Foreclosure help in Orlando: Millions in federal money unspent

Foreclosure help in Orlando: Millions in federal money unspent
Federal funds aim to help neighborhoods hit by foreclosures in the Orlando area.

By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel

7:47 a.m. EDT, March 31, 2010


Florida and several local governments within Central Florida are way behind in spending $91 million statewide in federal funds aimed at stabilizing neighborhoods shaken by foreclosures.

Florida trails all but three other states in putting the foreclosure-relief dollars to work and could lose any funds not committed to projects by the end of September, according to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report this month on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

"It's obvious that the state … was unprepared to handle processing of those kind of grant resources and has dropped the ball," said U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, a Republican who represents parts of Polk, Osceola and Hillsborough counties.
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Millions in federal money unspent