When the city missuses the federal and state funds given it to take care of the poor in its midst, it is no wonder the city is in the mess it is in.
100s of millions of dollars of federal and state money flow through Jacksonville each year.
QuoteAudit finds 'significant' conflicts in city housing program
By Christopher Hong Sun, Sep 27, 2015 @ 11:30 pm | updated Mon, Sep 28, 2015 @ 5:57 am
An audit of a city housing program for poor residents found "significant" conflicts of interest within nonprofit groups that received the public money and raised questions about participants' eligibility.
The report, released by the Jacksonville City Council Auditor's office, focuses on the city's use of state money between 2009 and 2012 and found the following:
■ Officials for nonprofit groups that were paid to oversee the rehabilitation of rental homes were also owners of construction companies that the group chose to complete the work, which appeared to be a "significant" conflict of interest. The same groups also failed to get the required number of price quotes from different construction companies before awarding a contract for the project. The report didn't provide the names of the nonprofit groups, construction companies or the amount of the projects.
■ In many instances, the city didn't keep documentation from participants of a foreclosure prevention program. Without those documents, which the state requires the city to keep, auditors were unable to determine whether a person was eligible to participate in the program.
■ The city also failed to keep documentation from contractors paid to perform repairs and improvements to homes. Without that documentation, auditors were unable to determine whether the companies were eligible to receive government funding or if the projects were completed as required by their contract.
The State Housing Initiative Partnership was administered by the city's Housing and Community Development Division during the period that the audit focused on.
In its response to the audit's findings, the city's housing division said the report "reinforced" many issues an internal review found before its release. It said it worked with a consultant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency to improve its policies.
The division also said it was pursuing a disciplinary action against the employee who oversaw the program that was found to have conflicts of interest, which was one of the recommendations made in the audit.
A city spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for that employee's name.
The audit recommended that city attorneys should determine whether any contract violations were made in the programs with the conflict of interest and whether the city should take action against the two nonprofits. It also recommended the city create a checklist to ensure all required documentation is submitted.
Christopher Hong: (904) 359-4272
For a full copy of the audit go here:
http://forum.preservationsos.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1746
page 10 -- the non-profit information
You may remember this audit from HUD which focused on these same issues:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-jun-busted-feds-audit-jax-after-kim-scott-demolition-spree
Wow. Thanks for posting this sheclown!! I read the entire report and have noted some thoughts/questions below.
Although some of the "violations" appear minor (missing contractor documentation such as Articles of Incorporation or a P&L statement), others are way worse:
- Failure to record mortgages
- Backdating mortgage documents
- Failure to obtain proof of insurance for contractors
- Failure to ensure contractor adherence to contract documents (i.e. $42,195 in liquidated damages owed by contractors)
- Failure to record mortgages in the Division's mortgage subsidiary ledger
- Allowed major CONFLICT OF INTEREST when awarding contracts (blaming a single employee)
Not one audit finding was denied; Laura Stagner, Director of Finance for the Housing and Community Development Division
agreed with all findings. She also stated various checklists have been created to ensure procedures are followed. Management is expected to ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines and this audit proves that expectation was not met. Checklists are great if they are utilized properly. Who will make sure the Checklists are completed?
From the Audit:
QuoteThe State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program is a state program that provides funds to local governments as an incentive to produce and preserve affordable homeownership and multifamily housing.
Not following official written funding guidelines for the smaller requirements leads to ignoring the bigger requirements. As we found out during the HUD audit, ignoring guidelines is grounds for the agency providing the funding to require repayment of the original funding.
- Are there monetary ramifications to the City for not following the SHIP guidelines (i.e. repay funds to the State)?
- Is the City in danger of losing future program funding?
- When will the results of the internal investigation into the conflict of interest be provided?
Oh, and one other question. The Audit Report was prepared on April 25, 2014 and not released until September 23, 2015. Why was it not released for almost
17 months?
The city has declared "war on blight" and including "human blight" -- a desperate attempt to clean up the mess from DECADES of mismanagement of federal and state funds -- money which, if spent wisely, could have prevented the blighting circumstances in the first place and certainly gone a long way to correct the problems caused by the extreme poverty found in the urban core.
How many Jacksonville children could have grown up in cleaner, safer neighborhoods? What would the urban core look like today?
QuoteSince 1975, the City of Jacksonville has received more than $373 million in CDBG funds that have been used to develop and implement a wide-range of programs directed toward neighborhood revitalization, economic development and improving community services.
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=18611.0
and then there's this stuff:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=19258.0
Basically this audit states what we saw in the federal audit. The city lacks the capacity to handle the millions of dollars of government money poured into the city and through this mismanagement the urban core has lost out.
The main findings were that almost half of the non-profits who are trusted to spend the money to rehab and provide affordable housing used their own construction companies to rehab and build. They did not record mortgages for the recipients, there is not adequate paperwork to prove the selection process of the recipients of the housing services were qualified to receive it. Actually, it stated that they didn't even know if, in some cases, these services went to people who actually lived in the houses ie. investors perhaps got the program resources instead of grandma.
The report also says that the city knew these problems existed and did nothing.
https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/conflict-of-interest (https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/conflict-of-interest)
QuoteWARNING
Conflicts that are not managed can result in significant penalties, called "intermediate sanctions," assessed against the person who benefits as well as against the organization. (See IRS information on inurement/private benefit, also referred to as "excess benefit transactions.")
Quote from: stephendare on October 02, 2015, 12:17:22 PM
wait a minute....
is this report saying that 9 'not for profits' took almost all the community block development grants....370 million dollars and paid themselves to build low income housing through the use of NO BID contracts to themselves?
The audit says 4 of the 9 non profits were involved in the significant conflict of interest. It did not mention them by name nor the name of the construction firms involved. Not too difficult to find out, I'm sure.
Also, the audit did not mention the dollar amount. Also, not very difficult to find out.
In addition, the audit did not name the city employee that it is investigating; however, we all know this is not the work of one single employee but rather an accepted standard operating procedure when it comes to federal and state funds.
Unfortunately, this is the reason you have such a large group of Americans that are so opposed to raising taxes or even paying their fair share of taxes. Look at this huge waste and corruption and mismanagement in just this one program. One program in little ole Jacksonville at that. Just imagine the waste of of tax dollars like this around the country. Could do so much better, probably with less.
Have a little read on Coburns Wastebook someday when you have some free time.
http://dailysignal.com/2014/10/22/top-6-examples-wasteful-government-spending-wastebook-2014/
^^^I don't find any of that wasteful. Coburn, a Republican who I'm sure has plenty of wasteful spending under his own belt, frames each example in hyperbolic fashion - there is probably a lot more underlying stuff in each of those examples that we don't know about, or need to know about.
And added altogether, about $2.67M, big whoop.
People are such sheep to follow and listen to anyone lie that they will reduce wasteful spending, lower taxes, and cut bloat out of government.
Quote from: simms3 on October 02, 2015, 05:08:05 PM
^^^I don't find any of that wasteful. Coburn, a Republican who I'm sure has plenty of wasteful spending under his own belt, frames each example in hyperbolic fashion - there is probably a lot more underlying stuff in each of those examples that we don't know about, or need to know about.
And added altogether, about $2.67M, big whoop.
People are such sheep to follow and listen to anyone lie that they will reduce wasteful spending, lower taxes, and cut bloat out of government.
Well, Thats just an article with a few examples, not the book. But then again, you get your hairs cut at $400 a pop and work with Donald Trumps on a daily basis in a super expensive glam city.
Edit: I removed the rest of my cheap shots at Simmsy. It's wasteful and thats a main why taxpayers don't like having taxes raised. Hard to argue that. I'll leave it there. Have a good weekend.
Quote from: Apache on October 02, 2015, 04:51:44 PM
Unfortunately, this is the reason you have such a large group of Americans that are so opposed to raising taxes or even paying their fair share of taxes. Look at this huge waste and corruption and mismanagement in just this one program. One program in little ole Jacksonville at that. Just imagine the waste of of tax dollars like this around the country. Could do so much better, probably with less.
In all fairness, it may not be a waste per se. The contractors may quite possibly doing a decent job and just might be the lowest bid on the jobs.
The biggest issue in my mind is the process and not necessarily the results.
The saddest part of it is that by doing this out in the open, many contractors would be less likely to respond to an RFP if they knew their pricing structure would be a matter of public record. So if they (the double dippers) would have just followed procedure, there's a good chance they would have still gotten the work (through their secondary companies) and still followed protocol with their primar, assuming it's not the other way around.
Hell, in a good majority of projects, the base bid is irrelevant anyhow unless there's a locktight contract preventing substantial changes through the course of the job.
Edit:
Just saw this:
Quote from: stephendare on October 02, 2015, 05:17:25 PM
from what i can tell simms, the controversy isnt over the waste, but rather the process,
Yes. The process indeed.
Quote from: Apache on October 02, 2015, 05:16:42 PM
Quote from: simms3 on October 02, 2015, 05:08:05 PM
^^^I don't find any of that wasteful. Coburn, a Republican who I'm sure has plenty of wasteful spending under his own belt, frames each example in hyperbolic fashion - there is probably a lot more underlying stuff in each of those examples that we don't know about, or need to know about.
And added altogether, about $2.67M, big whoop.
People are such sheep to follow and listen to anyone lie that they will reduce wasteful spending, lower taxes, and cut bloat out of government.
Well, Thats just an article with a few examples, not the book. But then again, you get your hairs cut at $400 a pop and work with Donald Trumps on a daily basis in a super expensive glam city.
Edit: I removed the rest of my cheap shots at Simmsy. It's wasteful and thats a main why taxpayers don't like having taxes raised. Hard to argue that. I'll leave it there. Have a good weekend.
You're right, fairly cheap shots. My once a month posting on here must really ruffle your feathers for you (and others) to constantly get so personal with lame attacks on who you think I am as a person. Whatever. I'm happy where I am and I assume you are too, and isn't that all that matters.
Quote from: stephendare on October 02, 2015, 05:17:25 PM
from what i can tell simms, the controversy isnt over the waste, but rather the process,
Got it...the link provided as an example of wasteful spending harped more on the what spending was on and less about the process. I can understand how the process (aka Bureaucracy) can be frustrating, inefficient, and wasteful. That's why everyone debates what is the best balance between public and private realms? You need both, private is clearly efficient but too self-interested to result in a harmonious society, and public is incredibly inefficient and often wasteful, but enacts the rules/regulations/systems that keep everything in check and in harmony.
To Non-redneck's point, doing public contracts is really sticking your neck out there from a pricing perspective. It's that balance - public accountability, but then that screws $$ because perhaps the better and/or less expensive contractors won't even bid? Who knows?
Unless I'm mistaken, this was a City of Jacksonville audit of programs partly financed with State funds. It was completed in April 2014 but not released until a year and a half later in September 2015 by the Lenny Curry mayoralty. This was about the same time HUD released its Monitoring Report finding the City "lacked the fundamental capacity to administer federal anti-poverty funds consistent with federal regulations." My reading of the City audit indicated that conflict of interest was found concerning two non-profit CDC's who both sponsored housing projects and also performed the work. Poor record keeping was endemic to virtually all elements of the City's Community and Housing Division programs. This means the City has now proved it lacks the fundamental capacity to manage local, state and federal housing program funds. The total of funds audited, as I recall, amounted to some $10 to $15 million. Was all the money audited? or just a sampling of projects that used some of these funds? I don't know. It covered program activity from 2009-12. This means Wight Greggor and/or her replacement Elaine Spencer are implicated as the "city employee" being considered for disciplinary action. Clearly this is a black eye to the entire non-profit housing sector of Jacksonville. The next 5-year CDBG Action Plan is up for reformulation beginning in February. Maybe its time for innovative programs and new faces to show up at the trough for these federal anti-poverty Entitlement Funds. And hopefully this spells the end of any possibility that Alvin Brown will feature in a democratic presidential cabinet as Secretary of HUD. Pray.
Quote from Apache:
"Unfortunately, this is the reason you have such a large group of Americans that are so opposed to raising taxes or even paying their fair share of taxes. Look at this huge waste and corruption and mismanagement in just this one program. One program in little ole Jacksonville at that. Just imagine the waste of of tax dollars like this around the country. Could do so much better, probably with less."
If wasted tax dollars are your pet peeve, try the Pentagon. I still find Rumsfeld's statements about lax accounting at the Pentagon the day before the Sept 11 attacks scary and sad.
"According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions. We cannot share information from floor to floor in this building because it's stored on dozens of technological systems that are inaccessible or incompatible."
The SHIP programs are run by the state, but I believe are mostly federally funded through the state. Here's the State's quick explanation of what the program is:
QuoteFlorida Housing administers the State Housing Initiatives Partnership program (SHIP), which provides funds to local governments as an incentive to create partnerships that produce and preserve affordable homeownership and multifamily housing. The program was designed to serve very low, low and moderate income families.
SHIP funds are distributed on an entitlement basis to all 67 counties and 52 Community Development Block Grant entitlement cities in Florida. The minimum allocation is $350,000. In order to participate, local governments must establish a local housing assistance program by ordinance; develop a local housing assistance plan and housing incentive strategy; amend land development regulations or establish local policies to implement the incentive strategies; form partnerships and combine resources in order to reduce housing costs; and ensure that rent or mortgage payments within the targeted areas do not exceed 30 percent of the area median income limits, unless authorized by the mortgage lender.
SHIP dollars may be used to fund emergency repairs, new construction, rehabilitation, down payment and closing cost assistance, impact fees, construction and gap financing, mortgage buy-downs, acquisition of property for affordable housing, matching dollars for federal housing grants and programs, and homeownership counseling. SHIP funds may be used to assist units that meet the standards of chapter 553.
A minimum of 65 percent of the funds must be spent on eligible homeownership activities; a minimum of 75 percent of funds must be spent on eligible construction activities; at least 30 percent of the funds must be reserved for very-low income households (up to 50 percent of the area median income or AMI); an additional 30 percent may be reserved for low income households (up to 80 percent of AMI); and the remaining funds may be reserved for households up to 140 percent of AMI. No more than 10 percent of SHIP funds may be used for administrative expenses. Funding for this program was established by the passage of the 1992 William E. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act. Funds are allocated to local governments on a population-based formula.
Lot's of information can easily be found on line, here's a link to info from Florida Housing and note that it includes a policy manual.
http://apps.floridahousing.org/StandAlone/FHFC_ECM/ContentPage.aspx?PAGE=0132
Since the department heads are Mayoral appointments who are supposed to meet certain minimum requirements and who are also approved as such by the City Council, one can assume that they have the experience, intelligence and knowledge to understand how the programs governing millions of dollars coming into their departments must be handled, the question must then be why did they not do their jobs? Are they just truly not qualified and the Mayor and City Council were duped? Or did they choose not to follow the program rules for reasons of their own?
Though it was in a different state and city, I have been informed about how one scam worked in this type of program. The person responsible for issuing the work to the contractors and who also insured the approval of the invoices from the contractors simply handed his credit card bills to the contractors and if they got paid, the contractors got more jobs and invoices were never questioned. Corruption like this is never just at a low level employee, it is thread that runs up through the management team as that is how one is guaranteed to get away with it.
Whether this type of thing happens here and it is reflected in the report on the SHIP program I will leave up to the individual to decide for themselves.
When billions of dollars are spent for the Federal level elections, when the same persons are in power for decades, it is easily seen that to have much influence on things at the Federal level, one must either be among the very wealthy or be part of a well financed and well organized organization. Heck, millions spent here for the Mayoral campaigns and people can readily understand that favors will be owed to others. That real access is often bought not simply granted.
As an average individual, I feel the best plan of action if you do not like what you see happening in government at any level is to start small, start local. That is why it is so very important not to let issues like the SHIP audit brings up go unchallenged.
Steve Patterson's article in today's paper "Housing Coordinator sues city over demotion":
Looks like Daryl Griffin got demoted and moved to Parks at a 35k loss.
He was the city official "who oversaw the housing program that auditors faulted for allowing conflicts of interest in contracts" according to today's paper.
He is suing the city for racial discrimination.
Daryl Griffith is throwing Wight Gregor under the bus and says he was following "city policy" which allowed for "self-performing" by the non-profits.
The investigation is ongoing.
Steve Patterson's article in the paper names two of the non-profits mentioned in the audit as "Wealth Watchers" and "Helpful Citizens".
FWIW: I like Daryl Griffin. I doubt he is the master-mind here. I'm sure he did what he was told to do.
Quote from: sheclown on October 19, 2015, 06:16:05 PM
Steve Patterson's article in the paper names two of the non-profits mentioned in the audit as "Wealth Watchers" and "Helpful Citizens".
Wealth Watchers
http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/010/638/2014-010638984-0b768910-9.pdf
Helpful Citizen
http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2013/205/644/2013-205644098-0a9b1dfe-9.pdf
I'm not suggesting anything, but WW has about 20x the revenue stream as HC.
IMO, the smoking gun becomes the % of work completed with a no-bid contract that's funded through federal money.
Stay positive. Conflict of interest In Waterways?
This has to be the best news ever for the Parks Dept. Tony Lopez is gone. We don't have a new FIND guy. We are so LOST.
Anyone else feel sorry for the Baltimore guys?
MJ'ers, we have all given up asking you know who about you know what.
RAM dock only opened when RAM is open.
HEY Jacksonville! We have a BARGE! Does Putnam county know about this?
Tom Cline our new IG. Hope you are taking notes.
Carla Miller, did you get my email on 2015-397?
2014-190 - Wheelchair gang. Keep wheelin. Can't make this stuff up.
Palms Fish Camp- How is that contract coming along?
67 counties in the sate of Florida.
Visit- Entitlement County
SHIP funds come from property transfer tax stamps. The dollars were diverted to the general fund for 4 years while housing cost burden rose to nearly 45% on average in several counties.
Affordable housing is not a priority in Florida.
Quote from: sheclown on October 19, 2015, 06:19:34 PM
FWIW: I like Daryl Griffin. I doubt he is the master-mind here. I'm sure he did what he was told to do.
That's no excuse. None whatsoever.
Quote from: RattlerGator on October 22, 2015, 01:32:46 PM
Quote from: sheclown on October 19, 2015, 06:19:34 PM
FWIW: I like Daryl Griffin. I doubt he is the master-mind here. I'm sure he did what he was told to do.
That's no excuse. None whatsoever.
I don't think it is an excuse, but is an example of a "scapegoat" where the truly guilty get off Scott Free while some underling pays the piper. Plus, without knowing the full story, it could be a case of do this or lose your job. Faced with that, many go along to get along. Particularly in government. They like the idea of paying their bills and having health insurance rather than being on unemployment. Again, not making it out to be 100% right, but something often done and at least understandable.