Toledo City Council should act promptly to acquaint itself with the processes set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in spending federal money.
The speed should be at least as fast as council has rushed to allocate money from the city’s surplus in the Community Development Block Grant.
And it should be done before council spends money again without going through the steps laid out by the feds.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz on Friday — with apparent reluctance — signed an ordinance passed by council Oct. 9 on an 8-4 vote. The ordinance distributes $200,000 to Family House, the YWCA domestic violence shelter, Nexus Health Care, and the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union.
In signing the ordinance, the mayor passed the buck back to council, with a challenge to be prepared to have its ordinance vetoed (in effect) by Uncle Sam.
Everyone wants the CDBG money to be appropriated to agencies that have proven their ability to carry out services combating blight.
But there’s a right way and a wrong way. Council has not shown that it did it the right way. Council’s failure to make sure all the procedures were followed to the letter brings the city potentially into disrepute with HUD.
Council is smitten and bewitched by the surplus of $3.5 million and can’t wait to spend the money.
All agree the city should not be accumulating surpluses of CDBG funds — and that in itself deserves scrutiny. The money is sent to Toledo to eliminate blight caused by poverty, not to be squirreled away. And when it is spent, it should be for direct services and improvements, not for directors’ salaries or rent in Government Center.
Mr. Kapszukiewicz made clear that there are obvious social service needs in our community. His letter came on the opening day of the annual Tent City for the homeless where the need was fully on display.
But he warned that council is “too cavalier with the rules” that govern how such money is spent. HUD may even block the expenditure of those funds.
The mayor said his office is working with HUD officials to determine whether council members followed all federal guidelines when voting to distribute the carryover funds.
This review of whether federal processes were followed should take place before council passes another CDBG ordinance.
First Published October 24, 2018, 9:30 a.m.
