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State Freezes Scranton Grant Money

State Freezes Scranton Grant Money - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 4:33PM EST

Reported by: Mike Trim
Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009 @ 04:33pm EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY- The state has suspended grant money for certain projects in the city of Scranton. Two important reports are late according to the Department of Community and Economic Development, or DCED.

State grants fund Scranton projects like the Lackawanna Avenue revitalization project. But the DCED has suspended grant money for the city.

Mayor Chris Doherty says he's working on lifting the suspension. "Everything I've always done in running this city is that we take care of every issue immediately and this will be taken care of immediately," says Doherty.

The funding freeze can be lifted if the DCED receives two late audits from the city. The DCED says the city's 2007 financial audit, due last April, never made it to the state.

Another housing and redevelopment assistance audit is also late according to DCED. That's for a $190,000 grant for a United Neighborhood Centers project.

Mayor Doherty says the city didn't know about the tardiness of both reports. "At no time did anyone from DCED ever contact me and tell me what we had to take care of," says Doherty.

But the DCED says differently, and hasn't received both reports. The mayor says no current or future projects are in jeopardy. Mayor Doherty says, "It's a paperwork issue. At no time was any project ever stopped or in danger of losing funding."

A DCED spokeswoman says the agency is willing to help the city of Scranton succeed, but at the same time, it needs to make sure grant money is spent wisely. And if the suspension is not lifted, hundreds of thousands of dollars might not make it to Scranton projects.

The DCED says it has no choice but to freeze funding. A spokeswoman says its state mandated to stop funding if certain audits aren't received.

 


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