednesday to name an interim leader after the authority declined to renew the contract of Karl F. Kilduff as its executive director.

Kilduff came to the authority in July 2015 and will depart on June 20. He was a town administrator in Darien, where former Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein had been the first selectman. Klein was not reappointed when Gov. Ned Lamont took office in January.

Seila Mosquera-Bruno, the new housing commissioner, said in a telephone interview Monday that the authority recently made the decision to make a change.

“The board decided to go in a different direction,” she said. “We thank Karl for his dedication to the authority these past few years. We wish him the best.”

Kilduff could not be reached for comment.

Paul Mounds, the chief operating officer for the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont, said the change was not sought by the governor.

“Seila made a recommendation based upon his contract coming up,” Mounds said. “She spoke to various board members and from there they moved forward with it.”

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority was created in 1969 by the General Assembly as a self-funded entity that provides loans to first-time home buyers and developers of affordable housing. It is authorized to borrow funds on the bond market and administers the federal Low Income Tax Credit program in Connecticut.

In 2018, CHFA provided 3,206 mortgages to first-time buyers of single-family homes and financing to build or renovate 847 units of affordable housing. It had bond issues of $741 million in 2018 and anticipates $625 million in 2019, according to a CHFA summary of its activities.

The authority awarded $10 million in tax credits last year, which are expected to generate $94 million in private investments in affordable housing.