New housing authority commissioners often absent from meetings

In recent months, commissioners at the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority have approved their agency’s $150 million operating budget, made appointments to ad hoc committees and held a training retreat for the board’s newest members.

A majority of the commission’s nine members were present at the three meetings where that business was done. However, two commissioners — Henderson City Councilman Dan Shaw and Las Vegas City Councilman Ricki Barlow — were absent.

In fact, Shaw and Barlow have been largely absent from housing authority meetings since joining the commission in July.

Shaw has attended two of the 11 meetings held since he joined the commission. Barlow has participated in roughly half the meetings.

Longtime commissioner and housing authority Chairwoman Dora LaGrande said inconsistent attendance is threatening the board’s ability to reach a quorum.

“When they don’t show up, it impacts our ability to do business,” LaGrande said of the agency responsible for providing affordable housing to thousands of families across Clark County. “As commissioners who have made commitment to the 40,000 low-income residents that we serve, their participation should be mandatory if they’re going to be efficient and effective at carrying out the mission of this agency.”

Shaw did not return a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter’s requests for an interview, but he did respond with a written statement sent via Henderson city spokesman David Cherry.

“While I have not been able to attend all of the meetings since my appointment to the Board of Commissioners, I closely follow the issues, the work being done and any votes that are cast when I’m not present,” Shaw’s statement reads. “My absences were due in part to scheduling conflicts and most recently, to my participation in the funeral of a very dear family friend who passed away earlier this month.”

Barlow did not return the Review-Journal’s requests for comment.

New law leads to changes

The two city councilmen are relatively new additions to the housing authority.

Their appointments were spurred by a Nevada law that took effect in July.

Senate Bill 183 required the county’s three largest cities — Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson — to immediately appoint one of their City Council members to the housing authority board.

Henderson council members voted to appoint Shaw on July 18, and Las Vegas council members appointed Barlow the following day.

Neither man expressed doubt in his ability to attend housing authority meetings at the time.

And despite his lackluster record attending housing authority meetings, Shaw doesn’t appear to be having the same trouble with the Henderson City Council. City records show he hasn’t missed any council meetings since August.

Barlow has missed only one Las Vegas City Council meeting and one of the city’s redevelopment agency meetings since August, city records show.

The housing authority pays each commissioner $80 for every meeting he or she attends.

Rules may be rewritten

Shaw and Barlow’s terms on the housing authority do not expire until July 2021.

But their absences could lead to early departures.

Housing authority bylaws state that any commissioner who has three or more “unexcused absences” in the span of a year can be removed for neglect of duty.

However, what constitutes an “unexcused absence” is murky. The housing authority’s bylaws give no definition, and its code of conduct only stipulates that commissioners inform either the board’s secretary or chairperson if they plan to miss a meeting.

Housing authority staff does not track which absences are excused, but Chairwoman LaGrande said that Shaw has always written ahead of time that he will be missing meetings. Barlow has only done so once, she said.

Due to the lack of participation by the two commissioners, LaGrande said she will ask her fellow commissioners to join her in writing stricter rules about attending meetings.

“It is time that we define ‘excused’ and ‘unexcused,’” she said. “We all take an oath, and we commit to serve.”

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.