EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The city will continue funding ECHO Housing Corp. following the discovery that its former director used the nonprofit’s money to pay her personal property taxes.

Stephanie TenBarge stepped down March 14 with no comment from ECHO officials. County records indicate she used ECHO money to pay the taxes on three of her properties in November 2017, May 2017 and November 2016.

“ECHO Housing is an important partner for the Department of Metropolitan Development,” said Kelley Coures, DMD’s director. “We’re going to continue without missing a beat. We’re going to support ECHO just the same as we always have.”

After learning about TenBarge’s actions, city officials reviewed their contributions to the organization.

“We combed through all of our grant programs and all our money that we run through ECHO,” Coures said. “We are 100 percent confident that ECHO used all our funds property.”

The city provides the group between $80,000-$130,000 a year, Coures said. That is around 5 percent of the $2.1 million the nonprofit reported receiving in 2016.

Beyond the city-funded project, the future of the nonprofit is unclear.

Neither ECHO’s Board President Dane Chandler nor ECHO’s Interim Director Chris Metz could be reached for comment.

Coures did not know what funding TenBarge used to pay her personal property taxes, he said.

The nonprofit receives millions of dollars annually in tax payer money and local donations. And it frequently works alongside local government on city projects.

The nonprofit is the lead agency working alongside the city on Evansville’s Promise Zone initiative, which gives them first crack at federal grant money in the city’s poorest neighborhoods. It owns dozens of properties, including two apartment complexes that provide permanent supported housing to formerly homeless families and veterans. And it is about to build two more apartment complexes that will provide permanent supported housing.

On Friday, ECHO’s attorney Scott Wylie said that all ECHO funds are “accounted for,” including funds from donations, grants, contracts and other revenue. The organization reported receiving $2.1 million in 2016.

TenBarge was ECHO’s executive director nearly nine years. Her salary in 2016 was $76,250.