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The acting director of the Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development has been nominated to officially take the helm despite concerns that the department almost missed out on millions in federal grant funding under his watch last week.

James E. Johnson has been running the department since County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) former director Tommie Thompson's employment was terminated for undisclosed reasons in June 2008.

The men are not related, said James Keary, a spokesman for the county executive. They both hail from South Carolina, attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., and have been friends for years, the spokesman said.

James Johnson first began working for the county executive in 2002 as a special assistant after Jack B. Johnson was elected.

Nominations made by the county executive must be confirmed by the County Council to be appointed to the position. A date for the vote on James Johnson has not been set.

At a committee hearing Oct. 27, the nominee told council members he is working to fix a department that had operated "without clear priorities or directional guidelines."

"I've been able to bring management together with one vision, and we are moving forward," Johnson told council members serving on the Transportation, Housing and Environment Committee.

At the hearing, Johnson did not disclose what problems have been encountered in the agency, which handles public housing, neighborhood stabilization and other real estate matters for Prince George's.

County officials later said that one major issue has been meeting U.S. government deadlines for federal funds in time to spend on major projects. Department officials had to scramble last week to submit a spending plan for $5.2 million in federal funding, which was set to expire Oct. 31.

The grants should have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development months ago, and would have been reclaimed by the federal government if the plan was not sent to the department by Saturday.

Johnson did not discuss details about the federal deadline at the council meeting.

"You talked about the department's lack of clear priorities," Councilman Tony Knotts (D-Dist. 8) of Temple Hills told Johnson. "Do you have any idea what the loss has been to the county because of that?"

Johnson did not give a figure to Knotts.

Officials submitted their plan Friday for using money from the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, county officials said. The projects include $800,000 to improve Parkview, a 153-bedroom rental unit for senior citizens in Laurel; $1.3 million to turn the vacant Singer Building in Mount Rainier into an 11-unit housing site with commercial space below; and $1.7 million to acquire and renovate 11 homes in the Sugar Hill subdivision in Upper Marlboro for low-income housing.

A HUD spokesman confirmed Monday that the county's papers were sent in just before the deadline.

Keary rescinded an invitation to interview the acting director last week. Keary said county policy prevents nominees from speaking to the media until after they are confirmed.

Keary also said he could not discuss Thompson's departure, which was "a personnel matter."

Keary acknowledged there were funding problems that nearly lost the county $5.2 million, but said they were not Johnson's fault.

"The person who is responsible for this is no longer working there," Keary said. "That's all I can say about it."

County officials were unable to provide a copy of Johnson's resume by press time. At the council meeting, Johnson said he had worked for the department for two years.

Keary said Johnson's previous experience included running a university bookstore, and said he was a strong leader and dedicated manager.

Johnson previously served as an administrative assistant for a county committee that distributed community grants from the National Harbor development. The committee was criticized in 2006 for allegedly allowing the county executive and staff to give grants to groups that had not officially applied, including many influential churches. The grants were given at the time the county executive was seeking re-election.

About $14,000 in grants was given to groups associated with the Jerusalem AME Church in Clinton, The Washington Post reported in a 2007 story. James Johnson's wife, Diane H. Johnson, was pastor of the church at the time, according to the article.

Keary said Johnson is a leader who has transformed the housing department and credited him with the success of the new Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which provides down payment assistance to buyers of foreclosed county homes.

Johnson is one of two acting directors that the county executive has asked the council to make permanent in his last year of office. The executive has also officially nominated acting Corrections Department Director Mary McDonough to be made the head of the county jail.

Committee members did not vote on whether to approve Johnson's nomination at their meeting last week.

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.