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Council wants mayor to appear and answer questions about NOAH
10:33 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 5, 2008
There are more questions tonight, this time from City Council members about the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership Program, or NOAH.
The program was temporarily shut down last week and a federal investigation is underway.
City Council members want to talk to Mayor Ray Nagin about what is going on. They have requested his presence during their Thursday meeting.
"I am insisting that he appear," said Council President Jackie Clarkson. "And I've asked him very nicely to please reconsider."
The mayor told Eyewitness News Tuesday night it is under consideration.
"I don't know at this point and time. It's my understanding that Councilmember Clarkson called my office. But we're going to try and figure out exactly what they would like for me to present and we'll see if it's appropriate for me to attend," said Mayor Nagin.
The program has been under heavy scrutiny in the last few weeks amid concerns of potentially criminal activities.
NOAH documents claim the agency remediated hundreds of New Orleans properties, but 4 Investigates found some homeowners who appear on that list who say the agency never made repairs to their homes.
And, there are some addresses on the list provided by the city that do not appear to exist. Either there is no address in the system or no available land where the house would be located. For the homes that don't exist, it appears NOAH contractors charged the city and the federal government more than $86,000 for work done.
Last week, Mayor Nagin requested the program be shut down, pending a thorough review, citing, in part, NOAH's poor record-keeping. He also said that "for the first time we got a letter from a board member that suggested we take certain action because he was very concerned. And we did that."
During an emergency meeting last week, all NOAH employees were placed on paid administrative leave.
The city program is reportedly under investigation by the FBI, HUD and the city’s Inspector General's Office.
It's an investigation that the City Council wants to show won't be hindered by anyone from the city. Another reason, Clarkson says, a meeting with the mayor is so important.
"He said maybe. We really want him there. We want to put this to rest, as far as putting it in the hands of the entities that are investigating and know that no one's going to get in their way to do full investigations," said Clarkson.
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