Monday, April 22, 2024–9:21 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The Rome City Commission has approved the appointment of Billy Cooper to the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority Board over the objections of the current board.
Cooper will replace Jim Keaton, who has served on the board for nearly 17 years.
Housing authority board chair Lee Hight said during Monday’s Rome City Commission meeting that it will take a new board member about six months to fully understand all of the parts of the housing authority.
“We are in the midst of a search for a new executive director,” Hight added. “We need all our board members on board who know what they have to do to help with this process.”
The only vote against appointing Cooper was City Commissioner Mark Cochran.
“Nothing against Mr. Cooper,” Cochran said. “Obviously, he is a great man but I believe the concerns of the community outweigh the appointment of Mr. Cooper to the housing authority.”
Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel responded.
“Those are five-year appointments,” he said. “They are not lifetime appointments and from this point forward we are going to treat them like five-year appointments.”
Cochran then stated that if the commission was so concerned about term limits, then the commission needed to put term limits on themselves.
Commissioner Elaina Beeman abstained from the vote due to her affiliation with the housing authority and Commissioner Bill Collins left the meeting prior to the vote being taken.
