Las Cruces City Council is reviewing the initial audit results of the ARPA funding process for nonprofits

Las Cruces City Council reviewed the initial results of an internal review focused on assessing the nonprofit application process for funding for the American Rescue Plan Act.

The city of Las Cruces has received US $ 10.4 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for community and economic development initiatives.

While an initial application process identified selected nonprofit nonprofits that were eligible to receive funding, new concerns from both local nonprofits and the city auditor prompted Las Cruces City Council to reevaluate the application process before approving the final funding priorities became.

The city auditor Viola Perea presented the city council with the first results of an internal audit.

“Our preliminary observations indicate that the eligibility determination process was not sufficiently designed or documented to support a clear, consistent and transparent eligibility determination,” said Perea.

Councilor Tessa Abeyta-Stuve made it clear that she would like to review the full review before voting on funding priorities.

“I think we should wait and hear our auditor’s full recommendations and her final decision,” said Abeyta-Stuve. “I think that’s the best process … I think we can look at the next steps, what’s the most ethical and legal, and how we should go from there.”

The city received a total of 21 applications for appraisal. Nine of these were recommended to the Council for funding.

The applications were first sent to a three-person panel to assess suitability before being submitted to a larger selection panel for evaluation. Perea noted the lack of specific eligibility criteria during the initial review process, which raised the question of why some nonprofits were not recommended to the council for funding.

“We have not been able to come up with a clear and concise list, if you will, or a matrix, checklist, suggesting that these specific elements would be considered an application as eligible and any deviation from it would be considered ineligible . ”Said.

City Housing and Neighborhood Services director Natalie Green says the three-member committee she sat on independently assessed applicants to determine eligibility.

“Well, was there an exact rubric where I would check off the economic damage? No, there wasn’t, ”said Green. “I would attribute that to work experience, right. I know I can look at a project and see if it is eligible under 2 CFR 200 or not. I have read the ARPA guidelines several times. ”

The city auditor also expressed concern about potential violations, including selected applicants who have direct contact with the city council. City councilor Gabe Vasquez quickly determined that he did not want organizations to be punished for opposing the application process.

“I think the organizations that contacted us during our last council meeting did so almost in a whistleblower spirit to make sure the process was being followed correctly before the council put a vote,” said Vasquez. “And then, at least based on our preliminary recommendations, our internal auditor determined that some things were not being followed. So it seems to me a punishment for applicants to disqualify them after rightly highlighting some things that may be found on this test. ”

Mayor Ken Miyagishima outlined what steps he would like the council to take next.

“I think it’s important that we make a decision, defining who is eligible,” said Miyagishima. “I don’t want to go through a whole new process, but I do want to address some of the concerns raised during the audit. And then let the council move forward and be able to vote on it. ”

A full version of the audit is expected to be submitted to the city’s oversight committee for review next month.