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Roswell Not Reliant on Reallocated Fulton County HUD Funds
The city pulled out of Fulton County access to HUD funding when the county was put on probation for violations several years ago. Roswell now receives funding through the Georgia Urban County Consortium in Cobb County.
The unspent $456,878 previously allocated to Roswell by Fulton County for the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program had been frozen and out of reach of city staff, thanks to Fulton County's loss of HUD certification, say Roswell leaders.
Just last week, Fulton County announced it would soon reallocate the leftover funds to other parts of the metro area - including, possibly, the neighboring cities of Mountain Park, Alpharetta and Milton - causing many to wonder why Roswell had left needed grant money on the table.
They didn't, said Roswell Spokeswoman Julie Brechbill, on behalf of the city's Community Development department and grant staff.
"Fulton County had lost certification from HUD for various violations several years ago. When they lost their certification, all funding was frozen and the City did not have access to it," she told Roswell Patch in an e-mail.
Seemingly frustrated with the problems at Fulton County, including quite a bit of staff turnover, Roswell pulled out of the Fulton County Consortium and joined the Georgia Urban County Consortium, which is managed by Cobb County.
"The city of Roswell now receives its funding for the [HOME Investment Partnership funds] from this group," said Brechbill.
Thanks. We'll email you the next time we update this story.
Martin Howell
8:13 am on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
If the money is being "reallocated" to other parts of Fulton County, doesn't that mean that the money actually exists, and as such was indeed "left on the table"? Did the Cobb Consortium replace this money dollar for dollar? This story doesn't get to the key issue here at all.
Christine Foster
9:49 am on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Martin,
It's my understanding that because of problems in Fulton County, Roswell didn't have access to the money delegated and, because of such, left the Consortium to join the Georgia Urban County Consortium in Cobb so that they could actually use funds granted. We have asked about the amount they have received from the new Consortium and will post an answer soon, hopefully.
Christine Foster
4:46 pm on Thursday, April 26, 2012
Here's the response we just got from Roswell Grants Manager Danny Blitch: "We are currently in negotiations with the GUCC over our 2012 HOME allocation. I expect to know the amount on or before May 15th." Roswell Patch has asked about amounts previously granted to the city by GUCC and are awaiting a response.