More than 300 local governments have been unable to use their share of the nearly $4 billion Uncle Sam gave them a year ago to redevelop abandoned and foreclosed properties.
As of March 16, only 36 percent of the grant money has been placed under formal contract by a municipality. Governments must commit to use the money by September or it reverts to the coffers of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Local officials say the rules are too complex. Particularly onerous is the regulation that says federal grant recipients must pay 1 percent less than the appraised value of any property.
“We’re competing with the marketplace for foreclosed properties,” says Kurt Bressner, the city manager of Boynton Beach, Fla., which as of mid-March had only spent $11,000 of its $3 million grant. “By the time the properties end up in the listings, they’re gone.”
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Source: Associated Press, Tamara Lush (04/01/2010)
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