(A) (1) The City Council shall appoint five persons who shall constitute the Housing Authority 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. A certificate of the appointment or reappointment of any Commissioner shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk/Treasurer 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. Three 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 by-laws of the Authority shall require a larger number.
(2) 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 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 Authority 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 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 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 Authority, and such 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 such 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) 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 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/Treasurer a request for a hearing before the City Council, the Commissioner shall be deemed as removed from office. If a request for a hearing is filed with the Clerk/Treasurer, the City Council 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. 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 such information.
(`77 Code, § 2-206)
(B) The Municipal Housing Authority established under State law prior to December 25, 1969, shall have continued existence after that date under the Nebraska Housing Authority Law. All Commissioners of such Authority and all officers, legal counsel, technical experts, directors, and other appointees or employees of such authority, holding office or employment by virtue of prior state law on December 25, 1969, shall be deemed to have been appointed or employed by the Mayor under the provisions of the Nebraska Housing Authority Law and shall from that date forward conduct their operations consistent with the provisions of that Act.
(`77 Code, § 2-207)
(C) The Municipal Housing Authority is owned by the municipality and operated through the Housing Authority Commission. The Housing Authority 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 Nebraska Housing Authority Law.
(`77 Code, § 2-208)
(D) Except as otherwise specifically provided, the definitions and terms set out in the Nebraska Statutes relating to Housing Authorities under the Nebraska Housing Authority Law are hereby adopted by reference as they now exist or may hereafter be amended.
(`77 Code, § 2-209)
(E) The Authority 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 Authority 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 Authority has conclusively determined to be sufficient to enable one to secure, safe, sanitary, and uncongested dwelling accommodations within the area served by the Authority and to provide an adequate standard of living.
(4) The Authority 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 Authority 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; or
(b) The economic factors which affect the financial stability and solvency of the project.
(6) The Authority 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 Authority 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 Authority 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 Authority to inquire into the financial condition, family composition, medical, personal, and employment history of any tenant or prospective tenant.
(9) The Authority shall prohibit subletting by tenants.
(`77 Code, § 2-210)
(F) The Housing Authority 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 Authority 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 such persons; and provided further, that no tenant in good standing then in occupancy shall have his or her tenancy terminated in order to provide dwelling units for classes or categories of applicants as the authority may establish.
(`77 Code, § 2-211)
(G) The Housing Authority shall keep an accurate account of all its activities and of all its receipts and disbursements and shall make an annual report at the second regular meeting in January of each year to the City Council.
(`77 Code, § 2-212)