Summary: There is a proposal to cut the number of Board seats for the Housing Authority for the City of Asheville (HACA) from 11 to 9.

The Facts: The Asheville City Council voted less than a month ago to increase the number of HACA Board seats from 7 to 11. Now they are being asked to vote to reduce that number to 9, and specifically to eliminate the seats currently held by Board Chair Tilman Jackson and Vice Chair Reginald Robinson.

Documents: Staff memo

Our Assessment: This is a puzzling move, and we’re troubled by the lack of any explanation about what’s going on. Is 9 really the ideal number of seats, or is this an attempt to kick the Chair and Vice Chair off the Board, but without going through the usual process? 

We have also heard that other changes are afoot at HACA, such as a shift to bi-monthly meetings from monthly ones, which would make the Board significantly less accessible to hear resident concerns.

We’d like to see some more complete explanation of what’s driving these changes, but that is unlikely at present because the item is on the Consent Agenda, which means it is not slated for any discussion. We would encourage the City Council to pull this item and explain the need for these steps before they vote.

Things to do: We invited you to email the Asheville City Council and ask them to publicly discuss the situation at HACA before voting to change the number of Board seats.

Report Back

Update 2/17/24: The Asheville City Council approved this item unanimously at their February 11 meeting, reducing the number of HACA Board seats from 11 to 9.

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 13

Recipients and Responses:

Asheville City Council

• Mayor Esther Manheimer: No response
• Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley: No response
• City Council Member Bo Hess: No response
• City Council Member Kim Roney: No response
• City Council Member Maggie Ullman: No response
• City Council Member Sage Turner: No response
• City Council Member Sheneika Smith: No response