Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams announced recipients of nearly $8 million in affordable housing funds earlier this month to 13 projects across the city after a hurried process. Recipients were expected to return their signed grant agreements—legal contracts guaranteeing their funding — to the city by Sept. 30. But at least four awardees told PennLive they still have not received their agreements. In an Oct. 7 email sent to recipients and reviewed by PennLive, city Business Administrator Samuel Sulkosky said the documents would be sent “in the next few weeks.” They were supposed to get them Sept. 15, more than a month ago. It’s unclear if agreements have been sent to any of the 11 announced recipients. Mayor Wanda Williams and city officials would not respond to questions from PennLive about the missed deadline. The nonpublic application process for the $8 million in awards was less transparent than those used by other local governments in Pennsylvania. City officials said the short and speedy process was designed to quickly distribute the money for Harrisburg’s homeless population, a goal that awardees reiterated. “We have people, staff now to move these projects forward,” City Business Administrator Samuel Sulkosky said after the press conference where Mayor Williams announced the recipients. “We’re moving them forward. We’re doing our jobs.” Without agreements in place, however, the projects can’t move forward. One of the recipients, Wynton Williams from Williams & Williams LLC got $500,000 for a 14-unit housing project. In an interview with PennLive after the announcement, he emphasized time was of the utmost importance. “The quicker that they were able to award the funds and get projects started, the quicker you can turn around and have properties available for people who need it,” Wynton Williams said. Most awardees PennLive spoke with were not comfortable speaking on the record about the impact of the delay, citing concerns about potential blowback. One of them said they got no responses when they tried to contact Sulkosky multiple times over email. Another awardee, Shelby Kearney of PSV Properties, was told she was going to get $73,000 for a three-unit project. “While we haven’t received the grant agreement yet,” Shelby said, “we’re still incredibly excited about the opportunity to work alongside the City of Harrisburg to continue expanding affordable housing options in our community.” She added that the missed deadline has not impacted her planning or project timeline. Gene Brewer, a government policy expert and professor at the University of Georgia, said repeated delays can point to broader issues in how governments manage programs. “Ultimately, every missed deadline signals more than a scheduling lapse; it reflects a breakdown in the government’s ability to deliver on its promises, undermining both performance and confidence in democratic institutions,” Brewer said. Indrit Hoxha, an economics professor at Penn State Harrisburg, said uncertain timelines can also disrupt projects and increase costs. “Each month of delay chips away at what these dollars can actually achieve for communities through inflation, higher costs, and lost opportunities to get projects started,” Hoxha said. “Missing the fall construction window also can delay projects by a year, particularly for affordable housing that must align with state permitting and weather conditions.” Time appears to be of essence in more ways than one. The mayoral election is less than a week away. At the press conference announcing the awards, Mayor Wanda Williams said that the process was about using federal dollars “that could have sat unused...for new housing, new opportunities and new hope” for Harrisburg. “This program is not about politics, it is about progress,” Williams said. “This administration will continue to move forward with integrity, accountability and transparency,” she added at the press conference. The mayor did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the delayed agreements. Scott Cummings, a legal ethics professor at UCLA, said decisions about affordable housing in many cities tend to be “very difficult, highly controversial and extremely political.” “It’s not surprising that this would get hung up along political considerations,” Cummings added. “Unfortunately, that’s the way affordable housing works in our country.”
