NORTHAMPTON – City Council President Ryan O’Donnell’s home-rule petition to add six tenant representatives to the Northampton Housing Authority’s board will be the subject of public forums.
Although action on this proposal has been continued in two City Council subcommittees, it got a generally positive reception at the council’s legislative matters meeting on Sept. 24.
“I think it would be a healthy infusion of democracy that would benefit the people who live there,” O’Donnell said, to the Gazette.
The public forums will be held on Oct. 24 at JFK Middle School at 7 p.m. and on Nov. 13 in City Council Chambers at 7 p.m.
The Northampton Housing Authority board currently consists of five members, four of whom are appointed by the mayor and one of whom is appointed by the governor. One of the mayor’s appointees must be a tenant, and the current representative that the governor has appointed is a tenant as well, bringing tenant representation to two out of its five members. The proposed six new tenant members would be elected by the tenants of the housing authority.
But speaking before legislative matters, O’Donnell said that the legislation was not about the board’s current composition.
“It’s about the future,” he said.
O’Donnell said the impetus for his proposal was the housing authority choosing to ban window air conditioning units in two of its properties during a heat wave earlier this year. The ban was not run by the board before it was implemented by Cara Clifford, the housing authority’s executive director, who pointed to her authority to make this decision without consulting the board. The policy was repealed following a public outcry.
“Why was there not a culture of needing to consult with the housing authority board members?” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell said that the legislation would result in better policy and oversight from the board.
“They (tenants) know what the best policies are,” O’Donnell said.
A new policy on window air conditioning units is set to be presented to the board in the future, although no date for this has been set yet.
If the home-rule petition is approved by the City Council, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz would be asked to submit it to Northampton’s representatives in the Legislature to advance it, where it would have to pass and be signed by the governor to take effect.
Northampton City Solicitor Alan Seewald has reviewed O’Donnell’s proposed home-rule petition and said he believes it is within the Legislature’s power to grant approval.
“If the Legislature saw fit to do it I believe it could,” Seewald said, at the Sept. 24 meeting.
However, he did raise a potential conflict of interest that could arise with tenants having a say over housing authority business where they have a financial interest. The proposal would create a majority of board members who are tenants.
“It draws the eye to that issue,” he said.
However, Seewald also noted that this issue already exists with appointed tenant members, and that hypothetically one could appoint tenants to all seats on the board.
“The potential for conflict already exists,” said Councilor-At-Large William Dwight.
The possibility of a companion piece legislation to address this possible conflict was also floated by Seewald.
Tom Burton, who lives at Walter Salvo House, and Edgardo Cancel, who lives at and is the head of the tenant’s association at Hampshire Heights, attended the legislative matters subcommittee meeting and spoke in favor of the proposal. Neither saw the conflict concern as compelling.
Cancel said he’s never seen a decision from the board where someone financially gained on an individual level.
“That’s not a conflict of interest, that’s a direct interest,” said Burton, on tenants having a say on the policies that effect their lives.
Cancel said Northampton could break ground with this proposal.
“We’re an amazing city,” Cancel said. “And we are trendsetters.”
At the meeting, O’Donnell spoke about how those who live in public housing often seem isolated on their own islands from the city.
“We need to build a bridge to those islands,” he said, adding. “The people who live in public housing are citizens of the city of Northampton just like you and us, and they are often invisible, they often are voiceless, but they deserve some influence over the policies that effect their lives.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.