Title
FY 2019-2020 Funding Recommendations and Annual Action Plan (Application) for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) Funds (B)
Explanation
Each year the City of Gainesville receives an allocation of CDBG and HOME Program funds from HUD for local community development, housing activities, and public services. Unless otherwise modified, HUD has provided the total CDBG and HOME Programs allocation for FY 2019-2020 of $1,849,733, which includes $1,319,592 for CDBG and $530,141 for HOME as outlined in Attachment A - HUD 2019 CDBG/HOME Program Allocations. The City's Housing & Community Development Division (HCD) administers the CDBG and HOME funds allocated to outside agencies and City projects.
In accordance with the City Commission’s CDBG/HOME funding priorities, a portion of the CDBG/HOME funds are set-aside for the Block Grant Administration, City Housing Programs, City Codes Enforcement Programs and the Cold Night Shelter Program as outlined in Attachment B - FY 2019-2020 CDBG/HOME Program Funding Set-Asides. The remaining CDBG/HOME funds are made available to non-profit outside agencies through a competitive process for public services and other housing programs. This competitive process for the outside agencies includes application reviews, site visits, and funding recommendations made by the Citizens Advisory Committee for Community Development (CACCD), a 15-member citizen advisory board appointed by the City Commission to make important recommendations for the use of the CDBG and HOME Program funding. On June 18, 2019, the CACCD formulated its recommendations on allocating the CDBG and HOME "competitive" set-aside for non-profit outside organizations which included public participation to receive input from citizens regarding the outside agency funding recommendations (Attachment C - Citizen Engagement Summary). The CACCD's recommendations total $170,000, for CDBG and $60,000 for HOME. Copies of the CDBG and HOME applications that were reviewed by the CACCD are on file in the Office of the Clerk of the Commission. The CACCD funding recommendation for CDBG & HOME Programs is outlined in Attachment D- CACCD FY 2019-2020 CDBG/HOME Funding Recommendations.
As a reminder, HUD recommended for local governments to implement a minimum $10,000 threshold for grant awards in order to maximize efficiency of limited resources and grant effectiveness. For the past three fiscal years (FY 2016, FY 2017 and FY 2018) the $10,000 minimum threshold has been in effect for the outside agency funding.
The Annual Action Plan (Application) that is submitted to HUD outlines the specific agencies and activities to be funded through CDBG and HOME in the upcoming fiscal year. The Application will be based on the City Commission's approval of the FY 2019-2020 CDBG and HOME funding allocations.
The City's Annual Action Plan must be submitted to HUD by August 16, 2019. The Proposed FY 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan is outlined in Attachment E.
Fiscal Note
The total CDBG and HOME Programs allocation for FY 2019-2020 is $1,849,733. The funding allocation for each program is as follows: CDBG - $1,319,592 and HOME - $530,141.
Recommendation
The City Commission: 1) consider recommendations from the CACCD for the outside agencies that are designated to receive FY 2019-2020 CDBG and HOME funds; 2) approve the FY 2019-2020 CDBG and HOME set-aside funding for City projects: City Housing Programs, Block Grant Administration, Code Enforcement, and Cold Weather Shelter for the homeless; 3) authorize the City Manager or designee to prepare and submit the FY 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan (Application), including all understandings and assurances contained therein, to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for financial assistance under the Community Development Block Grant Program and HOME Investment Partnerships Program and to act on behalf of the City of Gainesville in all matters pertaining to the CDBG and HOME Programs; 4) authorize the City Manager or designee to take actions as appropriate to allocate the FY 2019-2020 CDBG and HOME funds; and 5) authorize the City Manager to execute subrecipient agreements with those outside agencies that are designated to receive FY 2019-2020 CDBG and HOME funding, subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality.