The outcry over revelations that eviction notices were served on 14 families living in three properties on the 2300 block of Allied Drive has spurred the city of Madison to provide $4,500 to assist the residents, who have until the end of December to move out.
Only hours after a neighborhood meeting was held to discuss the evictions, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced a $4,500 contribution to an eviction prevention fund operated by the Community Action Coalition (CAC) of South Central Wisconsin. The city also plans on meeting with property manager Jeff Meyer to discuss possible recourse.
The Allied Neighborhood Task Force is providing the funds, says Madison planning chief Mark Olinger. This group, comprised of elected officials, community service providers and neighborhood residents from both Madison and Fitchburg, is using the remainder of its 2006 funding for the contribution. "They had a balance of $4,500 to use before the end of the year," Olinger says, "so they decided they wanted this to happen."
The money will be used to directly assist the affected residents, Olinger explains. "We have an ongoing agreement with CAC to do eviction prevention," he says. The coalition has received the names of all tenants involved, and will be following standard protocols to determine eligibility, Olinger says.
Though eviction prevention is the goal of the fund, he says the money "will probably go to help them move to other locations."
Olinger also says "there's also probably some funding that will be made available in 2007," should the problem continue. Right now, though, the $4,500 is what the city can make available.
The mayor's press release announcing the funds is available in the related downloads at top right, with discussion over the evictions on TDPF.
