Asheville – The City of Asheville’s Community Development Division Manager Dennis Newburn came before city council with a request for three changes to the local plan for spending grants from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Each year, the city receives funds from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). As is well known, federal funds come with strings attached. These may include adherence to equal housing opportunities, labor, and environmental impact requirements. The programs must also comply with a plan generated by the city and approved by HUD each year.
One change pertained to the subrecipient Helpmate, a service provider for victims of domestic violence. Helpmate uses CDBG funds for intake and case management services, and some of the people for whom they provide safe housing receive Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) from HOME. According to the city’s 2020-2024 plans for spending CDBG funds, those funds could only be used inside the city limits of Asheville. Helpmate, however, needed funds to provide housing outside the city.
Councilwoman Sage Turner asked if that was because the cost of housing was so high in Asheville, and Newburn said that was part of the problem. The other part was that distance was needed to ensure the safety of some of the victims.
The second requested amendment pertained to shifting patterns in homelessness brought on by COVID. Prepandemic, Homeward Bound, the local organization that oversees homelessness services, emphasized Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) as the means of doing the most for the most. PSH provides housing and social services for people deemed incapable of living independently in society, and the plan authorized the agency to receive HUD TBRA funds for that purpose.
Since the onset of COVID shutdowns, many people who were living the American Dream were forced out of their jobs and then their homes. These people only need temporary help until the economy recovers enough for them to get back on their feet. For these people, HUD-funded Rapid Rehousing services, like short-term rental payments, will suffice. In order to meet shifting demand, and what Newburn even described as “difficulty” finding recipients for the funding, Homeward Bound asked for an amendment to the local plan to allow funds to be used for Rapid Rehousing as well.
The third amendment pertained to unspent HUD funds. The funds were contracted out in FY 2018–19 and FY 2019–20 but never spent. Newburn explained that HUD awards funds “with the condition that the expenditure of the funds meets the requirements of the program, basically that it benefit the persons of low- to moderate-income, and there are a variety of ways to meet that – Oh, yes. There’s one other thing. You got to spend the money.”
Newburn explained that HUD normally gives grantees 15 months to spend awards. Each year, they check grantees’ fund balances, and if they’re more than 1.5 times the last award, the city manager will get a letter saying, in effect, “’Things didn’t go well for you during this past year. You didn’t spend all your money. We’re looking forward to seeing improvement during the upcoming year.’”
In this case, the second year rolled around, and the city still hadn’t spent the money. Newburn said HUD grantees cannot fail to spend funds three years in a row without receiving sanctions, which could include forfeiting some or all of their unused balance.
Newburn said Asheville is not unique in this predicament. COVID caused grant recipients to lose staff, and with skeleton crews, CDBG and HOME programs had to “take a backseat” to addressing COVID strategically and administratively. “And they should have,” added Newburn. The problem was so widespread that Congress granted waivers on spending funds, but they reverted to the old rules last year. “So, in essence, Asheville, like many other communities across the United States, is scrambling to figure out ways to spend money,” he said.
Although the failure to spend funds was often on the part of subrecipients, Newburn accepted responsibility. The decision was made to spend $300,000 fixing the sidewalks on Patton Avenue between and beyond Asheland and Coxe because tree roots were making them ADA non-compliant. Careful attention to the trees was one reason for the high price. Newburn described the project as “doing a lot of really good in the process, because the very nature of addressing accessibility is a very important function of government.” This was followed by commentary about the perceived advantages of using “free” federal money.
Only Turner voted against the amendments. She wanted the funds to go directly toward housing.