Residents urge review of Housing Authority nominee; commission confirms slate with one dissent

During the appointments segment the clerk read a slate of nominees for city boards and committees. Public commenter Michael (transcript: Michael Rers) raised concerns that the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale had been out of compliance for roughly 18 months by not including a resident tenant commissioner and urged the commission to confirm that the mayor's nominee met statutory eligibility for a resident commissioner.

Michael told commissioners: "For the last year and a half the Housing Authority Fort Lauderdale has failed to be in compliance with having a resident tenant commissioner." He recommended the commission confirm eligibility documentation and consider appointing additional resident commissioners to increase representation.

The mayor said the nominee was a county employee who reportedly qualified as a voucher recipient and that the nomination was made with research indicating eligibility; the mayor asked the city attorney to confirm. Commissioners agreed to proceed with the appointments while the vice mayor withheld a yes vote pending verification; the roll-call result recorded one commissioner voting no at the time of the vote.

The commission approved the slate of appointments; staff and the mayor committed to follow up with the Housing Authority executive director (Tam English) and the city attorney to confirm compliance and to consider increasing resident representation on the Housing Authority in the future.