Fiscal Note
The substantial amendment to the 2011 Action Plan is a result of HUD awarding the City an additional $49,075 in Emergency Solution Grant (ESG) funds for 2011. This award is being combined with an addition $12,798 of re-programmed 2011 ESG funds. These funds will be combined with 2012 unspent funds as part of an RFP for homeless prevention and rapid re-housing activities. The total amount available for the RFP will be $121,645.
Title
Approve substantial amendment to City's Consolidated Plan 2011 Action Plan to include allowable ESG-funded activities; authorize the Mayor to sign the amendment; and authorize the CD Division to issue a request for proposals.
Body
Background: In 2009, the City received over $800,000 in stimulus funds that were used to provide financial assistance and housing stabilization services to eligible households to prevent them from becoming homeless or to help homeless households move from homelessness into housing. Through an RFP process, Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin was selected as the lead agency for a consortium of local homeless service providers that assisted approximately 700 households with financial assistance (rent or utility payments in arrears, security deposits, and rent subsidies) and support services. Because of the success of the program and the unavailability of additional stimulus funds for this use, CDBG Committee recommends that the additional ESG funds be used for prevention and rapid re-housing.
The purpose for the 2011 ESG funds is to affect the number of homeless and at-risk households who need emergency shelter. The goals are to: 1) help households that are at-risk of homelessness remain in their housing while providing housing case management to increase the chance that they will remain stable; and 2) help households living in emergency shelter or in uninhabitable places to move into stable housing as quickly as possible while providing case management to increase the chance that they will remain stable. Eligible households will be single adults and families with children who meet HUD's definition of "homeless" or "at-risk of homelessness".
The successful proposal will provide sufficient enough financial assistance for 38-44 households to serve a range of homeless subpopulations including those who have no source of income.
It is anticipated that a Request for Proposals will be available on May 21, 2012 with proposals due on June 18, 2012. Following a review by a staff committee, a recommendation will be made to the CDBG Committee regarding a desire to negotiate a contract with a non-profit agency for providing homeless prevention and rapid re-housing services.
Action:
Whereas, the Common Council has adopted a five-year Community and Neighborhood Development Plan which identifies homelessness as a critical issue within the community and outlines a set of strategies and priorities to address those problems using community-based groups; and
Whereas, the Common Council has accepted the Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Dane County which includes goals and objectives representatives of these activities: and
Whereas, the CD Division staff have worked collaboratively with interested Homeless Services consortium agencies and the Dane County Continuum of Care, assisted in a needs assessment in 2009 and discussed priority uses for additional ESG funds;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Common Council approve substantial amendment to City's Consolidated Plan 2011 Action Plan to include allowable ESG-funded activities; authorize the Mayor to sign the amendment; and authorize the CD Division to issue a request for proposals.