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Harrisburg committee debates reallocation of leftover FY2021 ESG funds; council requests documentation before vote
Summary
The Building & Housing Committee reviewed a resolution to appropriate remaining FY2021 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds, ratify prior administrative spending and extend subrecipient agreements to March 31, 2025, while council members demanded HUD regulations, an extension letter and full documentation before voting.
The Building & Housing Committee reviewed Resolution 1-2025, which would allocate remaining Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds from HUD for fiscal year 2021, ratify grant-administration costs and extend related subrecipient agreements through March 31, 2025.
Sam Secosky, the city’s business administrator, told the committee the FY2020–21 ESG pot began with $334,833. He said roughly half had been allocated earlier and that about $55,539 remained unappropriated. The resolution would appropriate $10,461 to cover administrative costs dating to 2019, and divide the remaining subrecipient allocation among three prior recipients identified in the packet: Christian Churches United (CCU), Shalom House and the YWCA. Secosky said the $10,461 administrative appropriation is chiefly to offset salaries.
Council members repeatedly asked for legal and regulatory documentation. Councilwoman Daniels requested the HUD regulation and any extension or approval letter that permits spending these 2021 funds beyond a two-year window; Secosky deferred the legal/regulatory question to the law bureau. Solicitor Grover said an extension letter to the city set the March 31 deadline; council asked staff to provide the regulation and the HUD timeline in writing and to identify who discovered the unappropriated balance.
Members pressed why the Capital Area Coalition on Homelessness, a prior recipient, did not appear among the current subrecipients. Grover explained that some federal funding is a designated pass-through for a single regional entity and not part of the subrecipient pot being reallocated. Several members expressed concern that the interim director of the Department of Building and Housing did not attend and asked that the department and the recipient organizations be invited to a follow-up session; council requested the full documentation be supplied within a week to support a decision and moved to add the resolution to the next legislative agenda, with the option to withdraw if materials are incomplete.
