LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock Housing Authority commissioners will wait for an attorney general’s opinion before deciding how to react to the city board’s recent rejection of a housing commission appointment.
Commissioners held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss what to do in light of city directors rejecting a new five-year term for Robert Webb. City directors have not disclosed the reasons behind their vote, but Webb has speculated that it was because he led the opposition to the city’s recent sales-tax campaign.
There were some concerns regarding his reappointment. City Attorney Tom Carpenter said the official documentation did not include the proper dates for a new term, and then he said the June reappointment occurred too early because Webb’s first term hadn’t expired. That opinion prompted city directors, who first voted Sept. 27, to take a second vote Nov. 1, again rejecting Webb.
Commissioners received notice of the board’s vote several hours after their meeting Tuesday. Once the Housing Authority receives the notice, it has 30 days to appoint someone else. Although the authority is independent of the city with its operations, the city has final say over commission appointments.
In the meantime, Webb has sought an attorney general’s opinion to clarify whether the city board acted too late on its first vote.
City directors voted 81 days after the city received the original paperwork nominating Webb for a second term. State law gives them 45 days to act, otherwise the nomination is confirmed. But the paperwork had the wrong ending date for the new term. City directors voted 36 days after the corrected paperwork was turned in.
Residents of various public housing complexes urged commissioners Tuesday to take some sort of legal action.
“It’s so hard to sit back and watch people totally disrespect how we feel,” said Linda Brown, who talked about how residents attended the city board meeting to plead for Webb’s reappointment.
Webb told other commissioners that he thought they should do something, whether it be litigation or an informal meeting with city directors to find out what happened.
“I think this issue has become far bigger than me,” Webb said. “It’s about the residents now. [City directors] told the residents last week their voice wasn’t important.”
Commissioners, hesitant to make a recommendation, discussed their options for about an hour.
Commissioner Richard Stephen said he was reluctant to spend any of the Housing Authority’s money on litigation.
“There’s no way we can win a lawsuit. It would cost a lot of money, and even if we win, we lose,” Stephen said.
Webb, who remains on the commission until a replacement is named, finally made a motion to wait on the attorney general’s opinion before deciding on the next step.
Commissioners said they could also hold another special meeting once they receive the city’s official notice regarding Webb’s reappointment.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 11/09/2011