Cox to act as city manager after vacancy
Memorial service for Moore set for 11:30 a.m. Saturday
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. on Tuesday announced that Assistant City Manager Emily Cox will serve as acting city manager until further notice following the death of Bruce Moore, the longtime city manager, over the weekend.
Scott made the announcement following the conclusion of an executive session during a meeting of the Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday.
Moore, who was named city manager in December 2002, “passed away peacefully overnight in his Little Rock home,” the city announced in a statement issued Saturday. He was the longest-serving city manager in Little Rock’s history.
On Tuesday, a memorial display occupied the area where Moore typically would sit during city board meetings at the Centre at University Park. A 10 a.m. reception and 11:30 a.m. memorial service have been scheduled for Saturday at the Robinson Center.
Also on Tuesday, a circuit court judge issued a preliminary injunction barring the city of Little Rock from replacing H. Lee Lindsey and Leta Anthony, the ousted chair and vice chair of the Little Rock housing authority’s board.
City board members had been scheduled to consider approving four new appointments to the five-seat board of the housing authority, among other appointments to various boards and commissions.
After the executive session, they ultimately voted to confirm just two housing authority appointees: Karen Buchanan and Bruce James.
City Attorney Tom Carpenter has filed a motion to stay the injunction issued by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Cara Connors until an Oct. 31 hearing.
On Friday, Lindsey and Anthony, represented by attorney Sylvester Smith, filed a lawsuit against the city and Scott that contested their expulsions and sought their reinstatement.
City board members on Sept. 26 voted 6-2 to remove Lindsey and Anthony in separate votes, with two members absent. In a voice vote, city directors opted not to remove a third commissioner, Kerry Wright.
The city board confirmed Wright last March to the seat on the housing authority’s board held at the time by
Sr.
Two other commissioners, Branndii Peterson and Louis Jackson, did not go before the city board for removal proceedings last month.
Peterson’s term expired Sept. 30. She told Scott she would not seek to be reappointed, mayoral spokesman Aaron Sadler said in September. (State law allows housing commissioners to continue to serve after their term has expired and until a successor has been appointed.)
Jackson’s status on the housing authority’s board was unclear; he announced his resignation on Aug. 23 but continued to participate in subsequent meetings.
At the time of Jackson’s announcement in August, Anthony described it as necessary because Jackson was no longer relying on subsidized housing and therefore could not serve in the designated resident position on the housing authority’s board.
Commissioners serve five-year terms. The housing authority’s board normally makes appointments when vacancies or reappointments arise, subject to the approval of the city board.
Lindsey was a first-term commissioner whose term had been set to expire Sept. 30. Anthony initially was confirmed to the housing authority’s board in late 2014. Her latest term was due to expire in September 2024.
The removal of the commissioners was preceded by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report that found major financial and administrative deficiencies at the housing authority.
The Sept. 1 report from HUD’s Quality Assurance Division described “reasonable concerns” that “there is/has been a complete breakdown of internal control(s) and internal quality control procedures are either non-existent or not followed.”
Nearly $30 million in spending was flagged as questioned or potentially disallowed.
Additionally, in August, the housing authority was labeled “troubled” because it scored 40 out of 100 on a HUD assessment system.
The housing authority is led by Executive Director Ericka Benedicto, a former city of Little Rock employee. She is the fifth executive director to serve in a permanent or temporary capacity following the resignation of Rodney Forte in late 2018.