Mount Vernon URA reports HUD drawdown delays, debates signature authority and subrecipient agreements

Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency Executive Director Pamela Tarlow told board members on Oct. 7 that HUD funding and system issues have delayed the city’s ability to draw down HOME and CDBG dollars and that staff are reviewing whether to permit the URA chair to sign standard HUD agreements.

Tarlow said the URA has “all of our CoC agreements in” but was missing the CDBG agreement and that the HOME agreement was in place even though funds were not available while parts of the federal government remained shut down. “I did just go on this afternoon before this meeting, and the numbers appear to be there now,” she said, describing a prolonged HUD software update that temporarily hid available funds.

The discussion centered on two operational questions: whether the URA board’s approval of an action plan is sufficient authority for the chair…