Second Tempe Official Linked to HUD Grants City officials confirmed that no one with the Phoenix division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ever approved the funding for Councilman
RISMEDIA, July 25, 2006—(MCT)—Federal officials never approved $24,000 in housing aid that went to a prominent Tempe city, Arizona councilman's relatives through a program offered by the city.
City officials confirmed that no one with the Phoenix division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ever approved the funding for Councilman Ben Arredondo's stepsister and her husband.
This makes the second time this year that relatives of Tempe council members were found to have taken money provided by the city that comes from the federal housing department.
In May, an internal investigation found that Barb Carter's son, Colby, probably did not qualify for the roughly $26,000 he received.
Federal law requires that family members of elected officials are restricted from receiving aid unless granted an exception from HUD.
"No. I didn't know anything about it," Arredondo said Saturday. "My sister and brotherin-law applied for a federal grant and qualified for it."
Arredondo went on to say that Aida Millanes and her husband, Henry, were encouraged to apply for the money by city workers after crews repaired the couple's sewer pipe that broke in 2004.
Arredondo, who was first elected to the council in 1994, said the couple -- who are retired and in their late 70s -- declared a possible conflict of interest when they applied for the money. But city staff told them there was no problem, Arredondo said.
Lou Kislin, a senior community planning and development official in the Phoenix HUD office, said he was unaware of the Tempe issue and planned to contact the city and his superior about it.
Arredondo insisted there are sharp differences between this case and Carter's.
Because of Carter's application to the federal program, Arredondo said, some city employees believed there would be no problem getting the housing aid for Arredondo's family members.
An investigation by Tempe officials found the city gave housing assistance funds to Carter's son despite disclosing numerous conflicts of interest and indications he was ineligible for some programs.
The findings in a report from the city auditor raise numerous questions about how Colby Carter received $25,900 in federal housing funds to buy and improve a Tempe house. The documents show Carter, a skate park designer and former professional skateboarder:
--Received funds even after low-level staff members said he was ineligible.
--Failed once to declare his mother is a City Council member.
--Received $2,000 to landscape his front yard, claiming he had been cited for code violations, although the auditor could find no citation.
--Qualified for one program based on how he reported his income. But later calculations showed he probably made too much to get the benefit. Also, the city failed to investigate conflicting salary information and didn't explain why Carter received money he didn't qualify for.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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