Butler County renews $1.52 million Continuum of Care contract and HUD grant after conflict‑of‑interest question

Hamilton — The Butler County commissioners on Aug. 26 approved an amendment to the contract with Community Development Professionals LLC to administer the county’s Continuum of Care program and executed a matching HUD renewal grant for $1,517,008 for the Sept. 1, 2025–Aug. 31, 2026 program year.

The approvals were listed in the commissioner's department consent agenda and voted as part of the consent motion. Commissioners Carpenter, Rogers and Dixon each voted yes when the consent items were adopted.

Why it matters: The Continuum of Care program (formerly known locally as Shelter Plus Care) provides housing and supportive services for people experiencing chronic homelessness and relies on federal HUD funding and local administration.

During the meeting Commissioner Dixon noted prior questions from Commissioner Carpenter about whether a family member of the contractor performed program work. The board asked a representative from the contractor to address the concern before taking action.

Mindy Mueller, speaking for Community Development Professionals and giving the company address as 332 Dayton Street, said her husband has served in a supportive role since 2018, holding a bachelor’s degree in business and a certification as a chaplain. “His role is basically to stabilize people that are hard to serve and hard to keep housed,” Mueller said. She said the husband does not report directly to her and that program operations are governed by written procedures and oversight by Butler County, the Community Development Office, the State of Ohio and HUD.

Mueller also described program performance metrics. “They establish 90% as the threshold for positive housing outcomes. We are consistently at 94, 95, 96%,” she said, and added the county program recently ranked third in the state out of about 88 programs because it “consistently meet[s] metrics.”

The contract amendment with Community Development Professionals is a services contract to administer the Butler County Continuum of Care program and is not to exceed $1,517,008 for the contract year Sept. 1, 2025 through Aug. 31, 2026. The corresponding HUD renewal grant to support the program is for the same amount and period, as stated on the agenda.

The commissioners did not record additional conditions or prohibit the contractor from using family member staff; Mueller said the organization maintains a grievance policy and multiple layers of oversight. No formal complaints or violations were reported in the meeting record.

Next steps: The contract and HUD grant renewal were approved as part of the consent agenda. Staff did not announce an additional review or audit at the meeting, but commissioners directed staff to note existing oversight and to ensure transparency in contract administration.