Dave Klevan wins seat on Industrial Development Board

At the BMA meeting last night, Dave Klevan was elected to a seat on the Industrial Development Board in a 3-2 vote. 

There were some fireworks from the very beginning of the meeting, when both Alderman Barzizza and Alderman Massey questioned the minutes of the last meeting, saying that their concerns about the appointment expressed at that meeting were not included. The Commercial Appeal article covers it:

Dave Klevan wins seat on Industrial Development Board 

Please see my previous post on this appointment: 

Industrial Development Board Nominee 

Aldermen Massey and Barzizza emphasize that in their view there was a more qualified candidate who applied during the designated time frame for appointments.  Mr. Klevan's application had been received late, and he would not have qualified for the IDB had he applied when applications were officially being received, as he was a sitting alderman at the time.

The Mayor said that it was his right to appoint a person, and the BMA just votes yes/no on this recommendation. 

Alderman Massey is particularly concerned about whether the makeup of the IDB complies with state law.  State law prohibits City officers from sitting on the IDB. Several of the current IDB  members also serve on various city commissions. Members of these commissions are considered "city officers" under city law. Massey is thus concerned that these individuals, because they are city officers, are prohibited by state law from serving on the IDB. A previous post here, Are Some Members of the IDB Serving Illegally?, discusses this. Here is the applicable state law:

As you can see from the second highlighted part of the above statute, state law requires that the "governing body", in this instance the BMA, choose IDB members from the chamber of commerce, board of trade, or similar organization, unless that pool yields an insufficient number of qualified individuals. Alderman Massey raises two questions. First, does permitting the Mayor to nominate IDB members subject only to BMA approval comply with this statute?  Second, are the Mayor and BMA following the law's requirement that, in considering potential members, they look for individuals in the above identified organizations?

He has asked for legal opinions on these two issues.