Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution accepts CDD staff recommendations to select the seven agencies identified in the resolution to help administer the Dane CORE 2.0 Program and provide related services and authorizes staff to develop agreements with each agency to carry out those activities within available funding and administrative requirements. No additional city appropriation is required with adoption of this resolution.
Title
SUBSTITUTE BY TITLE ONLY Approving recommendations from the Community Development Division to select community organizations that will partner with the City to administer funds and provide services under Dane CORE 2.0, a federally funded program designed to offer emergency rental assistance to eligible tenant households, and provide related services that promote housing stability, and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute agreements with the selected agencies to carry out the intent of this resolution.
Body
BACKGROUND:
The City of Madison’s Community Development Division (CDD) released a request for proposals (RFP) (RFP #10054-2021 <https://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/communitydevelopment/funding/documents/EmergencyRentalAssistance_DaneCORE2_0Application2021.pdf>) seeking community agencies interested in partnering with the City to administer rental assistance funds and provide related services under the Dane CORE 2.0 Program. Dane CORE 2.0 is the Emergency Rental Assistance Program funded by the federal government and administered by the City of Madison. It is the successor and continuation of the Dane CORE Emergency Rental Assistance Program which has been operating since February 2021. The RFP sought eligible non-profits that have experience partnering with CDD and administering rental assistance funds. Agencies were given the opportunity to provide one or more of the following services;
A. Assisting eligible households through the program’s application process, and providing outreach and education
B. Evaluating and processing completed applications
C. Providing legal support and mediation services for persons involved in eviction proceedings
The City’s goal is to implement a coordinated, community-based program that minimizes housing loss and instability by providing rental and/or legal assistance to the most vulnerable tenants, particularly within communities most negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, while adhering to federal regulations imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Emergency Rental Assistance Funds.
CDD seeks approval of staff recommendations for the following organizations to provide the specified services (in parentheses), and authorization to develop contracts with those agencies within available funding and administrative guidelines set forth in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133) and accompanying guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department:
• African Center for Community Development, Inc (A)
• Community Action Coalition for South-Central Wisconsin (B)
• Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc (C)
• Meadowood Neighborhood Association/Meadowood Health Partnership (A)
• Nehemiah Community Development Corporation (A)
• Tenant Resource Center (A,B,C)
• Urban Triage (A,B)
The City of Madison has already received a commitment of $9.3 million of federal emergency rental assistance funds from the State of Wisconsin, an award that was formerly accepted by the Common Council on May 24, 2021 via adoption of RES-21-00371 (Legistar File #65271) These funds will support the Dane CORE 2.0 Emergency Rental Assistance Program. In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department has advised it will allocate directly to the City a second round of Emergency Rental Assistance funds (ERA2) totaling $6,142,190.
Action Items:
WHEREAS, on December 21, 2020, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (HR 133) which included $25 billion in emergency rental assistance funding to be distributed to state and local governments for use in preventing evictions and promoting housing stability among households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; and,
WHEREAS, on January 25, 2021, the Madison Common Council adopted RES-21-00042 (Legistar File #63792) accepting $7.7 million from the federal government and authorizing a contract with the Tenant Resource Center as the primary distributor of rental assistance dollars, an action that followed a similar decision by the Dane County Board of Supervisors; and,
WHEREAS, on February 15, Dane CORE, the emergency rental assistance program established by the City and County, began accepting applications from tenant households in Madison and Dane County; and,
WHEREAS, RES-21-00042 also directed the Community Development Division to identify a centralized, mobile-responsive web application to support a rental assistance portal that would enable additional community agencies to play a more direct role in administering any future rental assistance funds the City might receive, while minimizing the risk of duplication of benefits; and,
WHEREAS, on May 24, 2021, the Common Council adopted RES-21-00371 (Legistar File #65271) accepted $9.3 million from the State of Wisconsin to support the continuation of rental assistance support, under a program that will be renamed Dane CORE 2.0, and to authorize the execution of an agreement between the City and Benevate Inc. to gain access to Benevate’s Neighborly Software, a centralized database that can be used to administer rental assistance funds; and,
WHEREAS, the U.S. Treasury has authorized a second round of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) funds to the City of Madison of $6,142,190 which will also be used to support Dane CORE 2.0; and,
WHEREAS, the Community Development Division conducted a request for proposals (RFP) process to select community agencies to partner with the City to administer Dane CORE 2.0, using funds received from the State of Wisconsin and U.S. Treasury Department; and,
WHEREAS, the based on that RFP process, CDD staff is recommending the following agencies be approved to help administer City funds under Dane CORE 2.0 and provide related services, and is seeking authorization to develop agreements necessary with the agencies to carry out those activities:
• African Center for Community Development, Inc.
• Community Action Coalition for South-Central Wisconsin
• Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc.
• Meadowood Neighborhood Association/Meadowood Health Partnership
• Nehemiah Community Development Corporation
• Tenant Resource Center
• Urban Triage
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council accepts CDD staff recommendations to select the identified agencies to partner with the City to help administer the Dane CORE 2.0 Program and provide related services, and authorizes staff to develop agreements with each agency to carry out those activities within available funding and administrative requirements; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council authorizes the Mayor and City clerk to execute any contracts or other agreements, in a form approved by the City Attorney, that are necessary to carry out the intent of this resolution.