Today the Somerset County Long Term Recovery Committee formally objected to the Department of Housing and Community Development concerning its plan to take $16 million in federal funding that was specifically set aside for Somerset County and make it available to all counties in the State of Maryland.
In a second round of disaster relief funding, known as Sandy II funds, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated $20 million to the State of Maryland for disaster relief funds. In the allocation of funding, HUD instructed Maryland that 80% of these funds, or $16 million, “must be spent” in Somerset County, Maryland, which HUD deemed the Most Impacted and Distressed county in the State of Maryland.
Instead of following this requirement, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development proposes to make the entire $20 million in federal funding available to every jurisdiction in the State of Maryland and will require Somerset County, which HUD has already decided should receive the funds, to compete against these other, larger and less-impacted jurisdictions to access the funds.
A meeting is scheduled in Crownsville at DHCD headquarters on Monday, December 16, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. and representatives from the Somerset County Long Term Recovery Committee, Inc., and the local governments of Somerset County and the City of Crisfield plan to attend this meeting to tell Secretary Skinner not to give away their $16 million to other counties. More than one year after Hurricane Sandy, Somerset County is still working to bring all of its citizens back to recovery and these federal funds, which HUD wants to reach Somerset County, are needed for the recovery effort.
Below is a letter from the Somerset County Long Term Recovery Committee, Inc. to DHCD objecting to the plan. Also attached are the federal register notice requiring the funds to be spent in Somerset County and the DHCD ad that proposes to make the funds available statewide.
The Honorable Raymond A. Skinner
Secretary
Department of Housing and Community Development
100 Community Place
Crownsville, MD 21032
Crownsville, MD 21032
Re: Objection to Proposed Substantial Amendment to the Maryland
Consolidated Plan concerning the $16 million that is allocated to
Somerset County which DHCD proposes to make available statewide
Dear Secretary Skinner:
The Somerset County Long Term Recovery Committee, Inc. formally objects to the Proposed Substantial Amendment to the Maryland Consolidated Plan that was advertised in the Crisfield Somerset County Times on or about November 27, 2013.
This amendment purports to notify all jurisdictions in Maryland of the availability of $20 million in federal funding. The source of this funding is from HUD and the criteria for spending these funds were set forth in a Federal Register Notice on November 18, 2013. That notice specified “… a minimum percentage that must be spent in the HUD-identified Hurricane Sandy affected Most Impacted and Distressed counties” and set out in a table that, for the State of Maryland, 80% of the appropriation must be spent in Somerset County. See, 78 F.R. 69,104, at 69,105.
Your advertisements states that “since all counties in Maryland were declared major disaster areas under at least one of the above listed storms, funding will be made available to all eligible jurisdictions (counties and Baltimore City) in the State”. Your advertisement appears to suggest that any political subdivision in Maryland that was affected by Sandy, Irene, the Derecho, and Isabel could apply for funds that, according to HUD “must be spent” in Somerset County.
These funds were pre-determined by HUD to be needed in Somerset County. I spoke by phone with Ms. Carol Gilbert, DHCD’s deputy secretary, and she expressed the department’s concern that these funds would not be able to be spent in Somerset County and stated DHCD’s desire to spend them elsewhere in Maryland rather than returning them to the state.
I assure you that, among Somerset County, the City of Crisfield, and the Somerset County Long Term Recovery Committee, Inc., sufficient projects exist to spend at least this amount of funding, if not the entire $20 million. Our organizations are working together to come up with a plan for spending these funds in a way that best benefits the residents and businesses of the county that were impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
The entire concept of setting up a competition among the counties to vie for funding that the federal government has already said “must be spent” in Somerset County would cause our local officials and the long term recovery committee to devote time and resources toward winning a competition with larger, better funded counties that it could better spend bringing its citizens to recovery. The regulations do not permit you to use these funds in any other county. We who are struggling to meet the needs of hurricane victims can scarce afford to divert our resources toward fighting a battle we should never have to fight in the first place.
We would hope that DHCD would make clear to all other jurisdictions at the meeting scheduled in Crownsville on Monday, December 16, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. that the $16 million has, by federal regulation, been committed to Somerset County and is not available to their jurisdictions. Instead, we would ask that you devote substantial resources from DHCD toward assisting Somerset County, the City of Crisfield and the Somerset County Long Term Recovery Committee, Inc. with formulated broad-based criteria on those categories of spending that will qualify to use the $16 million in funding awarded to Somerset County. We request a meeting with all of those persons at your agency and at HUD who can assist Somerset County in coming up with criteria for the spending of the $16 million that will comport with the requirements of the CDBG-DR regulations.
Sincerely yours,
John K. Phoebus
14 comments:
Go ahead Somerset. Keep on voting for Democrats like you always do. This is the thanks you get.
Maybe someone in government is smart enough to know that 16 million would be wasted in Somerset county. That is a lot of taxpayer money. Maybe it's time for citizens to accept responsibility for their own lives and not be totally dependent on the government for everything.
The freebies that people expect from the government are getting to be ridiculous.
Yeah, 756, Give it to Montgomery county, and wait for the return of the favor!
Dolt.
How about just giving it back to the taxpayers that it was taken from 9:09? This income redistribution that the democrats like so much is getting a little old.
What the heck is Dolt?
Michelle Obama has spent over 11 Million dollars on Vacations.
Looks like the old boys may loose one here. This is to the people of Somerst county... Did you really think for a minute the money was going to reach you? Not hardly. Baltimore county(voters) will see it though. To be honest 16 million spent in Somerst isn't money well spent.... It won't save the county. The decline has been long going on and there was no real devastation from sandy. Damage to homes that weren't kept up to begin with isn't devastation. The shore is sinking fast sadly and this is just another nail in the coffin....
Way to go Babs & Ben - get everything out of you can & spread the wealth around! Everybody's friend Jimmy M and THE CHAIRMAN Norm are always working for us!
10:10 p.m...
Chances are high, if you don't know what a "dolt" is...you are one!
If you gave it back to the taxpayers...you would likely receive about .0052 cents. How would you like the check made out to.
By 4:18 standards I would be willing to bet that 60% of people living on the Eastern Shore are DOLTS...
How much money has been stolen already. Sorry that county has been dirty for a long time. It is sad there are some really good people living there. The sad fact the ones with the money there are the real crooks. It is like the Wicomico County Land Fill thefts we will never know the whole truth. The good ole boys covered that mess up. I say kill all the politicians then the lawyers in black robes. They are dirtier then the street rats. What happened to good Americans. Greed has become a part of our fabric. We really dont give a crap about our neighbors,Patriotism, and just plain old integrity. This "Me" generartion has just about broken a once strong back. I sit and look at photographs of World War I & II vets and see the pride they had serving this country. The Police stood by Serve and protect. Our kids saluted the flag and could pray to God Almighty in school without being suspended or haraased. There was not 35 fifteen year old children pregnant roaming the damn hall ways. Yea we have become a model country. We have allowed greed and power to take over our country. Hell if your Christian you dont want that on your resume. It's time to get back to God and Country. Neighbors once upon time would have rebuilt every house in Crisfield. No this new era makes me sick. Yep it's time to roll Old Glory up and break out the Patriots. The city of Salisbury needs an enema. It is a stink hole. What happened to America ??????????????
9:56 is definitely right at one time neighbors in Crisfield would have helped everyone rebuild. Those days are gone. Sad but true. This town and county need an enema just as bad as Salisbury!
Crisfield would be better off if the hurricane had just leveled the entire town. Somerset County too
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