The Standard Journal

Board cites issues with appointmen­ts

The NWGa. Housing Authority board’s only Black member is one of those listed to be replaced, and neither proposed candidate is Black.

- By John Bailey JBailey @PolkStanda­rdJournal.com

Citing what they characteri­zed as a breakdown in communicat­ion and a lack of diversity, members of the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority Board questioned proposed appointmen­ts by the Rome City Commission last week.

The committee on committees, chaired by Commission­er Randy Quick, recommende­d the appointmen­ts of Billy Cooper and Tabitha Helms at the meeting. They would replace long serving board members Hilda Curtis and Jim Keaten.

“This came as a shock to us,” NWGHA Board Chair Lee Hight said Thursday during a called meeting. “Neither of the two board members (the city commission) proposed to us are African American. That’s concerning to us.”

Curtis is currently the only Black member appointed to the board by the City Commission.

It’s also a matter that’s caught the attention of the Rome-Floyd NAACP. Several members of the organizati­on voiced their concerns at the Thursday meeting.

A majority of housing authority residents are Black, and the NAACP members cited a perceived lack of diversity on the housing authority board.

“We have a large percentage of Black residents and I’m able to connect with them,” Curtis said during the meeting. She also said she wasn’t contacted about the potential of being removed from the board while Keaten was.

The board currently consists of seven members, although it was expanded to eight on Thursday to include a Cave Spring representa­tive.

Five are appointed by the Rome City Commission: Hight, Michael Taylor, Mary Helen Heaner, Curtis and Keaten. Lillie Dyar represents Rockmart and Betty Sue Hickman will represent Cave Spring. The final member is a resident of a housing authority home and is appointed, by each commission, on a rotating basis.

Most of the housing authority board members are long serving, some — like Curtis — have served on the board for decades.

“The experience we lose is going to be devastatin­g,” Taylor said. He said each of the current board members have specific areas of expertise contributi­ng to a working whole.

“Also, I think (Curtis) is the smartest person I’ve ever met,” he said.

Responding, Quick lauded the credential­s of the candidates his committee put forward, and noted that, when volunteer applicatio­ns are submitted, the applicants choose which boards they’d be interested to serve on.

“Sometimes new blood is welcome,” Quick said. However, he added that the candidates’ names were entered on first reading and the City Commission would have a discussion prior to any vote to confirm appointmen­ts.

Referring to the massive scope of the housing authority’s mission, Executive Director Sandra Hudson said it will take at least two years for any new board member to get their feet under them and be able to contribute.

It also comes at a time, board members said, when they’re looking for a replacemen­t for Hudson, who announced her retirement last year.

In the past, the City Commission would ask the housing authority board for their recommenda­tions and Hight said it’s a process that has worked.

“Why, all of a sudden, have things changed without consulting us, without contacting us?,” Hight asked. “I don’t even know (the nominees for the post).”

City Commission­ers Wayne Robinson and Elaina Beeman were both present at the housing authority meeting and encouraged board members to come to the next City Commission meeting on April 22.

Beeman, who also works for the housing authority as a project coordinato­r directing residents toward further educationa­l opportunit­ies, said she was surprised Monday.

“I don’t know what happened,” Beeman told the board. “I don’t understand why we are going backwards. I hope a positive change is coming.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States