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Politics hold up progress for center-city neighborhoods The city of Knoxville, Tennessee is facing an unprecedented power struggle that is crippling project in the Knoxville empowerment zone. This power struggle has frozen over $ 26.5 million of tax payer's money that is meant to revitalize the city. Many non profit organizations that served as agencies to revitalize the city neighborhood have pulled out citing bullying tactics and bureaucracy in the city. The only entity that is left is the Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement. The PNI is left to assume oversight of the project, which includes the authority to distribute more than $3 million still earmarked for small-business loans. This new mission is still to be approved by the city council. Even before the approval PNI has been operating under a verbal agreement with city officials and is advertising empowerment zone business loans of up to $100,000 on its website. There are so many conflicting statements that is seems something fishy is going on. City officials say they cannot keep funding groups that fail to meet contract expectations. On one hand some board members of PNI say the group never intended to be a lender and state that it has forgotten its original focus on neighborhood. On the other hand Knoxville mayor Bill Haslam supports the move to consolidate services into one entity. He would not say whether PNI is involved in the move but wants a new strategic plan. Vice President Al Gore and Mayor Victor Ashe announced that up to $ 100 million worth of revitalization. But the ground reality is that for more than seven months the city contracts have expired and operating costs have run the $ 200,000 plus budget into the red. The only agency that could move the empowerment zone forward is the PNI. Its contract ended on April 1st and most of the non-EZ funding to PNI has been exhausted covering day to day costs and staff salaries. Money has been misspent and work is been going on with out a proper contract. A lot of shortfalls and oversight have been cited. Most of the money spent by PNI has come from the non EZ federal grant for construction of five point's shopping center. Without the city's support PNI's future is at stake. |
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