Despite an impassioned plea from the Little Rock housing authority's executive director, the board denied his request Thursday for $266,000 to give out performance bonuses to employees.
Three members of the Metropolitan Housing Alliance Board of Commissioners held one of their traditionally longest meetings of the year, during which they also voted on the 2019 program plan, interviewed candidates for board vacancies and elected officers.
The commission is meant to be composed of five Little Rock residents, but two commissioners' terms expired at the end of September.
"I have reasonable skepticism on finances," said Leta Anthony, the commission chairman, about the bonuses. The board did not vote on the request because there was no second for the motion.
Rodney Forte, executive director, said he plans to bring up the issue again. Housing agency employees have gotten bonuses for the past several years, he said. Forte added that he wasn't asking for a bonus for himself.
"I'm not here for me," Forte said, choking back tears while making the case for the money. "I'm the boss. I'm here for them."
Board members praised Forte for his dedication to his employees, and Anthony said that the employees have done a good job, but she wanted more information.
Anthony said in a later interview that she wanted details about how the bonuses would be awarded, how much each payment would be and to examine the full budget for next year.
"There's too much uncertainty in the agency," she said. She added that a federal report released in 2017 made her wary.
In 2016, the Quality Assurance Division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which in part regulates and funds local housing authorities, wrote in a compliance review that some of the bonuses given in 2016 "seem excessive," considering that one of its housing-choice voucher programs showed a shortfall that year.
In 2016, employees received $195,950 in bonuses, without board approval, that ranged from $100 to $7,000 apiece, according to the report.
Since the report was sent out in May 2017, the housing agency has submitted a plan to correct mistakes outlined in the report. HUD has approved the plan, according to emails sent to a commissioner.
At Thursday's meeting, the commissioners also gave the go-ahead on the 2019 plan for the agency, which Forte said could be adjusted as needed throughout the year.
Much of the plan deals with three properties -- Cumberland, Fred W. Parris and Jesse Powell towers -- that are scheduled to switch from Section 8 to Rental Assistance Demonstration programs. The switch shouldn't constitute much change for residents, but is a way to allow local agencies to get help from the private sector to make improvements to housing.
All three towers are scheduled to undergo renovations.
The plan would also begin to count unborn children as family members when calculating the size of an apartment a family needs. The housing authority has a "two heartbeats per room" policy, said Jeannie Owens, the Section 8 program director.
Residents must sign yearlong leases through the agency, and while they won't be directly asked if they are pregnant, if they voluntarily report an unborn child, the size of the voucher will increase, Owens said.
"Let's say we have a family that they have four in a two-bedroom," Owens said. "And then during that year, they have a baby. They're going to be overcrowded."
The plan also includes efforts to improve Internet access for residents, said Jada Johnson, an administrative services assistant at the agency. Johnson has worked on the ConnectHomes initiative, a federal push to educate public housing residents on technology, since 2015.
Little Rock was one of 28 pilot cities chosen to implement the unfunded program. Johnson said that since it started, there have been more than 50 trainings for close to 300 people.
"A lot [of people] had never even turned on a computer," she said.
In 2019, she said she hopes to establish partnerships with private businesses so that residents can get reduced rates for Internet access and continue to take classes through organizations such as the Central Arkansas Library System.
The three members present also voted to keep Anthony as chairman and Louis Jackson as vice chairman.
Anthony said she hopes to soon have a full board available to prepare for 2019. Commissioners on Thursday interviewed five candidates and dismissed one who does not live in Little Rock. One other candidate will be interviewed at the beginning of November.
The commissioners plan to make a recommendation as soon as possible to the mayor and members of the city Board of Directors, who will approve two candidates for five-year terms. Candidates are:
• Craig Wilson, director of health policy at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. Wilson is also Mayor Mark Stodola's son-in-law and has a working relationship with Anthony, who serves in various roles on several housing-related nonprofits and advocacy groups.
• Brenda Gilbert, a retired communications industry professional.
• Milton Graham, who wrote in his cover letter that he is transitioning from being a regional director to another position with the Arkansas Department of Human Services' Division of Children and Family Services. Graham has not yet been interviewed.
• James Green, who works in the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.
• Lee Lindsey, who is retired after working for the Department of Human Services. Lindsey knows Anthony through one of her former classmates.
• Monique Sanders, an accounting manager at the Arkansas Foodbank. Sanders has a working relationship with Anthony.
Metro on 10/19/2018