City races to spend HUD grants

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

The city has until Friday to spend $4 million in federal money or return it to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The City Council and administration have been rushing to meet the deadline by reprogramming previously awarded community block development grants to nonprofits that can use them by the Friday deadline.

For example, $1.3 million that could not be used by four nonprofit agencies by the deadline will now go to the Domestic Violence and Legal Hotline.

The federal community development block grants are awarded to agencies that can revitalize low-to-moderate income communities. The grants can be used for programs that expand affordable housing or economic opportunities, or those that improve facilities and services.

The city received $13 million last year and is set to receive about $12 million this year, assuming that all the grants are awarded.

While City Council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi has worried that the city will have to return the grant money, Mark Chandler, HUD's director of community planning and development for Hawai'i, said the city has historically been a "late spender," but has not lost any HUD money.

He anticipates that the city will make this year's deadline, too. "Their schedule is aggressive enough that I believe they have a good change of making it," he said.

Kobayashi said Honolulu had to give back $2 million in federal grants last year and she was told "if we continue to give back money, it will reduce the amount that Honolulu receives."

However, Chandler said that the federal money from HUD is awarded by formula and returning the money would not affect a subsequent year's allocation.

He said he will know by May 5 whether the city made the deadline.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.