These Councilmembers Met (Again) For Approx Three Minutes As Members Of Their "Housing Authority"...For Which They Can Now Collect $50 Each; Records Show Their Housing Authority "Meetings" In 2019 Have Run Mainly 1 to 4 Minutes
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(Oct. 8, 2019, 6:00 p.m.) -- On Oct.8, 2019, six of LB's incumbent City Counclmembers -- Jeannine Pearce, Daryl Supernaw, Stacy Mungo, Dee Andrews, Roberto Uranga and Rex Richardson [Price and Austin absent, 1st dist. vacant] -- assembled in their new "Bob Foster Civic Chambers" for roughly three minutes for which each of them can now collect $50 for "meeting" as members of City Hall's "Housing Authority."
On an hourly basis, collecting $50 for attending a meeting of roughly three minutes amounts to an hourly rate of $1,500 per hour ($50 x 20 = $1,000)
The payments were included (as they have been in previous years) in the FY20 City Hall spending budget, approved Sept. 3 by the same Councilmembers who will now collect the money.
The Oct. 8 "meeting" consisted of three agendized items, one of which was to approve the minutes of its previous month's meeting. Chair Richardson asked staff to summarize one of the agenda items; a staffer did so. Other than to make a motion and second, no other Councilmembers spoke to any of the Oct. 8 agendized items. Official minutes to follow when published by the City Clerk.
The "Housing Authority's" stated duties are [City Clerk text]: "Serves with the City Council as members of the Board of Directors on matters pertaining to housing programs sponsored by the federal government and Housing Authority operations"). Public records (minutes and video) show that in 2019, meetings of the "Housing Authority" 11 members (all 9 Councilmembers + two Mayor-chosen "tenant Commissioners") ranged in length from roughly one minute (1 meeting), two minutes (3 meetings), three minutes (3 meetings), four minutes (2 meetings) and 22 minutes (1 meeting).
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Below is LBREPORT.com's compilation of the record of the previous 2019 "meetings" of the Housing Authority.
2019 "Housing Authority" meetings [source: City Clerk minutes and City Clerk video]:
Jan. 8, 2019: Present: Supernaw, Mungo, Uranga, Hudson, Tanzer and Richardson.
Call to order: 4:33 p.m.: Adjourned 4:35 p.m.
Feb. 12, 2019: Present: Gonzalez, Price, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Uranga, Austin, Tanzer, Pearce and Richardson
Call to order: 5:01 p.m. Adjourned: 5:23 p.m. (Pearce and Austin joined the meeting in progress.)
March 12, 2019: Present: Gonzalez, Supernaw, Andrews, Austin, Hudson, Tanzer and Richardson
Call to order: 5:50 p.m. Adjourned: 5:51 p.m.
April 9, 2019: Present: Price, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Austin, Hudson, Tanzer, Pearce and Richardson
Call to order: 5:05 p.m. Adjourned 5:07 p.m.
May 14, 2019: Present: Gonzalez, Price, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Uranga, Austin, Hudson, Tanzer, Pearce and Richardson
Call to order: 5:21 p.m. Adjourned: 5:25 p.m.
June 11, 2019: Present: Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Tanzer, Pearce and Richardson
Call to order: 4:42 p.m. Adjounred: 4:45 p.m.
July 16, 2019: Present: Pearce, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Uranga, Austin, Richardson, Tanzer, Hudson (Andrews walked in after first of four items; Pearce arrived between third and fourth item.)
Call to order: 4:32 p.m. Adjourned 4:36 p.m.
Aug. 13, 2019: Present: Pearace, Price, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Uranga, Austin, Richardson, Tanzer, Hudson
Total elapsed time: 1:52
Under an ordinance approved over a decade ago by a previous LB Council, all LB Councilmembers plus the two Mayor-chosen Housing Authority "tenant representatives" can collect $50 each time they attend meetings of LB's "Housing Authority" (which LB's incumbent Councilmembers presumably know have run mainly a few minutes long.) Any Councilmember(s) could agendize an item on any Tuesday to amend LB's 2006 ordinance to exclude Councilmembers from collecting the $50 payments for their "Housing Authority" meetings. Or they could just give the money back.
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The current practice stems from a November 21, 2006 Council action under then-recently-elected Mayor Bob Foster, adopting an ordinance paying $50 per meeting attended to members of LB's "Board of Examiners, Appeals and Condemnation" and "Disabled Access Appeals Board" (on which no Councilmembers sit) and the "Housing Authority" board (on which all Councilmembers sit.) Those voting "yes" were then-Councilmembers Bonnie Lowenthal, Suja Lowenthal, Gary DeLong, Patrick O'Donnell, Laura Richardson, Tonia Reyes Uranga and Val Lerch; Absent were Councilmembers Schipske and Gabelich.]
Initial version's text was correct but miscounted number of Councilmembers present on Oct. 8. It was six of eight incumbents (1st dist. vacant.) Text also updated re duration of monthly meetings.
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