The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has placed the city of Tallahassee’s multi-million dollar program to reduce lead paint in older housing on “high risk” status and begun an audit over concerns including amounts paid to the contractor.
HUD filed an amendment to its $4.4 million grant to the city of Tallahassee in a document the city provided May 8 to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“The purpose of this amendment is to designate the city of Tallahassee Lead Hazard Based Pain Contro grant as ‘High Risk,’ ” the notice says. “Therefore, specific conditions are hereby imposed.”
Assistant City Manager Christian Doolin emailed city commissioners, the top four appointed city officials and the executive team about problems with the grant program in an email the same day labeled “Urgent Update.”
Doolin wrote that he was notified a week earlier that HUD was in the process of putting the grant on high-risk status.
“I immediately began investigating the matter and based on my findings I have suspended all program activity,” Doolin wrote.
Doolin wrote that HUD raised concerns about “contractor expense justification” and “unit eligibility for work performed.”
“I have provided HUD requested documentation including contractor certifications, assessments, outreach coordination, procurement and budget information and incoming eligibility verification required to complete HUD’S review,” he wrote.
He wrote that to date, about $1.6 million had been spent on the program including payments made to Chief Cornerstone Construction Company, Inc. He said HUD had reimbursed the city $1.03 million of those costs.
“I anticipate receiving HUD’s high-risk letter shortly, which could result in HUD requiring the city to return a portion or all funds received for this program,” he wrote. “I continue to work with HUD to achieve the best possible outcome under the given circumstances.”
The HUD action comes months after the Tallahassee Democrat began asking city officials about rumors of a HUD investigation involving a city program. In early February, Inspector General Dennis Sutton and city spokeswoman Alison Faris both told the Democrat they were unaware of any such matter.
HUD cites ‘questionable cost reasonableness’ for new doors at Holton Street complex
In a memorandum to the city, HUD said it designated the grant program as high risk “based on multiple compliance, performance and monitoring concerns identified through ongoing grant oversight and the monitoring visit conducted on March 2-3, 2026.”
HUD said the city grant program had inadequate outreach and program implementation and that its outreach strategy failed to meet grant requirements.
“Program implementation has been largely limited to a single multifamily property, with minimal evidence of broader outreach efforts,” the HUD notice says.
The agency said such efforts would include coordination with local health departments, identification of elevated blood lead level cases and engagement with community partners like schools and healthcare providers
“This limited scope of activity does not align with program intent or HUD guidance prioritizing at-risk populations, particularly households with children,” HUD wrote.
HUD also cited “questionable cost reasonableness” and procurement compliance.
“Based on documentation reviewed during the monitoring visit, rehabilitation work conducted on Holton Street involved limited interventions (front door replacements) at an approximate cost of $8,400 per door,” the agency said.
HUD said the door costs “raise concerns” under federal regulations and that the city hadn’t provided “sufficient documentation,” including procurement justification and verification of contractor licensing.
City failed to meet grant benchmarks for a whole year
HUD wrote that over the past four consecutive quarters, the city received scores of 69 or below, “resulting in a failure to meet project benchmarks for an entire year.”
As a result, the city will be required to participate in biweekly meetings with the federal agency and submit corresponding status reports as long as it’s under the high-risk designation.
The agency said each report must include updates on subrecipients, contractors and partnerships along with strategies to “realign the program with benchmark goals.”
“The Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) will continue to provide technical assistance to support the city of Tallahassee in achieving compliance and improving program performance,” HUD said.
HUD funds grants to identify and mitigate lead-based paint hazards in housing built before 1978, it says on its website. The grants also are designed to support local workforce development and leverage private dollars for community investment that benefits low-income families.
Chief Cornerstone Construction Company, Inc., a Tallahassee-based residential and commercial builder, is a longstanding city vendor that has been paid millions of dollars over the years, according to the city’s online checkbook. The projects related to state-funded affordable housing and federally funded lead paint hazard mitigation. The company did not immediately return a phone call May 9 from the Democrat.
On Feb. 5, the Democrat emailed HUD’s office of public affairs to ask about reports that the city of Tallahassee was under investigation by the agency and whether it could provide any information about the nature of any allegations. HUD referred the Democrat to its Office of Inspector General, which did not respond to a subsequent email from the Democrat.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: $8,400 doors, ‘concerns’ trigger HUD investigation of city of Tallahassee program
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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