The Consolidated Plan is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that cities must prepare in order to receive federal monetary assistance from HUD programs. The Consolidated Plan is a comprehensive strategy developed by the community addressing the affordable housing and community development needs present within the community. Ultimately, the Consolidated Plan will be used to implement the CDBG program over the course of the next five years.
The 2020 Consolidated Plan (attached) will become effective October 1, 2020 and includes the following:
- Citizen Participation
- Annual Action Plan
-
Housing and Homeless Needs Assessment
- Housing Market Analysis
Strategic Plan with Housing and Community Development Priorities
CDBG funds must be used for eligible activities only. Eligible activities are determined by statutory and regulatory limitations. Every CDBG-funded activity must meet one of three national objectives of the program:
- benefiting low- and moderate-income people,
-
preventing or eliminating slums or blight, or
- meet needs having particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and other financial resources are not available to meet such needs.
Additionally, the activities must conform to a number of programmatic requirements such as meeting environmental clearance standards and labor standards.
Included within the Consolidated Plan is the first year Annual Action Plan for the 2020-2021 Plan Year. The Plan identifies what activities the City will implement and describes how funds will be spent for the next program year and will implement the goals adopted in the Consolidated Plan.
The Annual Action Plan specifically reflects activities to be undertaken for fiscal year October 1, 2020 - September 30, 2021. The City of Allen expects to receive $435,987 from the CDBG program. The 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan proposes that these funds be spent on the following activities:
Home Repair / Rehabilitation $360,589
Public Service Agency Funding $65,398
Administration $10,000
In addition, the City received $256,000 in CDBG-COVID relief funds and proposes that the entirety of those funds be allocated to Public Service Agencies in the Annual Action Plan.
The requirements for both plans are set forth in detail through federal regulations and include public comment periods and hearings. The public hearings are an opportunity for citizens to comment on the proposed activities. Two public hearing opportunities were offered this year. The first public hearing was held April 26, 2020 and the second will be conducted in conjunction with this item on July 28, 2020. A summary of the comments received at the April 26th meeting are available within the draft plan. The draft Plan is currently available on the City's website as part of a 30-day comment period. Once the Plan is approved by the City Council, it will be submitted to HUD for approval. Funded activities will begin October 1, 2020. A summary of the 2020-2021 budget is as follows:
Budget Summary
|
Activity
|
CDBG Funds
|
|
Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program
|
$360,589
|
|
Public Service (Allen Community Outreach)
|
$65,398
|
|
Program Administration
|
$10,000
|
|
CDBG-COVID
|
$256,000
|
|
Total
|
$691,987
|