DATE: June 18, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works & Planning
SUBJECT: Amendment to Joint Powers Agreement for Housing and Community Development
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize Chairman to execute Amendment I to Joint Powers Agreement for Housing and Community Development (Agreement No. 17-321) with participating cities for the Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnerships Grant, and Emergency Solutions Grant Programs, to add the City of Mendota for the third year period.
REPORT
Pursuant to Federal regulations, the County notified the eight eligible cities that had previously declined, of the opportunity to participate with the County, as an Urban County, to receive annual entitlements of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnerships Grant (HOME), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Of the eight cities, the City of Mendota has requested to join the County and the participating cities of Fowler, Kerman, Kingsburg, Reedley and Selma. Federal regulations require the County to execute an amended cooperation agreement every three years with the cities that have elected to participate. The recommended amendment adds the City of Mendota to the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) for the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board choose not to execute recommended amendment the City of Mendota would be excluded from the Urban County program, and the overall amount of grant funds otherwise available to the County's Urban County Program would be reduced.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The County’s community development, housing, and homelessness programs, as described in the JPA, are fully funded, including both direct and indirect costs, through HUD’s CDBG, HOME, and ESG Programs. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues will be requested in Department of Public Works and Planning Org 7205 FY 2020-21 Recommended Budget.
DISCUSSION:
Federal regulations require the County to execute a new JPA with participating cities every three years to receive annual entitlements of CDBG, HOME, and ESG funds as an Urban County. By executing the JPA, the cities agree that the County is responsible for preparing the required five-year Consolidated Plan, preparing the annual grant applications, and administering the programs. The County agrees to provide a proportional share of CDBG funds, less administrative costs, to each participating city on an annual basis. CDBG funds are used by partner cities for eligible activities. HOME funds are used to implement affordable housing goals of both the County and participating cities, and for housing activities on a first-come first-served basis. ESG funds are administered by the Department of Social Services, and used to provide eligible homeless services to residents of the Urban County Program area.
In February 2017, the County notified the 13 non-entitlement cities (Clovis and Fresno are of sufficient population to receive allocations from HUD without participating in the Urban County Program) of the option to participate with the County in the Urban County Program, and receive annual CDBG allocations during the three-year period of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021. The cities of Fowler, Kerman, Kingsburg, Reedley, and Selma elected to join with the County for the three-year period, and executed a JPA with the County on June 20, 2017 (Agreement No. 17-321). Each of the cities that chose not to participate in the County's program were given the option to join or rejoin the Urban County Program annually, in the second and/or third year of the three-year JPA period.
The City of Mendota has requested to join the Urban County Program for the third year of the JPA, from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. Adding the City of Mendota to the Urban County Program requires execution of an amendment to the JPA. The deadline to submit an executed amendment to HUD is July 26, 2019.
Provisions for the County and all participating cities are outlined in the Summary of Agreement Provisions, included as Attachment A.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The City Council for each respective participating city has reviewed and approved the JPA Amendment.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #84, June 20, 2017
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachment A
On file with the Clerk - Amendment I to Joint Powers Agreement for Housing and Community Development (Agreement No. 17-321)
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa