(A) General provisions.
(1) The City Council shall appoint five persons who shall constitute the Housing Authority, and the 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 a successor is duly appointed, provided that all vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms. The City Council may appoint one of its members to serve as one of the five members of the Housing Authority for a term as the City Council may determine. No person shall serve as a Commissioner unless he or she resides within the area of operation of that Housing Authority. A certificate of the appointment or reappointment of any Commissioner shall be filed with the City Clerk, and the certificate shall be conclusive evidence of the proper appointment of the 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 Authority for the purpose of conducting its business, exercising its powers, and for all other purposes. Action may be taken by the Authority upon the vote of the majority of the Commissioners present unless in any case the bylaws of the Authority 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 Authority. The Authority may also employ legal counsel, or it may call upon the chief law officer of the municipality, for services as it may require. It may employ technical experts and any other officers, agents, and employees as it may require and shall determine their qualifications, duties, compensations, and terms of office. The Authority may delegate any 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 City Housing Authority 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 Commissioner, officer, or employee involuntarily acquires any interest, or voluntarily or involuntarily acquired any interest prior to appointment or employment as commissioner, officer, or employee, the Commissioner shall immediately disclose the interest in writing to the Authority, and the disclosure shall be entered upon the minutes of the Authority, and he or she shall not participate in any action by the Authority relating to the property or contract in which he or she has any interest, provided that nothing herein shall apply to the acquisition of any interest in notes or bonds of the Authority 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) (a) The Mayor may remove a Commissioner for neglect of duty or misconduct in office in the manner prescribed hereinafter. The Mayor shall send a notice of removal to the Commissioner, which notice shall contain a statement containing the charges against him or her.
(b) Unless within ten days from the receipt of the notice the Commissioner files with the Clerk a request for a hearing before the City Council, the Commissioner shall be deemed as removed from office.
(c) If a request for a hearing is filed with the Clerk, the City Council of the municipality shall hold a hearing at which the Commissioner shall have the right to appear in person or by counsel and the City Council shall determine whether the removal shall be disapproved or upheld.
(d) If the removal is disapproved, the Commissioner shall continue to hold his or her position.
(5) The Housing Authority shall keep an accurate account of all its activities and of all its receipts and disbursements and shall make a report to the City Council on all information.
(B) Housing Authority; continued existence as a housing agency.
(1) The local housing authority established under prior state law and in existence on January 1, 2000, shall have continued existence as a housing agency under the State Housing Agency Act, being Neb. RS 71-1572 et seq.
(2) (a) The local housing agency shall conduct its operations consistent with the State Housing Agency Act.
(b) All property, rights in land, buildings, records, and equipment and any funds, money, revenue, receipts, or assets of the authority belong to the agency as successor.
(c) All obligations, debts, commitments, and liabilities of the authority are obligations, debts, commitments, and liabilities of the successor agency.
(3) Any resolution by the authority and any action taken by the authority prior to January 1, 2000, with regard to any project or program which is to completed within or to be conducted for a 12-month period following January 1, 2000, and which resolution or action is lawful under state law as it existed prior to January 1, 2000, is a lawful resolution or action of the successor agency and binding upon the successor agency and enforceable by or against the agency notwithstanding that the resolution or action is inconsistent with, not authorized by, or prohibited under the provisions of the State Housing Agency Act.
(4) All Commissioners of the local housing agency and all officers, legal counsel, technical experts, directors, and other appointees or employees of the agency holding office or employment by virtue of any prior law on January 1, 2000, shall be deemed to have been appointed or employed under the State Housing Agency Act.
(Prior Code, § 32.08) (Ord. 562, passed 9-5-2000)
Statutory reference:
Annual report required, see Neb. RS 71-15, 141
General provisions, see Neb. RS 71-1572 et seq.
Related provisions, see Neb. RS 71-1576