Submitted By
Tammie Grossman, Development Customer Services Director
Reviewed By
LKS
Agenda Item Title
Title
Motion to Accept the Recommendations of the Village Board's Reinventing Government Committee Regarding the 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan Priorities for CDBG and ESG Funding.
End
Overview
Overview
The Village is preparing a new 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development ("Con Plan") that will guide future decisions for allocating Community Development Block Grant ("CDBG") and Emergency Solutions Grant ("ESG") program funds. After a citizen participation process and input from the Village Board's Reinventing Government Committee, the highest priorities are as follows: housing, public services, economic development, public infrastructure, code enforcement and public facility improvements for CDBG funding, and Homeless Needs for CDBG and ESG funding. Priorities and recommendations from the Reinventing Government Committee are being presented to the full Village Board for approval.
Body
Staff Recommendation
Approve the Motion.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact to the Village.
Background
Every five years, the Village of Oak Park (the "Village") must prepare a Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development (the "Con Plan") in order to receive Community Development Block Grant ("CDBG") and Emergency Solutions Grant ("ESG") funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"). The purpose of the HUD-mandated Con Plan process is to determine the priorities and strategies for meeting the needs of low- and moderate-income persons with CDBG and ESG funding. The Con Plan will guide the funding allocations the Village makes over the next five years, starting with Program Year 2015 ("PY 2015") on October 1, 2015. The Village receives approximately $1.5 million in CDBG funding annually.
The Con Plan process requires broad input from the Village, the general public and local stakeholders such as business and human service leaders. Since October 2014, the Development Customer Services Department has been gathering input from Oak Park residents and key stakeholders through an online survey, public stakeholder meetings and targeted interviews. The priorities were ranked based on the seven broad CDBG categories: housing, public services, economic development, homeless needs, public infrastructure, public facilities and overall neighborhood needs (i.e., code enforcement and fair housing activities).
On February 3, 2015, Village Staff presented results of the citizen participation process to the Village Board's Reinventing Government Committee and sought feedback on the preliminary priorities identified through the public process. The Reinventing Government Committee agreed with the highest priorities identified through the public process: housing, public services and economic development. The Reinventing Government Committee elevated public infrastructure and code enforcement to high priorities for CDBG funding based on previously identified priorities in the 2015 budget process.
The Committee also made the following specific recommendations:
· The Village should continue to fund housing programs at or near recent levels, which is approximately 23% of the total allocation ($352,000 in PY 2014)
· The Village should continue to fund public infrastructure at or near recent levels, which is approximately 41% of the total allocation ($630,500 in PY 2014).
· The Village should continue to set aside 15% of its CDBG allocation for public services ($237,400 in PY 2014). HUD allows a maximum of 15%. In addition, the Village should continue to seek applications for all CDBG-eligible public service activities as it has in past, rather than creating a priority-based funding process that would limit funding to the Village's top Con Plan priorities. Note that eligible public services include, but are not limited to, child care, health care, job training, recreation programs, education programs, public safety services, fair housing activities and services for seniors. The top four priorities for public services identified in the citizen participation process are domestic violence programs, mental health programs, programs for persons with disabilities and programs for youth/children. Applicants will be able to apply for any activity.
· The Village should further investigate the creation of a business loan program using HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program ("Section 108"). Section 108 is a financing tool that allows communities to leverage up to five times their annual CDBG allocation to secure private financing for community development initiatives. CDBG grant funds may also be used to support the administrative costs of a loan program. The Reinventing Government Committee recommended that Village Staff present a program concept at a future Board Study Session.
The priorities and recommendations from the Reinventing Government Committee are being presented to the full Village Board for approval. With approval, Village Staff will release funding PY 2015 applications for public services and public facility improvements in the spring of 2015. Those funding applications and the full 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan will be presented at a later date for final Board approval.
Alternatives
The Board could choose to modify the priorities recommended by the Reinventing Government Committee.
Previous Board Action
N/A.
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
The Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee (CDCAC) Chair was interviewed and members participated in the Con Plan process. In the spring of 2015, the CDCAC will review applications and make recommendations regarding public service and public facility improvement applications for PY 2015 funding.
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
After the Board approves the Motion, a public hearing will be held to inform the public of the approved Con Plan priorities, followed by the PY 2015 funding application process based on these priorities. In June 2015, the Board will be asked to release the draft Con Plan and draft PY 2015 Action Plan for a 30-day comment period. Both documents will be submitted to HUD on August 14, 2015.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
As a member of the Cook County HOME program consortium, the Village is submitting the 2015-2019 Con Plan to HUD in partnership with Cook County. Cook County's own Con Plan includes housing priorities that are based on feedback from Oak Park.
Performance Management (MAP) Alignment
A Governance Priority established for the Neighborhood Services Division of the Development Customer Services Department is "CDBG Administration."