During my term, while some residents were getting 15 year City of Cleveland tax abatements for building New Houses; I wanted to give something back to our other residents of Ward 14 for their long term investment within our community. It was my objective to promote a plan that benefited the needs of our residents at all levels.
Therefore, in a collaborative effort with the City of Cleveland, HUD Funding and the United Labor Agency, we agreed upon a plan that hired Ward 14 residents as laborer apprentices through the ULA who then went out to do the work on the houses in Ward 14. This enabled the funding to remain in Ward 14 while creating jobs for our residents and addressing the needs of the housing stock for improvements. The person doing the work then became union certified after finishing their apprenticeship.
The money allocated to the United Labor Agency was a 50/50 Grant Program geared to provide up to $10,000 per project to homeowners for any major home repairs. For the people who could not afford their fair share of the 50%- due to their financial hardships, I recommended for them to receive 100% home repair grants through these HUD allocated dollars. Many qualified families benefited from this program.
The funds that you are talking about supported vital programs that I fought to establish during my terms in office. Those programs were stopped after I left office.
Generally speaking, if the City of Cleveland does a contract with any entity that will receive CDBG funds (HUD Dollars) for a specific program, then at the end of their fiscal year, any remaining unused funds for that specific program allocation will be refunded to that respective Ward CDBG fund account.
I sat for eight years on the committee for Community and Economic Development and I am more than willing to share my knowledge with you on these types of concerns.
I have never had a problem answering any questions from my residents about how the process works. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and empowering the people to participate. I look forward to seeing you at the City Club Debate for Ward 14 candidates.
Respectfully Yours,
Nelson Cintron Jr.,
Candidate for City Council,
Ward 14
(216) 939-8101
FriendsOfNelson [at] yahoo [dot] com?subject=CDBG%20Funding%2C%20Feedback%20from%20REALNEO
Working Together for a Better Cleveland
Elect Nelson Cintron Jr. Ward 14 City Council