(A) (1) The governing body shall appoint five persons who shall constitute the Housing Agency and such persons shall be called the Commissioners. One Commissioner shall be appointed each year. Each Commissioner shall serve a five-year term of office or until his or her successor is duly appointed; provided, that all vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms. The governing body may appoint one of its members to serve as one of the five members of such Housing Agency for such term as the governing body may determine. No person shall serve as a Commissioner unless he or she resides within the area of operation of that Housing Agency. A certificate of the appointment or reappointment of any Commissioner shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk and such certificate shall be conclusive evidence of the proper appointment of such Commissioner. A Commissioner shall receive no compensation for his or her services, but he or she shall be entitled to the necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in discharge of his or her duties.
(2) A majority of Commissioners shall constitute a quorum of the Agency for the purpose of conducting its business, exercising its powers, and for all other purposes. Action may be taken by the Agency upon the vote of the majority of the Commissioners present unless in any case the bylaws of the Agency shall require a larger number. The Commissioners shall elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson from among the Commissioners and shall have the power to employ an executive director who shall serve as ex officio Secretary of the Agency. The Agency may also employ legal counsel, or it may call upon the chief law officer of the municipality, for such services as it may require. It may employ technical experts and such other officers, agents, and employees as it may require and shall determine their qualifications, duties, compensations, and terms of office. The Agency may delegate such other powers and duties to its agents or employees as it may deem proper.
(3) During his or her tenure, and for one year thereafter, no commissioner, officer, or employee of the Municipal Housing Agency shall voluntarily acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in any project or in any property included or planned to be included in any project, or in any contract or proposed contract relating to any housing project. If any such commissioner, officer, or employee involuntarily acquires any such interest, or voluntarily or involuntarily acquired any such interest prior to appointment or employment as commissioner, officer, or employee, he or she shall immediately disclose his or her interest in writing to the Agency, and such disclosure shall be entered upon the minutes of the Agency, and he or she shall not participate in any action by the Agency relating to the property or contract in which he or she has any such interest; provided, that nothing herein shall apply to the acquisition of any interest in notes or bonds of the Agency issued in connection with any housing project, or to the execution of agreements by banking institutions for deposit or handling of funds in connection with a project or to act as trustee under any trust indenture, or to utility services, the rates for which are fixed or controlled by a governmental agency.
(4) The Chairperson may remove a Commissioner for neglect of duty or misconduct in office in the manner prescribed hereinafter. The Chairperson shall send a notice of removal to such Commissioner which notice shall contain a statement containing the charges against him or her. Unless within ten days from the receipt of such notice, such Commissioner files with the Clerk a request for a hearing before the governing body, the Commissioner shall be deemed as removed from office. If a request for a hearing is filed with the Clerk, the governing body of the municipality shall hold a hearing at which the Commissioner shall have the right to appear in person or by counsel and the governing body shall determine whether the removal shall be disapproved or upheld. If the removal is disapproved, the Commissioner shall continue to hold his position.
(5) The Housing Agency shall keep an accurate account of all its activities and of all its receipts and disbursements and shall make a report to the governing body on all such information.
(Neb. RS 71-1524 through 71-1526, 71-1552)
(B) The Municipal Housing Agency is owned by the municipality and operated through the Housing Agency Commission. The Housing Agency shall constitute a body corporate and politic, and shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of the Housing Agency Act, being, Neb. RS 71-1572 to 71-15,168.
(Neb. RS 71-1529)
(C) Except as otherwise specifically provided, the definitions and terms set out in the Nebraska Statutes relating to Housing Agencies under the Nebraska Housing Agency Act, being, Neb. RS 71-1572 to 71-15,168 are hereby adopted by reference as they now exist or may hereafter be amended.
(Neb. RS 71-1522)
(D) The Agency shall at all times observe the following duties with respect to rentals and tenant selection.
(1) It may rent or lease dwelling accommodations therein only to persons of low income, elderly, or handicapped persons of low income, and displaced persons in need.
(2) There shall be no discrimination in the eligibility or occupancy of tenants on the basis of race, religion, color, creed, national origin, or ancestry.
(3) The Agency shall not accept any person as a tenant in any dwelling in the housing project if the applicant has an annual income which equals or exceeds the amount which the Agency has conclusively determined to be sufficient to enable one to secure, safe, sanitary, and uncongested dwelling accommodations within the area served by the Agency and to provide an adequate standard of living.
(4) The Agency may rent or lease to a tenant a dwelling consisting of a number of rooms which is deemed necessary to provide safe and sanitary accommodations to the occupants without overcrowding.
(5) The Agency shall fix income limits for occupancy and rents after taking into consideration:
(a) The family size, composition, age, physical handicaps, and other factors which might affect the rent-paying ability of the person; and
(b) The economic factors which affect the financial stability and solvency of the project.
(6) The Agency may accept as a tenant any displaced person or persons in need, regardless of income, but in no event shall such person or persons remain as a tenant or tenants of the Agency for more than a period of six months unless such persons also qualify as persons of low income, elderly, or handicapped persons of low income.
(7) All persons of low income, elderly, or handicapped persons of low income, or displaced persons in need, shall be entitled to the benefits of this section and the Agency may establish rules and regulations consistent with the purposes of this section concerning eligibility and occupancy of the housing project or other such shelter.
(8) Nothing herein shall prohibit the right of the Agency to inquire into the financial condition, family composition, medical, personal, and employment history of any tenant or prospective tenant.
(9) The Agency shall prohibit subletting by tenants.
(Neb. RS 71-1536)
(E) The Housing Agency may establish from time to time rules and regulations consistent with the purposes of this section concerning the priority of eligible applicants for occupancy. The Agency may give preferential treatment to applicants who are servicemen or veterans, relatives of servicemen or veterans, to disabled servicemen or veterans, the elderly or disabled, those in urgent need of adequate housing or who have no adequate source of income; provided, that in any such system of priority, displaced persons in need shall have a priority ahead of all other persons; and provided further, that no tenant in good standing then in occupancy and qualified for continued occupancy shall have his or her tenancy terminated in order to provide dwelling units for classes or categories of applicants as the Agency may establish.
(Neb. RS 71-1547)
(F) The Housing Agency shall keep an accurate account of all its activities and of all its receipts and disbursements and shall make an annual report at the regular meeting in January of each year to the governing body.
(Neb. RS 71-1552)
(1991 Code, § 2-205, 2-205.01, 2-205.02, 2-205.03, 2-205.04, 2-205.05)