Invest in Neighborhoods under scrutiny, NSP out for bid

In a report to City Council, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr says that the City of Cincinnati will keep an eye on whatever organization is under contract to implement the Neighborhood Support Program (NSP), including the current administrator, Invest in Neighborhoods.

According to Dohoney, on August 6, an assistant city manager and the City's Department of Community Development met with seven former board members of Invest in Neighborhoods to hear their frustrations about their June 12 removal from the board and their concerns about the direction of the organization.

The meeting was scheduled after Madisonville resident Kathleen Garrison contacted council claiming that she and the other members were wronged by a small group of board members who wanted to install Rick Dieringer as executive director, and used slander and defamation to get them out.

Agreeing that Invest in Neighborhoods may lack the competence to disburse properly thousands of dollars of NSP funds to community councils, the former board members requested that the City solicit bids for new administrators to see if there are any better options.

"The Administration had already taken steps to solicit bids for those services and the bids are due from prospective vendors on September 11, 2008," Dohoney says. "It is anticipated that the proposal review process will be completed in ample time to have a contract in place by January 1, 2009."

In the meantime, Invest in Neighborhoods will continue to be under City scrutiny throughout the length of their NSP contract.

"The Department of Community Development intends to vigorously monitor this contract to assure compliance with not only the letter of the contract, but with the overall intent of the NSP fund," Dohoney says.

Previous reading on BC:
Former Invest in Neighborhoods board member says agency 'hiding more than they're telling' (8/8/08)