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D.C. Council approves emergency contract for Jubilee Housing after months of DHCD delays
Summary
On Feb. 18, 2025, the D.C. Council unanimously approved an emergency declaration and Bill 206-1203 to authorize a multiyear contract between the Department of Housing and Community Development and Jubilee Housing Inc., after officials said the contract was filed late and delays had financially harmed the nonprofit.
The D.C. Council unanimously approved an emergency declaration and Bill 206-1203 on Feb. 18, 2025, authorizing a multiyear contract between the District’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Jubilee Housing Inc. to proceed with a reentry housing project.
Chairman Mendelson said the contract was expected months earlier and was filed late, and he described DHCD’s delays as causing financial harm to Jubilee Housing. “DHCD’s tardiness is too polite a word. It’s just inexcusable,” he said during the Feb. 18 legislative meeting in the Council Chambers at the Johnny Wilson Building.
The approval came at an additional, short legislative meeting called because the contract was filed after the agenda for an earlier meeting had been finalized. Chairman Mendelson said the project had been funded in the budget the council adopted in June 2024 and that council members had expected DHCD to submit the contract in November 2024. He told colleagues the contract arrived at the council on the morning of Feb. 13 at 10:10 a.m.
Councilmember Parker asked whether there was a stated reason for the delay. Chairman Mendelson replied that DHCD repeatedly re-reviewed and debated documents and that senior departures at DHCD likely contributed to the tardiness. Councilmember Henderson asked whether other contracts were similarly delayed; she said she was not aware of others but noted her office had worked with Jubilee on this item.
The emergency declaration was moved by Chairman Mendelson and approved by voice vote; the council then moved and approved Bill 206-1203, listed in the meeting as “Multiyear Contract Number DHCD-twenty20Five-fifty with Jubilee Housing, Inc. Emergency Act of 2025.” The bill and the declaration passed by unanimous voice vote. The meeting convened at 12:23 p.m. and adjourned at 12:31 p.m.
Meeting remarks stressed the timeline of missed expectations: council members said they expected the contract in November and again in December and January, and that delays had caused missed financing and closing deadlines for Jubilee Housing. The transcript records that the chair said he had suggested the executive consider personnel action because of the delay; no personnel actions were taken at the meeting.
No effective date for the contract or details of the contract terms were stated on the record during the meeting. The council’s approval authorizes the contract to proceed to the next administrative steps required for execution.
