My Run In with Regulations

First a little about me.

I got married in 2014. I bought a house in the small rural PA town I grew up in the same week I got married. The house cost me $6000 (needs tons of work btw). After these two events I was dead broke.

I make about $30000 a year.

So now the story.

Soon after I bought my house I was told by the township, as was all of town, that they were putting a sewage system in, and I would be required to tap in to it. The fee would bee $750 to tap in, plus and additional $50 a month for use of the sewage.

I would also be required to dig from my drainage to the main access to sewage lines. For obvious reasons there are regulations on how to dig. If you did not connect to the line, your house would be condemned and you would be convicted.

I had all of the specific numbers written out, but decided it was boring.

Here is the point. Me and many other people in the town were going to have to pay a lot of money for this digging, up to $6000. However, the township received a state and federal grant to help low income people out with the expense.

Applying for the grant was a pain, but we finally met the deadline of by the end of the year 2014. We were accepted, as were my parents and many others in the town.

The digging was supposed to start the following summer.

Two years go by and the digging still hasn't happened. So just last week all of the people who have been waiting for the people to dig for two years while paying for the sewage that we couldn't use get a letter in the mail.

The letter says the process is starting all over and we have to reapply. For me, I now make slightly more money which puts me $2000 a year over the limit, so I now lose the grant which will cost me around $6000. The thing is I am not that angry, because I am young and I can work overtime and get the money, but it is still aggravating.

However, the majority of grant recipients were single elderly people who are on a severely fixed income. From the time the letter went out, people had 9 days to reapply, which includes getting a bunch of documents notarized. This is very difficult for some of these elderly people.

So my family made some calls to find out what was going on. It turns out that a contractor accepted a bid and everything was set to go. But then...

There is a regulation that the contractor has to prove that they got an estimate for the building materials they would use from a MINORITY OWNED BUSINESS, meaning a racial minority or a woman.

The contractor apparently got estimates from several local businesses, and said that they looked an there were no minority owned building supply store anywhere remotely close.

The contractor was dismissed. The grant regulation said that the contractor must start work within 6 months of the bidding process starting. By the time that it was found out that no minority building stores were contacted, the 6 months had past. They said the next contractor will have to go hours away to Pittsburgh to get an estimate from a minority owned business.

Now many of these edlerly people are having a difficult time getting all of the documents together in time, and a worried they will be evicted as they do not have the money for the process, when the were approved 3 YEARS AGO for this grant.

This is just my little story that shows how insane regulations can be. Now people have been paying for sewage for 3 years, thought they were receiving money to pay for the work, only now to have a little over a week to get all of these documents together or risk eviction,

all because you must consult a minority owned business!

I hope Trump axes all of these garbage regs.

I doubt Trump can do anything about it.

It will need to be addressed at the state/local level.

originally posted by: introvert
I doubt Trump can do anything about it.

It will need to be addressed at the state/local level.

I don't think so. It was a federal grant I believe, and it is a federal regulation that says that a minority owned building supply store must be contacted for a chance to receive the bid.

a reply to: Grambler

How much more can/will people tolerate before we put a stop to the nonsense being imposed on us by our PUBLIC SERVANTS.

Enough already.

originally posted by: Grambler

originally posted by: introvert
I doubt Trump can do anything about it.

It will need to be addressed at the state/local level.

I don't think so. It was a federal grant I believe, and it is a federal regulation that says that a minority owned building supply store must be contacted for a chance to receive the bid.

What is the name of the grant and the regulation?

a reply to: Grambler

oh dear...something smells fishy with these regs. The heartache for the elderly having to re apply in such a short space of time. Definitely seems like the County? (I'm Australian so not sure) want's free property - where will the elderly live - in the street's?

originally posted by: Grambler

originally posted by: introvert
I doubt Trump can do anything about it.

It will need to be addressed at the state/local level.

I don't think so. It was a federal grant I believe, and it is a federal regulation that says that a minority owned building supply store must be contacted for a chance to receive the bid.

I have a prediction. The federal government will tell you it is a state issue and you should deal with them. Then the state government will say it is a federal issue, you will go around in circles for a while until you manage to escalate it and deal with someone that knows what they are doing.

Assuming they do not kick you out before you get that far

a reply to: Grambler

Go talk to other people especially the elderly.

Get a law suit going and threaten to sue the pants off the local township for mismanagement.

They will back down.

Get local media involved. You know that minority BS, try to get your president to become aware of it.

P

a reply to: Grambler
Grambler,
What a horrible experience you and the town have had to go through. And for what?

So you have to pass up the store on the corner of main street in the town that is doing the job because it is owned by a white man???? And this isn't wrong why?

The regulations are getting out of control!

ETA: And Pheonix is right...do you have twitter? Try to get this info to Trump!

a reply to: Grambler

Just a question...can a team of lawyers try for a class action suit against them on procedural grounds...

or unconscionable conduct and enrichment by the State

www.austlii.edu.au...
Unconscionable Conduct and Unjust Enrichment as Grounds for Judicial Intervention

originally posted by: introvert

originally posted by: Grambler

originally posted by: introvert
I doubt Trump can do anything about it.

It will need to be addressed at the state/local level.

I don't think so. It was a federal grant I believe, and it is a federal regulation that says that a minority owned building supply store must be contacted for a chance to receive the bid.

What is the name of the grant and the regulation?

The grant name is the Community Development Block Grant, it is through the federal HUD program.

I can not find if the regulation that a minority business must be consulted is federal or state regulation.

Either way, it shows the ridiculousness of these types of regs.

originally posted by: pheonix358
a reply to: Grambler

Go talk to other people especially the elderly.

Get a law suit going and threaten to sue the pants off the local township for mismanagement.

They will back down.

Get local media involved. You know that minority BS, try to get your president to become aware of it.

P

I am going to try to do this. I just need to find the time.

There is other shadiness going on that I just found out.

Initially something like 300 letter were sent out to apply for the grant.

Around 60 applied, but only around thirty were accepted.

Now on the resend where we had to reapply in 9 days, only the 30 something people that were accepted had the applications sent out. But what about the other 30 people that were denied last time? Perhaps there income has changed like mine has. I am no longer eligible, but perhaps some of them now are eligible.

In fact why shouldn't all 300 people get the info to get another chance at the grant.

Something does seem very fishy. They have put it off for 3 years already. I think the township blew the money, and are doing everything they can to make sure as few as people as possible get the grant.

So I am going to do my best to help people and get to the bottom of this.

But the fact that there is a regulation about the need to get estimates from a minority owned community and that is being used either intentionally or unitentionally to keep people from getting money they qualified for is terrible.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: Grambler

Just a question...can a team of lawyers try for a class action suit against them on procedural grounds...

or unconscionable conduct and enrichment by the State

www.austlii.edu.au...
Unconscionable Conduct and Unjust Enrichment as Grounds for Judicial Intervention

I am hoping. I would like to get a lawyer involved in a class action suit. However, I worry no one has money to accomplish this.

What I am going to do is talk to the contractor that recieved the bid to get his side of the story, the right the local paper, contact my state and federal congress people, and write to Trump and my governor Tom Wolf.

a reply to: Grambler

While it is frustrating there is up to 6,000 in free labor up for grabs. Should people on welfare not have to do anything for their free stuff too?

I understand it's annoying, but upwards to 6k? Pretty good deal for a little hassle.

If anything, he'll probablt get rid of the grant saying it's wasteful spending

originally posted by: Grambler

originally posted by: introvert

originally posted by: Grambler

originally posted by: introvert
I doubt Trump can do anything about it.

It will need to be addressed at the state/local level.

I don't think so. It was a federal grant I believe, and it is a federal regulation that says that a minority owned building supply store must be contacted for a chance to receive the bid.

What is the name of the grant and the regulation?

The grant name is the Community Development Block Grant, it is through the federal HUD program.

I can not find if the regulation that a minority regulation is federal or state.

Either way, it shows the ridiculousness of these types of regs.

The CDBG page states this:

A grantee must develop and follow a detailed plan that provides for and encourages citizen participation. This integral process emphasizes participation by persons of low or moderate income, particularly residents of predominantly low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, slum or blighted areas, and areas in which the grantee proposes to use CDBG funds. The plan must provide citizens with the following: reasonable and timely access to local meetings; an opportunity to review proposed activities and program performance; provide for timely written answers to written complaints and grievances; and identify how the needs of non-English speaking residents will be met in the case of public hearings where a significant number of non-English speaking residents can be reasonably expected to participate.

If the local community or state is not allowing time for the participants to "review proposed activities and program performance", you and others may have grounds to challenge their actions.

Read up on your rights and follow-through. You may not like regulations, but they can also work in your favor.

a reply to: introvert
Great work!

Gramb - I hope you or someone involved has a little time for some phone calls or a quick walk-around tomorrow. I bet if you take the paperwork around to local lawyers you could find one or a practice that would be willing to represent you for free!

a reply to: Grambler

I sincerely wish you much strength - I despise Government Regs that have such devastating effects on ordinary people who don't have a bucket of money for legal cost's!

a reply to: introvert

Hey thanks! Thats really good advice. I just got my letter today and started looking into it, but this is a great start and question to ask the people I call.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes.

But please don't use one ounce of worry for me. I will be fine. I can pick up overtime or even a shovel if needed. I will get by just fine.

I just felt well if a regulation says I have to connect to this system, but thhey are offering me a grant for it, I might as well take it. But I will be fine.

I do feel bad about the older folks. I kid you not when I tell you back in 2014 when I moved in my neighbor who is a recent widow was crying she thought she may be kicked out of her home. I am happy to tell you that three local people with backhoes offered to do her work for free.

But I think its important to hold the government (rather local state or federal) accountable for these ridiculous decisions, so I will do my best to see it to the end.