http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-11-13/story/millions_in_aid_lagging_in_jacksonville_city_hall
QuoteFor more than a month, some Jacksonville social service agencies have turned away people facing evictions and utility turnoffs while waiting for $2.77 million in federal emergency aid to make it through a City Hall approval process.
Needy people outside Duval County, meanwhile, already have gotten help from the same American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants.
That aid arrived because the state was in charge of disbursing those funds in St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker counties as part of a U.S. Housing and Urban Development program. The money is meant to keep people off the streets â€"by paying rent or energy bills â€" and help house the homeless.
While a local HUD official said Jacksonville made its Sept. 30 contract deadline with the federal government, the agencies who will distribute the emergency assistance say they still lack written guarantees that they’ll get the money.
Administrators at many of those agencies said they won’t hand out the aid until the city provides those assurances. Some believe the delay has caused the eviction of a number of Duval County residents.
“It’s safe to say that not only has it happened, but if we don’t get these dollars we’re going to have more and more clients in risk,†said Vivian Southwell, executive director of Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry Inc.
Her agency is slated to get $68,966, about 10 percent of its annual budget, from the federal program.
Mayor John Peyton’s spokeswoman, Misty Skipper, said Friday that none of the contracts could be approved until the city’s fiscal year began Oct. 1. She also said some of the 15 or so agencies slated to receive the grants slowed the process down by not returning signed contracts in a timely manner.
“There’s not a holdup,†she said of the city’s part in the process.
However, city records and interviews showed eight agencies who returned signed contracts to the city by Oct. 5 still don’t have the city’s signature on the documents.
Lacree Carswell, a city Housing and Neighborhoods department supervisor, said those contracts are nearing completion of a multi-step process that includes two reviews by the General Counsel’s Office, another by the Finance Department and a final sign-off by the mayor’s office.
“They’re all going through the process. Believe me, they’re not sitting on anyone’s desk,†she said.
Carswell said the way the city is administering the program, the agencies will get reimbursed for what they spend up to the total contract amount. Since the contract will include retroactive spending for the fiscal year, she said agencies can spend the money now.
“I don’t know why they feel the need to be so nervous about the process,†Carswell said. “... If somebody comes in your door and you can’t help them, you can refer them to another agency.â€
The process works in a different way outside Duval County. In surrounding counties, the state has paid out quarterly advances to agencies who will supply emergency aid, said Tom Pierce, the director of homelessness for the Department of Children and Families.
That means that in St. Johns County, the Salvation Army already has drawn from its $561,623 grant to help the needy. But in Jacksonville, the agency is waiting for the city to sign papers for its $296,218 grant.
Salvation Army social services director Paul Stasi said they’ve tried to start the program slowly for that reason but are getting calls from people who have heard about the grant and can’t wait for help. He said they started serving clients this week and will write checks soon from their own coffers.
From the city’s side, Skipper said the Salvation Army didn’t return a signed contract to them until the end of October.
At Jewish Family and Community Services, financial assistance manager Melissa Slater said the agency has more than 30 people waiting for aid. They’ve screened the people but can’t help them until their grant contract, which the city lists at $284,327, comes through.
Other agencies are more confident about the funding.
“I have no concern that won’t happen,†Catholic Charities Executive Director Laura Hickey said of her agency’s pending $219,840 grant.
She said her nonprofit has other funding sources and hasn’t turned any needy people away.
Sulzbacher Center’s health services vice president, Cindy Funkhouser, said the homeless shelter won’t spend its promised money â€" which the city lists at $174,487 â€" until it gets a contract.
Most of the agencies awaiting city contracts are members of the nonprofit Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville Inc. Its executive director, Dawn Gilman, said agencies are frustrated by the delays while trying to partner with City Hall.
“Are they going to get reimbursed next week or next month? That makes a big difference for a nonprofit,†she said.
bridget.murphy@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4161