Printer-friendly version
By Miriam Raftery
April 17, 2015 (El Cajon) -- Recently, Citizens Oversight founder Ray Lutz challenged the city of El Cajon’s allocation of community development block grant funds to the East County Transitional Living Center for programs that benefit homeless people seeking to get off the streets. In a complaint sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Lutz argued that the program was illegal due to church-state separation requirements of the U.S. Constitution.
El Cajon City Manager Doug Williford says the city responded by sending HUD information on the city’s monitoring procedures and the purpose of funds granted to the ECTLC through the years. The City’s investigation found the ECTLC in compliance with federal requirements for CDBG funds. Now, HUD has completed its review and found that both the City of El Cajon and the ECTLC are fully in compliance with the law.
The letter from Nelson D. Huseby, community planning and development representative for HUD in Los Angeles, states, that HUD has previously found it important to “involve the faith-based community in addressing the needs of the homeless. Certain restrictions are imposed as a result of their participation to assure that there was a separation of church and state.”
Huesby adds, “The ECTLC has some programs that are religious in nature, but those programs are clearly separate from the two of the ECTLC programs funded with federal funds. For the federally-funded programs, they have clearly stated that this program `is secular and does not require participation in Bible studies or other classes.’ The City conducted interviews of a sample of participants in the HUD-funded program to determine if participation was required. As a result of those interviews, it appears that the ECTLC has complied with that requirement.”
Based on the City investigation and determination, Huesby concluded, “This case is closed.”
Comments
Lutz
GET A LIFE!