SPRINGFIELD — City officials held up more than $70,000 in federal funds to house the homeless and poor after an embarrassing series of personnel moves by leaders of the New North Citizens’ Council in late July.

Internal communications obtained by The Republican through a public records request show that Chief Development Officer Timothy T. Sheehan was alarmed over the abrupt firing of the agency’s housing director, Maria Perez, and her assistant July 21.

“Further disbursement of funding to NNCC for these two (housing) programs is on hold until the city has more certainty around the facts surrounding this situation,” he said in one letter.

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