With many homeowners facing foreclosure, Salisbury now wants to waste federal (HUD) money to redo the decrepit “Bricks” apartments as rental units. A recent cost estimate for 10 small apartments was about $2 Million, and that can be regarded as at least 15% lower than the final amount after the normal overruns and change orders. There may be even fewer than 10 units, so the cost per unit could substantially exceed the cost of a small home. What a grossly stupid waste of taxpayer funding.
A couple years ago, the City ceased trying to make the former owner of the building repair it, when the owner gave the property to the City. The thought of spending money on residential units in that area is ridiculous. Why did the former owner opt to take the easy way out that the City allowed to happen?
Because the units would be rent-controlled “affordable” housing, we can expect that sooner rather than later the City will be called upon to pay operating and maintenance funding for the building, too.
According to the director of the Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Service (not a City agency), they had 30 cases of homeowners facing foreclosure in December alone, and a total of about 150 last year. Where do you think those HUD funds should be going?
P. S. If somebody knows the federal official to contact to say “NO WAY” to this, please post his/her e-mail and/or telephone number.
The Daily Times has their own article on this story HERE. Isn't it interesting the different kind of thinking and articles the Daily Times produces verses Salisbury News! Some wonder why Salisbury News is a necessity, now you know why. One sells her shannanigans and the other exposes them. Guess who's, who!
29 comments:
abscinthe makes the heart grow fonder
The county has helped 80 homeowners out of foreclosure so far without the funds.
Quote from DT "City Administrator John Pick said Salisbury would use its million to redevelop "The Bricks," a property at the intersection of East Church and Isabella streets, donated to the city in 2007**** The city wants to rent out 8 to 10 units of affordable housing, Pick said. A privately owned company would manage the property and also must put up money to help redevelop it, he said." The city is going to rent out 8 to 10 units, private comapany to manage and pay for redeveloping it, where's the rest of the money planned to be spent? Another shell game. Save my tax dollars until we have changes here that bring integrity.
It's another Obamanation by Barrie & Bubba, with Shanie and Leweasel in the wings.
For the City/County to put anyone and especially children in that area would be a crime.
Joe:
Didn't they drive away a legitimate affordable housing developer-operator about a year ago? As I recall it wanted to do an apartment complex on the west side of town, but Shanie Shields got the neighborhood worked up because it would have meant "poor people" living there.
So now she wants to put them in that disaster area by the railroad tracks -- that's criminal IMHO.
This is a state-managed bail-out program -- using federal grant money -- and the person to contact to tell them to stuff this nonsense at "The Bricks" is
Cindy Stone, Director
Office of Community Programs
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
100 Community Place
Crownsville MD 21032
Don't bother calling Norm Conway because he won't speak out against this waste.
9:40-
And the mayor also drove away the firm that wanted to do a microbrewery at the old train station that's just across the tracks from this dump.
PS-
I believe that Ms. Stone of the MDHCD can be reached at 410/514-7256 or via e-mail at stonec@mdhousing.org
Joe - I am going to tell you one more time. It is "versus" NOT verses. Remember that. Now, what kind of tenants will we have in the Bricks. Does Barry think they will take care of th property?? Not likely.
anonymous 10:20,
I so wish to be you each and every day of my life. You know, perfect in every way. Seems my spell check on Blogger fails me regularly on that word. Nevertheless, you type out 10,000 posts and then come back here and tell me just how perfect you are. Get a life.
Thanks for that contact, I don't want the same people that got us $71,000,000 in debt touching another penny of tax dollars. This city needs an enema. I can say that can't I?
Joe,
You have more legal knowledge than I do so I just sent all the information I could find. Please feel free to edit as it is quite long.
Our Local Office in Salisbury:
Wicomico County Housing Authority
Phone: (410) 749-1383
Fax: (410) 749-8792
911 Booth Street
Salisbury, MD 21801-3046
HUD's Baltimore Field Office serves all of Maryland
except Montgomery and Prince George's Counties,
which are served by HUD's District of Columbia office.
Baltimore Field Office City Crescent Building
10 S. Howard Street,
Fifth Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201-2505
Phone: (410) 962-2520
Fax: (410)209-6670
TTY: (410) 209-6681
Email: MD_webmanager@hud.gov
James Kelly, Field Office Director
Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday
All this information comes from HUD's website- www.hud.gov
http://www.hud.gov/complaints/index.cfm
http://www.hud.gov/complaints/fraud_waste.cfm
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Complaints
If you are aware of fraud, waste, and abuse in HUD programs and operations, report it to HUD's Inspector General Hotline!
• What kinds of things should you report? Mismanagement or violations of law, rules, or regulations by HUD employees or program participants.
• Your complaint will be kept confidential if you are a federal government employee. If you are not a federal government employee, a complaint can be kept confidential if you request it. The Office of Inspector General will accept anonymous complaints.
• Federal laws protect federal government employees from reprisals for filing complaints. Many states provide protection from reprisals to non-federal government employee complainants. State whistleblower statutes are normally administered by the respective state's attorney general office.
You can submit your complaint one of 4 ways:
Online, through e-mail. Remember: if you submit your complaint online (through e-mail), it is possible - though unlikely - that others could read it since the internet is not secure.
By Phone:
Call toll free: 1-800-347-3735
TDD: (202) 708-2451
By Fax: (202) 708-4829
By Mail:
HUD Office of Inspector General Hotline, GFI
451 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20410
OIG Hotline:
WHO ARE WE? We are federal employees who work in the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and are stationed at HUD Headquarters in Washington DC.
WHAT DOES THE OIG HOTLINE DO? We take reports of fraud, waste, abuse, and serious mismanagement in HUD-funded programs and operations and refer such allegations to OIG investigators and auditors, or to HUD program officials to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are independently addressed.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY --
FRAUD - individuals, groups, or businesses that are stealing taxpayers' monies from HUD.
WASTE - individuals, groups, or businesses that are spending taxpayers' monies in a manner that does not further HUD's mission and goals.
ABUSE - HUD officials or HUD-funded local officials whose actions exceed the authority granted to them by HUD policies and regulations.
SERIOUS MISMANAGEMENT - a significant failure by a HUD program office or a program office entity that is due to managerial incompetence or inattention.
HOW DO I CONTACT THE OIG HOTLINE? There are four ways to contact the OIG Hotline:
You can call us toll-free at - 1-800-347-3735
You can fax us at - (202) 708-4829
You can e-mail us at - hotline@hudoig.gov
You can write us at -
HUD OIG Hotline (GFI)
451 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20410
WHY REPORT? All federal employees are required to report violations of law and Standards of Conduct and danger to public health and safety. All citizens should feel a moral responsibility to report violations to assure that taxpayers' monies are well spent.
WILL YOU PROTECT MY IDENTITY? Yes, if you are a federal employee complainant. On request and at OIG's discretion, this protection can be extended to non-federal complainants. The identities of confidential complainants are protected because only OIG personnel know them. However, the Inspector General Act of 1978 gives us authority to disclose a confidential complainant's identity in limited situations, such as where the disclosure of a complainant's identity is unavoidable in pursuit of an audit or an investigation. This kind of disclosure is necessary only on an extremely infrequent basis. Of course, an anonymous complainant is always protected because we do not know that person's identity. From an OIG point of view, it is more advantageous for us to know the identity of the complainant in case it is necessary to interview the complainant or ask follow-up questions.
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW WHEN CONTACTING THE OIG? There are several things to keep in mind when reporting fraud, waste, abuse, and serious mismanagement. You need to report immediately, while facts are still fresh in your mind and be prepared to answer the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how.
• Who was involved? (Names, addresses, phone numbers, if available)
• What happened? (Summary of events, additional sources of evidence)
• When did it happen? (Date, time, frequency)
• Where did it happen? (Location, city, state)
• Why was it done? (Estimated loss to the government, gain to violator)
• How could it happen? (What scheme was used)
The most successful OIG cases are those that include supporting documentation. Reports that are too vague or cannot be supported can result in a closed report, without any action taken.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT IF I MAKE A REPORT TO THE OIG HOTLINE? If we know who you are and we open a case to address your allegations, you will receive a letter from us that provides you with the number of the Hotline case that we opened to address your allegations. We will also advise you at that time that we will notify you when the case is closed and provide information on how to obtain the case results under the Freedom of Information Act. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO BE AWARE that the decision on how we proceed with a Hotline case rests exclusively with us. We will contact you again only if we need additional information. We cannot provide you with case status updates or other information while the case review is in progress. Further, our decision to close a case is final and there are no appeal rights provided by the Inspector General Act of 1978.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOT OPEN A CASE BASED ON MY REPORT TO THE OIG HOTLINE? A vast majority of the reports that we receive in the OIG Hotline do not result in cases because they are program related or administrative matters. In these situations, we will send you a letter explaining that your report is unrelated to the OIG mission and that we have referred it to a HUD program office or another government agency. We will provide you with a contact number, if one is available.
WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DO YOU NOT OPEN CASES ON? The HUD OIG Hotline is a report intake operation. We are not a customer service center for HUD and HUD program offices. We do not open cases on allegations that can be addressed through existing complaint resolution mechanisms that provide appeal rights and access to the federal and state court systems. We do not open cases on disputes that have been or can be addressed through civil proceedings. We also do not open cases on allegations involving maintenance issues, landlord-tenant disagreements, income calculations for voucher purposes, or personnel issues in HUD or HUD-funded programs that can be addressed under labor-management agreements.
anonymous 9:20
I think th is spelled "the"
Anon 9:34
Can you post ANY response on this blog without putting Obama in it?
Man, you really are full of hate for Obama aren't you?
This, and a few of the other posts you have responded to have nothing to do with Obama.
Get a grip.
MRTV. That is very nice that on this very important subject you would take the time to offer YOUR intense feedback-that someone mistakenly incorrecty left the "e" off "the." However, infinitely more embarassing for YOU is the fact that there is NO 9:20 post here-the comment you couldn't wait to get your stubby finger on with so much glee actually came in at 10:20. Take the rest of the day of Mr. Observant.
Take the rest of the day OFF, Bobby meant to say. LOL!
OK...where is the penalty glass...I'll drink. This rain/cold weather has just turned me sour lately!!
Isn't that the picture of Mayor Tilghman when she had a press conference for the Rental Inspection Sweeps? By the way what happened to those Rental Inspection Sweeps?
Anonymous said...
Anon 9:34
Can you post ANY response on this blog without putting Obama in it?
Man, you really are full of hate for Obama aren't you?
This, and a few of the other posts you have responded to have nothing to do with Obama.
Get a grip.
12:43 PM
You need to get a grip. It is a free country and he can say anything he wants about your buddy Osama. This country is now doomed to fail because of idiots like you. No thanks....
Anon 8:58....was that "absence" or absinthe ? LOL
This idea is just unacceptable.Why cant they use the funds to revamp existing Wicomico Housing Authority properties.
Remember a few yrs back when the city actually had a top 20 list on their website depicting "ugliest vacant homes"? Most of these in the city were owned by WHA.They could not rent them because they werent up to code, but they had no money available to refurbish and re-rent so there they sat and neighbrohood kids spraypainted them and busted out windows.
12:58-
I was there -- it's the pic I took when Joe asked her for an autograph and held out a roll of toilet paper for that purpose.
blutojthetotmom said...
Remember a few yrs back when the city actually had a top 20 list on their website depicting "ugliest vacant homes"?
2:05 PM
The reason they quit posting the pics on the city website is because most of those were rentals owned by slumlords from SAPOA. Who do you think finances the campaigns of bubba and the mare and gives them kick backs.
Anon 12:58 PM they did away with the Rental inspection sweeps because..... well, see above!
I am sick and tired of my hard earned tax dollars going to lazy welfare mongers. This is typical of Obama and the Democrat party to take from the working people and spreading the wealth. Please someone get rid of that woman soon.
Joe-
just e-mailed that pic to a firm that will put it on a touch screen which will also have a recorded voice (similar to hers) that says "shut the f____ up and get me a drink."
Joe, as a contractor, I have trouble getting my estimate on that building up past 500k. Two Million on a 35x35???? WTF?
6:34-
Have you been inside that s___hole lately and have you seen the specs required by HUD (including Davis-Bacon wage levels for all subs --just sing "look for the union label").
PS- unless you are a fully certified "minority-owned" firm, don't waste your time bidding on this one!
Anon 5:22
Two of the homes on that list were on the same block that I lived on and I had complained about it previously to the Mayors Office.They claimed that enforcement of the properties was out of their hands because even though it was within the city,they were owned by the county Housing Authority.It seemed very unfair to me that a private homeowner can be fined and ticketed to infinity over weeds in the sidewalk but two houses can sit in the middle of town,empty,with windows boarded up and gang tags spray-painted all over them.And did I mention neighborhood kids would go in there to smoke cigarettes.A clear danger the city made no effort to enforce.
Anon 1:02
FYI - I didn't vote for Obama.
I'm just sick and tired of SOME people linking one person to everything wrong in today's world even on a local level.
The election is over. Obama won.
There is nothing we can do about it now....but he is NOT responsible for the stuff that happens in Salisbury, MD.
I'm just really sick of the outright hatred some people show for others, including our incoming President.
Maybe you're the one who needs the grip. I wasn't talking to you anyway, now was I?
blutojthetotmom said...
Anon 5:22
Two of the homes on that list were on the same block that I lived on and I had complained about it previously to the Mayors Office.They claimed that enforcement of the properties was out of their hands because even though it was within the city,they were owned by the county Housing Authority.It seemed very unfair to me that a private homeowner can be fined and ticketed to infinity over weeds in the sidewalk but two houses can sit in the middle of town,empty,with windows boarded up and gang tags spray-painted all over them.And did I mention neighborhood kids would go in there to smoke cigarettes.A clear danger the city made no effort to enforce.
8:49 PM
I am not aware of any homes owned by the County HA?????
There are duplex-style and single family houses in Salisbury that belong to and are rented out by Wicomico Housing Authority.A property search will confirm exactly where they are.
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