A Cleveland official delivered an apology this week to residents who turned to city programs for help with home repairs and were met with delays or no response at all.
The Community Development department, which runs programs aimed at repairing homes, storefronts and reducing lead exposure is working on fixing those problems, Assistant Director Anthony Scott said.
“We owe a lot of citizens a lot of apologies,” Scott told City Council members this week.
“We have not moved things as effectively as we should,” Scott said, referring to residents who likely submitted applications years ago and never heard back.
Scott said city staffers have been digging through files to unearth any unprocessed or incomplete applications. He said he expects staff to follow-up to deliver both an apology and help navigating programs, if they still need it.
Community Development Director Alyssa Hernandez, Scott and other department officials updated council members on sweeping plans to change how the department serves residents and streamline how they pay contractors hired to carry out work on neighborhoods across the city. Their presentation was part of hearings on how the city plans to spend roughly $28.3 million in federal dollars, also known as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
A ‘universal application’ for programs
Historically, residents have been required to submit an application for each program available through Community Development. Hernandez said the process will be streamlined through “universal applications.”
For example, the city plans to roll out a single application that residents could fill out to apply for any or all of the home repair programs the city has available. would allow residents to submit one application to all of the department’s home repair programs.
“You won’t have a separate paint application, a lead abatement application, a separate [Senior Homeowner Assistance Program] or [Repair and Home Maintenance] application,” said Hernandez. Now, it will be easier for staff to look at one application and determine which program or programs someone is eligible for, she said.
The universal applications are still being tested but expect to launch sometime in June, according to Hernandez.
No more ‘herding cats’ with vendors
Another way that Hernandez said the city plans to make the department run more smoothly is to hire a single “implementation vendor” to oversee all of the different contractors the city hires to do work for the department. Currently, city program staff have to juggle the work of handling contractors and managing contracts.
“We’re herding a lot of cats,” said Hernandez, as she explained how having one contact for vendors should reduce delays in the vendor contract process.
“I believe strongly that this is going to be a turning point for us with home repair,” she said.
Read more from this meeting in notes from Documenter Tina Scott
Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Ayanna Rose Banks:
