The Dothan City Commission on Oct. 7 approved subrecipient agreements and memoranda of understanding for 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, drawing a public complaint that some proposed grantees may not be properly registered or compliant with federal and state rules.

The approved resolution (2025-264) formalizes subrecipient contracts to distribute the annual action plan funds to nonprofit agencies and city departments, city staff said during the meeting; the commission voted in favor after motions and a brief staff confirmation that the action implements the previously approved plan.

At the public-comment portion of the meeting Ruth Page Nelson told the commission that a review of recent CDBG grantees showed “several organizations are not registered corporations with the Alabama Secretary of State despite receiving public funds,” and urged commissioners not to “rubber stamp” the agreements. Nelson named the Alfred Saliba Family Services Center as an example and said she had been unable to find consistent public records tying certain individuals to legally registered entities.

Nelson also urged the newly seated commissioners to investigate grantees’ legal standing and insisted that citizens should not have to perform these compliance checks themselves. The commission did not ask for an extended staff response during that moment and moved to vote after a period for comments.

Discussion-only items and staff remarks at the meeting clarified that these agreements are the operational contracts that spell out program details for recipients after the annual plan was approved earlier in the process. The approved resolution authorizes appropriation and execution of the subrecipient agreements; it does not, by itself, create new funding sources.

The commission’s approval means the city will proceed with contracting with the listed nonprofit agencies and departments named in the annual action plan. Nelson’s remarks highlight continuing public scrutiny of oversight and eligibility checks for entities receiving federal CDBG funds.

City records posted with the agenda list the subrecipient agreements by recipient and funding amounts; citizens seeking to review specific contracts or documentation of legal registration were encouraged by staff during the meeting to follow up with the city clerk’s office for the finalized agreements.

The commission had earlier taken the policy-level step of approving the 2025 action plan; this vote implements the distribution stage. The city did not announce any additional compliance review in response to Nelson’s remarks during the meeting.