HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 09a - Community Development Block Grant CDBG Funds
DATE: February 4, 2020
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director
By: Patricia Auriemmo, Senior Administrative Assistant
SUBJECT: STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES AND PROJECTS FOR USE OF
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (“CDBG”) FUNDS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2020-21
Recommendation: Approve
SUMMARY
The overall goal of the Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) program is to
provide assistance to low- and moderate-income families and individuals by enabling
them to participate in various local community activities and to eliminate blighted or
substandard housing conditions. The Los Angeles County Development Authority
(“LACDA”) has advised that the City of Arcadia will receive an estimated amount of
$296,580 in CDBG funds for Fiscal Year 2020-21. Following City Council approval, the
proposed project summaries and budgets must be submitted to the LACDA.
It is recommended that the City Council approve the projects set forth in this report for
FY 2020-21, which include the Home Improvement Program, Congregate Meals for
Seniors, the Information and Referral Services for older adults, and participation in the
County’s Homeless Initiatives Program. A placeholder has also been added to
potentially allocate funding as part of the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust,
but this has not yet been authorized.
BACKGROUND
For over 40 years, the City has been a participant in the Los Angeles Urban County’s
Community Development Block Grant Program. The CDBG funds come from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and are administered by the
Los Angeles County Development Authority (“LACDA”) for participating cities in the
County, including Arcadia. Use of these funds is restricted in order to meet the
objectives of assisting low- and moderate-income families, and improving disabled
accessibility. Federal regulations allow for a 20% (increased from 15% for previous
years) maximum of a grantee’s anticipated annual allocation ($59,316 for FY 2020-21)
to be used for Public Service programs. The balance of the annual funds ($237,264)
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must be directed towards projects that support and benefit low- and moderate-income
families and individuals or the homeless.
DISCUSSION
The total estimated allocation for FY 2020-21 is $296,580. Additionally, there is an
existing unspent balance of approximately $88,689 from previous fiscal years of which
$18,572 is proposed to be utilized in FY 2020-21 for a total budget amount of $315,152.
The use of these previously unallocated funds is to account for the increase in Public
Service program funds, and to keep the remaining programs at their current, effective
levels. It should be noted that the City has an existing project funded with unallocated
funds to improve bus stops and transit infrastructure citywide. The following table is a
summary of the funding for the current FY 2019-20 projects, and for the recommended
projects and funding for FY 2020-21:
Projects Current FY 2019-20 Recommended FY 2020-21
Home Improvement Program $235,836 $235,836
Homeless Initiatives Program $40,000 $20,000
Public Service Projects
Congregate Meals for Seniors $28,604 $38,768
Info. & Referral Services for Seniors $19,566 $20,548
Totals $324,006 $315,152
The proposed FY 2020-21 CDBG budget will fund the following program activities:
Home Improvement Program
Since 1974, the Home Improvement Program (“HIP”) has been comparatively the
largest of the City’s CDBG programs; having provided assistance to more than 500 low-
and moderate-income homeowners. Currently, the HIP provides a maximum grant of
$20,000 ($15,000 for condominiums) to benefit income-qualified homeowners by
providing needed home improvements and repairs such as painting, roofing, specific
modifications for property owners with special needs, and energy-efficiency
improvements. The HIP has proven to be a positive and successful program in
improving and maintaining aging building stock throughout the City.
On average, approximately 12 income-qualified homeowners in Arcadia receive grants
each year through this program. For the current fiscal year, the City is on pace to issue
a total of 15 home improvement grants consisting of 12 grants of $15,000 to $20,000 for
single-family homes and three grants of $10,000 to $15,000 for owner-occupied
condominiums. The recommended level of funding for the Home Improvement Program
for FY 2020-21 is $235,836. Of these funds, 20% ($47,167) is allowed to be used for
administration of this program and will cover the cost of a consultant and staff time. It is
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anticipated that this funding will allow the City to assist between 12 and 15 income-
qualified homeowners during the next fiscal year.
Los Angeles County Homeless Initiatives
In Fiscal Year 2017-18, Los Angeles County offered participation in new programs
designed to address the needs of the County’s homeless population. The use of
CDBG funds by participating cities had previously been approved for two programs:
Rapid Re-Housing Match and the Shelter Partnership. In Fiscal Year 2019-2020, a total
of $40,000 was approved for these programs, divided evenly.
The City was recently informed that the $20,000 programmed for the Rapid Re-Housing
Match was not funded in Fiscal Year 2019-20, as this program no longer exists.
Therefore, LACDA applied it to the Shelter Partnership funding, for a total grant of
$40,000. The Shelter Partnership is an agency that provides goods to over 240 shelters
throughout Los Angeles County. The funds from the local jurisdictions are provided to
nearby facilities. (See attached letter describing services and previous funding.)
Because there is only the one homeless initiative program now eligible to be funded
through CDBG, it is recommended that $20,000 be allocated to the Shelter Partnership
for Fiscal Year 2020-21. The City has recently received a grant for a local case worker
to assist with homeless issues, and funding utilized through this channel will be more
directly focused on local Arcadia needs.
Congregate Meals for Senior Citizens – (Public Service Project)
This Program is one of two public service projects funded for the current Fiscal Year,
which cumulatively cannot exceed a total of 20% of the total annual CDBG allocation.
This is an ongoing program that provides senior citizens with a nutrition program
featuring mid-day hot meals, Monday through Friday, at the Community Center. It is
anticipated that approximately 20,500 meals will be served during the next Fiscal Year.
The recommended funding is $38,768, which is an increase of $10,164 from the current
year, and includes the majority of the increased funding now permitted to be used for
public service projects (increased from 15% to 20% for the 2020-21 Fiscal Year). The
proposed funding level is approximately 13.1% of the total annual allocation for this
important program.
Approximately 20,500 Meals @ $4.25 each = $87,125/FY
FY 2019-20 CDBG Funding $28,604
FY 2019-20 General Fund Appropriation $58,521
FY 2020-21 Proposed CDBG Funding $38,768
FY 2020-21 Proposed General Fund Appropriation $48,357
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The General Fund allocation will by mostly offset by revenues collected by participating
seniors, who pay between $2 and $4 per meal, depending on their age.
Information and Referral Services for Senior Citizens – (Public Service Project)
The Information and Referral Services program provides senior citizens with information
that is essential for maintaining independent and healthy lifestyles. Services include
assistance with government benefits (e.g., Medicare/Medi-Cal and Social Security)
housing assistance, transportation, legal assistance, in-home services, health services,
and educational opportunities. With a proposed budget of $20,548 the current level of
service can be maintained, which will serve approximately 700 clients during FY 2020-
21. The proposed funding level is very similar to last year, and is 6.9% of the total
annual allocation.
Planning summaries and budgets are due to the LACDA by February 3, 2020. In order
to meet this deadline, the summaries were originally scheduled for the January 21,
2020, City Council meeting, However, due to a noticing error, the item had to be re-
scheduled to February 4. The City advised the LACDA of the delay in submitting the
projects and supporting documents, and has been informed there are no issues with
this and that the City will not receive a delinquency notice from CDBG due to this slight
delay.
Finally, although it is not shown in the table, the Development Services Department is
working with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (COG) in a new initiative
called the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust Joint Powers Authority. An item to
consider participation in this JPA is on the February 4, 2020, City Council Agenda. The
JPA is designed to provide a coordinated regional entity dedicated to seeking funding
and pursuing projects to locate and build housing in the San Gabriel Valley.
Membership in this JPA is estimated to cost $15,000 annually. Currently, the COG is
working with CDBG to determine whether participation in this regional effort could be
funded with CDBG dollars. As these funds have not yet been authorized, they have not
been included in the summary table above. However, should CDBG approve the uses
of funds for this purpose, the Development Services Department would bring a
modification of the summary table, and/or a request to use unallocated funds, back to
the City Council for review.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental
Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the
environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA.
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FISCAL IMPACT
All CDBG funding comes from HUD. However, CDBG project appropriations are
included in the operating budget, and are subject to City Council approval prior to the
expenditures. As shown in the table above, with the increase in CDBG funding for
Public Service Projects from 15% to 20%, the additional funding allows the service
levels for Congregate Meals to increase by $10,164 thereby decreasing General Fund
expenditures accordingly in Fiscal Year 2020-21.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended the City Council determines that this action does not constitute a
project and is therefore exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act
(“CEQA”); approve the Statement of Objectives and Projects for use of Community
Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) Funds for Fiscal Year 2020-21; and authorize and
direct the City Manager to modify the project allocations should amendments become
necessary, and execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Los Angeles County
Development Authority (“LACDA”).
Attachment: Letter from the Shelter Partnership on funding