United Way of Marion County distributes almost $10 million in rental assistance in seven months with another almost $9 million on the way

On Nov. 16, the Marion County Board of County Commissioners (MCBOCC) approved another contract with the United Way (UW) of Marion County to administer a second round of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) money received from the federal government in the amount of $8,734,572.30.

The first round of rental assistance (ERA1), launched in late April of this year, resulted in over 4,500 registrations for assistance and a total of 2,051 households receiving funds, according to United Way of Marion County CEO Scot Quintel. To date, Quintel said the program has distributed $9,801,317.10.

“Through the summer, we were averaging over 25 new registrations a week,” he added. “That number has recently slowed down to 10-15 per week.”

The rental assistance program was first established to help those who have experienced a reduction in income, incurred significant costs, or other financial hardship due to COVID-19.

To qualify for the program, an individual must be a Marion County resident; at or below 80% of the average median income; experienced hardship due to COVID-19; provide a valid form of ID; and apply online at UWMC.org/CAP.

Each applicant can only register for ERA funds once, said Quintel.  Therefore, he has had no repeat applicants since the program was first made available. Additionally, due to the demand for assistance, no households have been considered for any subsequent assistance.

UW was also required to coordinate their efforts with the court registry and prioritize applicants who had eviction suits already filed. According to UW’s website, the Clerk of Court, Greg Harrell, is chairman of the UW.

During the summer, the MCBOCC asked for updates on distribution of funds associated with the ERA.

On Oct. 5, Amanda Tart, executive director of Administrative Services for Marion County, reported to the commissioners during a public meeting that 886 households in Marion County had received a total of $6.1 million in assistance. Tart said an additional 454 applications had been approved and would be receiving checks within a week of the Oct. 5 meeting, for another $2 million in assistance.

She added that the average amount of assistance was $5,000 per applicant.

Recently, Quintel said that the amount of funding per application is varied based on the needs of the household.

“Assistance can be provided in the areas of current rent and utilities, past rent and utilities, and future rent and utilities (up to three months) if applicable,” he explained.

“Our application and funding process worked well in ERA1 and will receive only minor adjustments for ERA2,” he added.

When it comes to reporting distributions, the agreement required UW to report to the county on a monthly basis “a reconciliation invoice that provides detailed accounting of how advance funds were deployed, and the remaining balance.”

Quintel indicated that Marion County and the United Way “‘monitor and meet’ reporting requirements,” adding that UWMC is regularly audited on an annual basis.

“UWC and its partner, Capital Access, coordinate with Marion County on the monthly and quarterly reporting for ERA1 and ERA2 funding,” said Quintel, adding that these reporting requirements are established by the US Treasury.

A review of the UWMC’s reports to the county do not reflect the applicant’s contact or the names of landlords that received payments. The reports include the addresses of the applicants, the amount of relief paid, and the dates relevant to those payments.

The Ocala Gazette did not calculate how much every household listed in the report received under the relief program. However, within an hour’s review, identified at least 54 households that received more than $10,000 for rent support. There were at least 15 that received more $15,000.

Instead of disbursing the rental assistance to the renter, Quintel said, the federal program pays the UWMC directly, who then distributes the money to the landlords.   Many individual landlords received payments; some landlords, such as Jacquelyn (Jackie) Mayhew at 5792 N.E. 133^rd Avenue Road in Silver Springs and Adrian Castillo at 3001 N. Rocky Point Drive Suite 200 in Tampa, received upwards of $267,633 and $168,654, respectively, for multiple rental tenants.

Marion County Commissioner Kathy Bryant-House was one such landlord who received rental assistance, documents provided by the UWMC showed, receiving $4,700. At a MCBOCC meeting earlier this summer, Bryant-House recused herself from voting on any ERA-related business to avoid conflicts of interest.