CITY OF TALLAHASSEE
CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED ON: July 1, 2009
SUBJECT/TITLE: Second Public Hearing for Adoption of the Annual Action Plan for FY 2009-2010 and Authorization to Submit to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development
TARGET ISSUE: Affordable Housing and Community Development
STATEMENT OF ISSUE
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires the City to prepare a five-year Consolidated Plan for the use of grant funds provided to the City by HUD and to update that plan yearly with an Annual Action Plan (AAP) describing the activities to be carried out during the year as they relate to fulfilling the Consolidated Plan goals. The Consolidated Plan and the AAP apply to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG). The new federal stimulus money is not included in this agenda item. HUD requires those funds to be reported on and accounted for separately. Also, the proposed uses for the Public Services CDBG funds will be presented to the Commission in a separate agenda item.
The City must submit an AAP to HUD for FY 2009-2010 by August 14, 2009. Contained within the AAP are goals for affordable housing, a continuum of care strategy for the homeless, and community development initiatives. Activities eligible for funding under the AAP goals include public services, public facilities, homeless assistance, housing, and economic development. Funds are used to provide services to low- and moderate-income individuals, reduce slum and blight conditions, meet urgent community needs, provide affordable housing, and provide assistance to homeless individuals. This plan must be approved by the City Commission before submission to HUD and will serve as the plan for expending federal grants for the next fiscal year. The AAP is the actual grant application to HUD (Attachment 1).
The AAP includes the activities recommended for FY 2009-2010. These activities have been reviewed by staff for compliance with regulatory requirements and by the Community Improvement Advisory Council (CIAC) as representatives of the community. The AAP is hereby being submitted for consideration to the City Commission as a public hearing item. This July 1 public hearing will be the second of two public hearings required by HUD. The first public hearing was held on April 28, 2009. This item was submitted to the Long Range Target Issue Committee for review prior to this consideration by the full City Commission.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Approve Option 1: Conduct the second public hearing on the AAP and proposed projects included for FY 2009-2010. Receive public comment on the projects and activities included in the plan. Approve the submittal of the AAP and grant application to HUD. Authorize staff to negotiate and execute contracts and issue Request for Proposals, as appropriate, for programs and projects listed in the FY 2010 Grant Funding Summary spreadsheet.
FISCAL IMPACT
A total of $5,161,163 of proposed activities are to be funded by general fund revenues designated in the AAP in anticipation of federal and state grant revenue reimbursement amounts including CDBG funds of: $2,228,889; HOME funds of $1,582,218; SHIP funds of $1,035,000; FWOP funds of $250,000 and ESG funds of $84,256. The Office of Budget and Policy has reviewed and concurs with this agenda item.
Thomas H. Lewis, Economic and Community Development
Anita Favors Thompson, City Manager
For information, please contact Joyce Martinez, 850-891-6526.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL/ISSUE ANALYSIS
HISTORY/FACTS & ISSUES
HUD requires the City to develop and submit a Consolidated Plan covering a five-year period of strategic planning. The City of Tallahassee, as the recipient of various federal funds, uses the Consolidated Plan to establish priorities for housing, human services, homelessness, and community and economic development. These priorities are primarily funded through a combination of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds. CDBG, HOME and ESG are considered to be “entitlement grant funds” and HUD requires that these funds be administered separately from the new stimulus funds [Homeless Prevention/Rapid Re-housing (HPRP), CDBG-R, and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)]. The Consolidated Plan 2005-2010 for Tallahassee, Florida, was developed by staff after discussions with various groups at a wide variety of public workshops, consultations with organizations engaged in community development and several planning sessions. Staff developed a collaborative plan that is designed to improve the quality of life for low- and moderate-income citizens based on the needs identified by these groups, City departments, the Tallahassee Housing Authority, the Big Bend Homeless Coalition (representing more than 30 agencies serving the homeless), the Community Human Services Partnership, citizen advisory councils, and input from citizens and social service organizations in Tallahassee. The Consolidated Plan was approved by the City Commission and submitted to HUD on August 14, 2005.
Recognizing that one-time consultations every five years is not enough to keep in touch with changes in conditions and priorities in the community, staff participates in a variety of groups and planning venues to provide technical assistance and to learn of new initiatives and community priorities that may assist us in achieving the stated goals. Representative of these efforts is staff participation in the following:
Participation in these organizations ensures that information about available funding is widely distributed, and, at the same time, staff expertise is often provided to assist individual agencies in the identification of appropriate funding sources for their missions, whether or not City entitlement funds are used.
These same planning exercises were used in the development of the Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP), the strategic plan for use of SHIP funds. SHIP funds can only be used for affordable housing-related activities. The SHIP program requires a LHAP that defines the strategies to be undertaken in accordance with the SHIP rule. On April 25, 2007, the Commission approved the current LHAP and submitted it to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation as required by the Sadowski Act. The LHAP covers the state fiscal years 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010.
As a result of Florida’s 2009 Legislative session, no new SHIP funding is available for 2009-2010. Instead, the legislature created the Florida Housing Opportunity Program (FHOP) for down payment assistance to first time homebuyers. Tallahassee’s projected allocation of FHOP is $260,000 for state fiscal year 2009-2010 (July 1 through June 30). The City also anticipates approximately $1,035,000 of reprogrammed SHIP funds. These funds will be used to implement the activities and programs shown on the 2010 Grant Summary (Attachment 2) and are in concert with the LHAP.
The activities identified in this AAP were developed in two ways: (1) funds required to complete activities that are a part of prior commitments in neighborhood revitalization were identified; and (2) staff initiated recommendations for key activities necessary to accomplish the goals set forth in the Consolidated Plan.
Information gathered at the first public hearing has been taken into consideration in the development of the recommendations presented here. This hearing included a report on the past year’s accomplishments, as reported in the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) and an opportunity to make comments on future activities funded with SHIP and FHOP, federal stimulus funds pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and federal entitlement grants (CDBG, HOME and ESG). In addition, the AAP has been reviewed and approved by the CIAC (a committee representing citizens empowered by the City Commission to make recommendations) at its June 10, 2009, meeting.
Following City policy, the maximum amount for administration allowed by the CDBG, SHIP, and HOME grants has been recommended as support for City operation of these grant programs. Administrative funds will be used to fund staff positions and provide necessary goods and services. The recommended funding amounts are shown in the funding summary (Attachment 2). The amounts reserved for administrative expenses represent 20% of CDBG funds and 10% of HOME and the new FHOP funds. While the City is allowed to use 5% of the ESG grant for administration, staff recommends that the amount allowed ($4,212) not be taken as administrative funds, but be passed along to meet the needs of the homeless in the community.
This City Commission meeting will be the forum for the second Public Hearing on the AAP, and a notice on the AAP was released to the public for the required comment period on June 5, 2009. The comments received from the public and the Commission at this meeting will be addressed in the final document submitted to HUD.
OPTIONS
Option 1: Conduct a public hearing on the AAP and the proposed projects to be included for FY 2009-2010. Receive public comment on the projects and activities included in the plan. Approve the submittal of the AAP and grant request to HUD. Authorize staff to issue RFPs (as necessary), negotiate and execute contracts for the activities and programs listed in the FY 2010 Proposed Funding Summary (Attachment 2).
Pros:
· The City will meet the HUD deadline for submission of the AAP and grant request
· The City will receive an estimated $3,218,591 federal grant funds
· Housing activities, redevelopment projects and public services will be funded for FY 2010Cons:
· Not applicable
Option 2: Conduct a public hearing on the proposed projects, reject the projects proposed, and provide guidance to staff as to how to proceed in a timely manner.
Pros:
· This public hearing satisfies the HUD requirement for public hearings to accept comment on the Annual Action Plan.Cons:
· The AAP and grant request will not be submitted to HUD on time.
· The City will not receive an estimated $3,218,591 in federal grant funds
· Housing activities, redevelopment projects and public services will not be funded for FY 2010
ATTACHMENTS/REFERENCES
Attachment 1: HUD Fifth Year Annual Action Plan
Attachment 2: 2010 Proposed Grant Funding Summary