Fulton County has lost $1.2 million in federal housing funds because it failed to spend it fast enough.
Federal rules required the money to be obligated within a certain time, and it wasn’t. County officials spent recent days scrambling to ensure they didn’t lose another $1.4 million for the same reason. On Tuesday Chairman John Eaves signed contracts to spend that money – a day before a Wednesday deadline imposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A preliminary internal audit attributed the mistake to human error in the county’s Housing and Human Services Department.
The prospect of losing millions in federal funding for low-income residents has angered elected officials, who wondered why it happened.
“Worst-case scenario, heads need to roll,” said Commissioner Robb Pitts. “You can’t explain that to citizens. How do you let free money go back?”
Eaves said County Manager Dwight Ferrell, who oversees Fulton’s daily operations, will make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Management’s going to deal with that,” Eaves said. “The good news is the money’s been reclaimed.”
Fulton County missed a June 2013 deadline for committing $1.2 million in 2011 HOME Program funds it had been awarded. The funds are used for a variety of housing programs, including renovation of affordable homes for poor people.
Fulton was supposed to have “fully executed” contracts with local agencies to provide the services, but it did not. Though HUD gave Fulton opportunities to provide the documentation, apparently Fulton officials didn’t heed the warnings. So in January HUD revoked the $1.2 million.
Then it happened again. On April 10 HUD notified the county it planned to revoke more than $1.4 million in HOME Program funding unless Fulton executed contracts to spend it by the end of this month. That left county officials scrambling to find ways to spend the money.
Eaves and Ferrell pleaded the county’s case to HUD Regional Administrator Edward Jennings. Eaves said the negotiations helped avert the loss of the $1.4 million and clarified what Fulton must do in the future to comply with federal rules.
On Tuesday Eaves signed contracts to provide a variety of housing services to low-income residents with the $1.4 million. Details of the services to be provided and who would provide them were not immediately available.
Though the county audit continues, Eaves said the preliminary findings traced the problem to “serious human error” at the county’s Housing and Human Services Department. The county’s internal auditor is evaluating the department’s processes and procedures for monitoring compliance with federal rules.
“I expect the manager to fix this problem,” Eaves said. “It shouldn’t get to this point.”
About the Author
