City continues to have problems with HUD money

[DowntownNow]

Posted today by Tulsa World

City continues to have problems with HUD money
by: P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The city is in jeopardy of losing $4.5 million in federal grants if the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rejects a waiver request.

The city has been under fire by HUD since 2007 for noncompliance on Community Development Block Grant requirements and for the inappropriate spending of $1.5 million.

The city was forced to repay the $1.5 million, but HUD agreed to return those funds to help implement a North Tulsa Economic Development Initiative.

That $1.5 million is part of the $4.5 million at risk, said Dafne Pharis, the city's director of grants administration. The total amount includes funds from 2007 and 2008 CDBG allocations.

HUD agreed to allow nearly $1.2 million of the $1.5 million to go to the Greenwood Community Development Corp. to build a multitenant commercial center in partnership with the Franchising Opportunities Reinforcement With Assistance Rewards program.

The current HUD problem is the city's lack of "timeliness" in developing a city plan for the grant program and the dispersal of funds, said Chief of Staff Amy Polonchek.

The city has until the end of May to get into compliance Pharis said she plans to seek a waiver from HUD to give the city until August to have its grant money obligated, instead of dispersed.

These timelines have been known for a very long time.  Daphne Pharis has repeatedly stalled City Council questions concerning CDBG programs, qualifications and disbursements and now it appears that she was not on top of the deadline for developing the City's plan.  Sorry, this was known since the HUD OIG Audit was released last year in August '08.

In the City's written response dated July 17, 2008, to the OIG Regional Inspector General:

Recommendation 1F. Develop written policies and proceedures for its CDBG program.
We [the City] agree with the recommendation.  The Director of the Department of Grants Administration [Daphne Pharis] will develop written policies and procedures by December 31, 2008.[/i]

That deadline self imposed deadline was 4.5 months ago. 

So due to ineptitude, the City of Tulsa could lose all $4.5 million in HUD Grants and place the North Tulsa Development Initiative in jeopardy...seems this wasn't as high on the interest meter as some said.

[DowntownNow]

This could also suggest why applicants such as the Red Fork Main Street program have not received their allocation of CDBG funds that were applied for and approved by Council in fall of 2008. 

At the March 12, 2009, Council budget meeting for Grants Adminstration, the Council (particularly Westcott and Henderson) grilled Pharis as to why programs that had applied, were previously qualified and approved were not yet funded.  Pharis contended that the applicants had not fully met the requirements for CDBG disbursement.  When questioned by the Councilors, Pharis admitted that she had changed some criteria and was requiring the applicants to comply before being able to fund.  That didn't sit well with Council as they had been provided 'pre-qualified" applicants for approval.

It would now appear that funds may not have been allocated from HUD or were already put on hold since these are from the 2007 & 2008 allocations.  It would also appear that Ms. Pharis was covering for the inability by her and her department to finalize and submit a CDBG plan to HUD within this required time.  As a result, HUD could have frozen the allocations and this is really while those programs have not been funded.  Of course, this is just my opinion but given the facts....