[00:00:05]
[Call to Order]
US TO ORDER IT IS JULY 21ST.WE'RE MEETING, UH, ON THE VIRTUAL DAYAS, I'M A CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE, GREG CASAR.
I'M JOINED BY VICE CHAIR, ELLIS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AT IDEA AND KITCHEN.
WE BASICALLY HAVE THREE BRIEFINGS TODAY, UH, ALL UNIMPORTANT STUFF, BUT THE FIRST ITEM OF
[1. Approve the minutes of the May 12, 2020 meeting of the Housing and Planning Committee.]
BUSINESS IS FOR US TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING.IS THERE, UH, ANY OBJECTION TO DOING THAT THEN BY ACCLIMATION? WELL, A PRUDENT ITEM, NUMBER ONE, AND WE'LL MOVE STRAIGHT INTO ITEM NUMBER
[2. Briefing and discussion on emergency housing resources and policies for residents impacted by the COVID-19 local disaster and the City’s housing strategy related to the COVID-19 disaster.]
TWO, WHICH IS A BRIEFING AND OUR DISCUSSION ON THE EMERGENCY HOUSING RESOURCES AND POLICIES, THE RESIDENTS IMPACTED BY COVID-19 AND OUR HOUSING STRATEGY AS IT RELATES TO COVID-19.SO I'LL LET THE STAFF MOVE FORWARD.
DO YOU GUYS NEED ME TO, UH, DO ANYTHING FOR THE, FOR YOUR POWERPOINT TO POP UP OR DOES HE HAVE THAT COVERED? I'VE GOT IT ON MY END.
I THINK ANYTIME YOU, THERE YOU GO.
AND WE'RE JOINED BY CONSEQUENTLY MADISON, RIGHT? PERFECT.
THIS IS MANDY DE MAYO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD HAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
AND TODAY I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH, UH, EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR, UM, AUSTIN TENANTS THAT ARE IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
AND I BELIEVE I CANNOT CONTROL THE SLIDE.
SO IF WE COULD JUST ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
IT LOOKS LIKE BACKUP LINKS ON THIS ITEM ARE NOT WORKING, BUT THE OTHER ITEMS, THE BACKUP LINKS ARE WORKING.
SO I WAS HOPING MAYBE IT COULD HELP SOLVE THAT WHILE WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS SITE, OR IF YOU CAN EVEN EMAIL IT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND THEN MAYBE GET IT ONLINE AS SOON AS YOU CAN AS WELL.
ARE YOU ALL ABLE TO SEE THE PRESENTATION? WE CAN.
SO TODAY WE'RE GOING TO, I'M SORRY, SORRY, MANDY.
I WAS JUST THINKING PAGE FOR HAVING ABOUT THAT.
UH, TODAY'S AGENDA, UM, REGARDING EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
WE'RE GOING TO TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT THE RENT, UH, UH, UH, RELIEF, UH, PILOT PROGRAM, WHICH OCCURRED IN MAY.
AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE CALLING RENT 2.0, THE SECOND ITERATION OF THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THE OVERALL BUDGET PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY, UM, AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM, AND THEN SOME ANCILLARY, UH, WRAPAROUND TENANT STABILIZATION SERVICES, OUR MARKETING AND OUTREACH STRATEGY, AND THEN TIMELINE FOR LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM.
SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE LAUNCHED, UH, RENT, WHICH WAS, UM, THE RELIEF FOR EMERGENCY NEEDS OF TENANTS.
UM, IN EARLY MAY, THIS WAS A PARTNERSHIP WITH HACA THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE UTILIZED HOUSING TRUST FUND DOLLARS.
SO LOCAL DOLLARS, 1.2, FIVE, 6 MILLION, UM, INDIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
THE ELIGIBILITY FOR THE PROGRAM WAS HOUSEHOLDS AT, OR BELOW 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME WHO LIVED IN THE CITY LIMITS WE'RE ON A STANDARD LEASE, UH, AND COULD DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY WERE IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
UM, WHEN THE PROGRAM WAS ALL SAID AND DONE, WE SERVE 1,681 HOUSEHOLDS.
UH, TWO THIRDS OF THOSE HOUSEHOLDS APPROXIMATELY WERE AT, OR BELOW 30% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
AND WE SUMMARIZE THE PROGRAM AND THE DEMOGRAPHICS IN A JULY EIGHT, AND EMMA THEN WENT TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
UH, WE LEARNED A LOT LESSONS IN OUR, OUR, OUR BRIEFS, UM, AT TIME WORKING ON THE RENT PROGRAM.
WE, WE KNOW THAT WE PROVIDED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RELIEF FOR TENANTS, BUT WE ALSO LEARNED THAT THE PROGRAM, THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM WAS A HEAVY LIFT.
IT WAS AN INTENSIVE, UM, INTENSIVE PROGRAM TO ADMINISTER.
THERE WAS A VERY SHORT LEAD TIME, UH, FOR THIS PROGRAM.
WE PULLED IT TOGETHER OVER A PERIOD OF A COUPLE OF WEEKS, UM, LAUNCHED IN EARLY MAY.
UH, THERE WAS EXTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT THAT WAS REQUIRED WAS A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN, UH, TENANTS AND BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN LANDLORDS AS WELL.
WE ALSO LEARNED THAT WE CREATED A PRETTY COMPLICATED, UH, RENT CALCULATION IN TERMS OF THE RELIEF THAT WE WOULD PROVIDE, UM, AND FAIRLY COMPLEX LANDLORD CERTIFICATION.
SO AGAIN, THOSE ARE LESSONS WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
[00:05:01]
OUR PILOT PROGRAM, UM, WE TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF A STEP BACK AND WE HAVE CREATED A COMPREHENSIVE AND HOLISTIC STRATEGY TO KEEP TENANTS IN THEIR HOMES.THIS INCLUDES BOTH DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE, PLUS EVICTION PREVENTION AND STABILIZATION SERVICES.
UM, THE FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM, UM, COMES FROM CORONA VIRUS RELIEF FUNDS.
THAT'S REALLY THE LONG RANGE FUNDING PLUS GENERAL FUNDS, UM, PLUS CDBG CV, WHICH IS FEDERAL FUNDING, BUT FOCUSED ON CORONAVIRUS RELIEF.
AND THIS IS OF COURSE ALL BASED ON THE COUNCIL APPROVED SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
UM, THAT WAS AUTHORIZED LAST MONTH.
THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE PULLED TOGETHER IS DEDICATED TO, UH, THREE PRIMARY AREAS.
ONE, WHICH IS THE LION'S SHARE IS DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
UM, TWO IS TENANT STABILIZATION SERVICES AND THEN THREE IT'S REALLY TARGETED, UH, OUTREACH.
I WANT TO TALK FIRST ABOUT THE DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
WHAT DOES RENT THIS NEW ITERATION, UM, THE DIRECT ASSISTANCE? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WELL, I WILL TELL YOU IT IS SIMILAR TO THE FIRST ITERATION AND MAY RENT ONE POINT.
I WE'RE CALLING IT, BUT WE HAVE A FOCUS ON, UM, TARGETING SPECIFIC POPULATIONS AND STREAMLINE PROGRAM.
SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE SEEING IS ONE, UH, CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP WITH HAKA HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THE CONTRACT WILL BE BOLSTERED BY A SUBCONTRACT WITH CBR ASSOCIATES, WHICH IS A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED, UM, CONSULTING FIRM WITH 25 PLUS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ADMINISTERING HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAMS FOR LARGE MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, THE CITY OF CHICAGO AND NEW YORK CITY.
UH, ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT, UH, WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT IS, UH, THE DETERMINATION THAT HASSLE EXTREMELY LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.
SO THOSE HOUSEHOLDS AT, OR BELOW 30% MEDIAN FAMILY WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR MULTIPLE MONTHS UP TO THREE MONTHS OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE WHILE HOUSEHOLDS BETWEEN 30 AND 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO ONE MONTH OF ASSISTANCE.
UH, WE ARE PER COUNCIL DIRECTION, UM, ACCEPTING BOTH TRADITIONAL AND NONTRADITIONAL LEASES.
THAT WAS SOMETHING WE'VE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FROM CITY COUNCIL WAS THE CONTEMPLATION OF FOLKS WHO WERE LIVING IN ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS LIKE EXTENDED STAY HOTELS.
UH, WE ALSO DECIDED THAT RATHER THAN, UM, ADDING UP TO A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF RENT AND I MEAN, TENANT AND REMAINDER, WE ARE GOING TO BE PAYING THE FULL CONTRACT CONTRACT RENT AMOUNT.
SO THAT WILL BE AN INCREASED RENTAL BENEFIT FOR MOST HOUSEHOLDS.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE ENHANCED FUNDING OVER A SIX MONTH PERIOD.
UM, IF WE CAN GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, IN ADDITION TO OUR DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE, SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT WHAT WE'RE FALLING RENT 2.0 THAT WE'RE LAUNCHING IS OUR TENANT STABILIZATION PROGRAMS, THE FULL SUITE OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO COMPLIMENT EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
WE WILL BE SERVING AUSTINITES, WE'RE NOT YET DISPLACED.
UM, AUSTIN AND I TOO MAY HAVE BACK FEES OWED, UM, WHETHER THAT'S BACK RENT OR UTILITIES OR OTHER FEEDS, LATE FEES, UM, AND ALSO SERVING AUSTINITES MAYBE IN SOME STAGE OF THE EVICTION PROCESS, THOSE SERVICES ARE GOING TO BE PROVIDED THROUGH CONTRACTS WITH LOCAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, AND THE SERVICES ARE GOING TO INCLUDE LANDLORD TENANT, MEDIATION, EVICTION DEFENSE SERVICES, SO REPRESENTATION AND EVICTION COURT, AS WELL AS DIRECT FUNDING FOR RIGHT TO CURE FOR HOUSEHOLDS THAT DO HAVE ANY BACK RENT DO, UH, LATE PAYMENTS DO, UM, IN ORDER TO AVOID EVICTION, WE'LL GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE.
LET'S TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT, UH, TARGETED OUTREACH BEFORE.
UM, WE LEARNED A LOT FROM THE FIRST ITERATION OF THE PROGRAM WHO WE WERE REACHING AND WHO WE WERE NOT REACHING.
UM, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE HOUSEHOLDS, UH, SERVED IN THE FIRST ITERATION OF RENT IN MAY.
UM, WE'RE EXTREMELY LOW INCOME.
SO HOUSEHOLDS AT, OR BELOW 30% OF MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT DATA FROM THE EQUITY ACTION TEAM, WE KNOW THAT AFRICAN AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN ARE TWICE AS LIKELY FACE EVICTION AS WHITE HOUSEHOLDS.
WE ALSO KNOW FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH THAT, UH, PEOPLE OF COLOR AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
OUR GOAL IS TO HELP THOSE, UH, LOW INCOME RENTERS OR THE MOST IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
AS A RESULT, WE'RE DOING VERY TARGETED OUTREACH FOR,
[00:10:01]
UH, TO COMMUNITIES OF COLOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, UH, VETERANS, AND ALSO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.WE CAN GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I JUST WANT TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT, UH, ON OUR EXPANDING OUTREACH, WE HAVE DEVELOPED INTERNALLY A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATION OUTREACH STRATEGY.
WE WILL BE RELEASING A SOLICITATION FOR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP REACH UNDERSERVED AND UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES IN CREATIVE AND FAR REACHING WAYS.
UM, MATERIALS AND OUTREACH WILL BE PROVIDED IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
WE'RE WORKING WITH BOTH, UM, OCHA CVR AND ALL OF THE COMMUNITY GROUPS TO DELIVER A HOLISTIC RESPONSE TO THE LOOMING EVICTION CRISIS AND THE ECONOMIC FALLOUT FROM COVID-19.
WE GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS THE FINAL SLIDE.
YOU'LL SEE A TIMELINE, UM, AND NEXT STEPS TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE WE ARE AND, UH, WHERE WE WANT TO BE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE FINALIZING CONTRACTS WITH OCHA AND SUBCONTRACTORS THAT WILL OCCUR AS IT'S OCCURRING.
AS WE SPEAK ACTUALLY IN THE MONTH OF JULY, WE'RE ALSO FINALIZING CONTRACTS WITH DIRECT, UM, NONPROFIT PROVIDERS FOR TENANT STABILIZATION SERVICES.
THAT WILL ALSO EARN THE MONTH OF JULY.
WE ARE PUTTING OUT OUR SOLICITATION WILL BE A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
UM, THAT WILL ALSO OCCUR THIS MONTH.
WE ANTICIPATE PROGRAM LAUNCH IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST.
AND ONE THING TO NOTE, WE, RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE BUDGETED SIX MONTHS OF DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, BECAUSE OF THE FUNDING, WE'LL BE SEQUENCING OUR FUNDING BECAUSE OUR CORONAVIRUS REMOVED ONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY NEED TO BE EXPENDED BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
THAT MEAN THAT THE PROGRAM WILL END THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
IT MEANS THAT WE WILL BE UTILIZING THOSE FUNDING SOURCES FIRST, AND THEN MOVING ON TO ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES LIKE GENERAL FUND AND, UM, UH, CDBG CV, WHICH HAVE A LESS OF A TIGHT TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND WE'LL BE EXTENDING, UM, THE PROGRAM INTO JANUARY AS LONG AS THERE IS A NEED TO JANUARY AND POTENTIALLY BEYOND.
SO, UH, IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, IT REALLY IS JUST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR QUESTIONS.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD ON THIS OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS, REALLY TAKING A LOOK, A DEEP DIVE INTO THE DATA FOR THE FIRST ITERATION OF THE RENT PROGRAM AND LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN ENHANCE AND IMPROVE AND EXPAND, UM, THE PROGRAM, UM, TO BETTER SERVE THE COMMUNITY IN THE COMING MONTHS.
AND I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY THAT'S WORKED SO HARD ON THIS.
I WILL TAKE SOME QUESTIONS FIRST, A COUNCIL, RAPPER MADISON, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER THE MORNING.
I APPRECIATE YOU RECOGNIZING ME.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, MANDY.
UM, YOU ACTUALLY ANSWERED A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I WAS COMING INTO THIS WITH.
UM, SO I WILL JUST SAY, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, THE TARGETED OUTREACH FOR PROGRAMS. UM, SO, UH, I THINK I MISUNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU ORIGINALLY SAID.
IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS ALREADY HAPPENING IN WHICH CASE I HAD A LIST OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THAT WAS HAPPENING, BUT IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE IF THERE'S A SOLICITATION FOR COMMUNITY OR IS IT'S NOT HAPPENING YET, CAN YOU CLEAR THAT UP FOR ME? SURE.
SO WE HAVE DEVELOPED OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM AT NACD HAS DEVELOPED AN OVERALL STRATEGY.
UM, WE'LL BE DOING A LOT OF TARGETED OUTREACH INTERNALLY, BUT WE ARE REALLY DEPENDING ON OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UM, TO REACH THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE HARDEST TO SERVE.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE SOLICITATION COMES IN, WE'LL BE LAUNCHING THE OUTREACH INTERNALLY, AND IT WILL BE BOLSTERED BY COMMUNITY GROUPS AS A RESULT OF THE SOLICITATION.
THE SOLICITATION WILL GO OUT THIS MONTH.
SO CERTAINLY WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, WE ARE GIVING COMMUNITY GROUPS A 30 DAY TURNAROUND TIME, UM, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THEM AMPLE CLIMB, TO, UH, ASSESS THEIR CURRENT CAPACITY AND RESOURCES AND ABILITY TO PROVIDE THAT KIND OF OUTREACH IN THE RFA.
WE HAVE REALLY PROVIDED A SUITE OF SERVICES RANGING FROM, UH, VERY EASY TO ACCOMPLISH, UH, LIKE AGREEING TO POST THINGS ABOUT THE RENT PROGRAM ON SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, TO MUCH MORE INTENSIVE.
UM, REALLY, UM, I WOULD SAY HAND HOLDING, BUT IN TIME OF COVID-19 AND HOLDING IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BE POSSIBLE, BUT REALLY ASSISTING FOLKS, UM, WHO MAY HAVE, UH, ACCESS TO ACCESS CHALLENGES TO A DIGITAL APPLICATION, UM, ASSISTING THEM WITH UPLOADING
[00:15:01]
DOCUMENTATION, MUCH MORE OF THAT ONE ON ONE, UM, INTENSIVE OUTREACH.SO IT'S REALLY A RANGE OF SERVICES WE'RE ASKING COMMUNITY GROUPS, LET US KNOW WHAT THEY THINK THEY CAN PROVIDE.
AND WE'RE PROVIDING FUNDING FROM A THOUSAND DOLLARS, $50,000.
OKAY, WELL, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT CLARIFICATION.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK RESPECTFULLY THAT MY OFF AT THE VERY LEAST, YOU KNOW, AND EVERYBODY ELSE CAN OBVIOUSLY CHIME IN TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR DISTRICTS AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS AS WELL.
BUT MY OFFICE WOULD DEFINITELY LOVE TO BE A PART OF BOTH THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DIALOGUE AROUND OUTREACH EFFORTS, UH, FOR NO OTHER REASON.
I THINK THERE ARE SEVERAL OF US ON THE CALL WHO ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN SOME OUTREACH.
AND, UM, TO SOME DEGREE, TO SOME OF THOSE POPULATIONS OF FOLKS THAT YOU MADE REFERENCE TO THOSE REALLY HARD TO REACH POPULATIONS.
I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT MYSELF AND GREG ARE DOING SOME OF THOSE OUTREACH EFFORTS, UM, CURRENTLY THAT LITERALLY HAVE A PILOT THAT LAUNCHED YESTERDAY, UH, IN DISTRICT ONE WHERE, UM, WE HAVE A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT'S GOING DOOR TO DOOR AND CONDUCTING A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO JUST IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT AS ROBUST AS POSSIBLE AND, AND POTENTIALLY ASSIST THE EFFORT THAT NACD IS GOING TO BE PUTTING FORWARD, I'D LOVE VERY MUCH FOR US TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EXACTLY HOW IT'S HAPPENING AND WHAT VEHICLES WE COULD POSSIBLY SHARE.
UM, WHAT INFORMATION WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GAUGE IN OUR TIME IN, UM, THAT WE COULD SHARE.
AND I KNOW GREG'S GOT A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THE ST JOHN'S NEIGHBORHOOD AND, AND THOSE FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I I'D SAY NOW WOULD BE A REALLY GREAT TIME FOR US TO POOL OUR COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE DATA THAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT SHOWS THAT UPWARDS OF 28 MILLION AMERICANS ARE ABOUT TO BE EXPERIENCING HOUSING INSECURITY, IN WHICH CASE THE THING NOW IS DEFINITELY THE TIME TO TAKE THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AND MAKE THEM STRETCH AS FAR AS WE CAN.
UM, SO AS SOON AS YOU CAN PUT ME IN COACH, WE, WE DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF THAT EXTENDED CONVERSATION AROUND OUTREACH AND COUNCIL MEMBER.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR COMMUNICATIONS FOLKS REACH OUT TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF.
AND WE WANT TO PIGGYBACK ON WHATEVER OUTREACH YOU ALL ARE DOING IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS.
WE WANT TO LEVERAGE RESOURCES.
OUR GOAL IS, IS TO REACH AS MANY FOLKS AS POSSIBLE AND AS MANY HARD TO SERVE AS POSSIBLE.
I'D SAY, ADDITIONALLY, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY REACH OUT TO FARAH MUSKET IN, UM, SHE'S WITH THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, BUT SHE ALSO HAPPENS TO BE OUR STAFF LIAISON FOR THE COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNICATION CABINET.
SO THERE'S A WHOLE TEAM, A WHOLE TRIBE OF FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING ON COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH.
I MEAN THE PRODUCTION OF VIDEOS, SOCIAL MEDIA, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
THERE'S A LOT ALREADY THAT YOU COULD REALLY TAP INTO THERE AS WELL.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD RECOMMEND MAKING THAT CONNECTION.
I'M PERFECTLY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING SOME OF THE NON TRADITIONAL LEASES.
THAT WAS ONE THAT JUST KEPT COMING UP FOR US.
UM, I WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CVR ASSOCIATES, WHAT THEIR ROLE IS SPECIFICALLY.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, HAKA CAN ONLY HAVE SO MUCH IN THE WAY OF BANDWIDTH AROUND HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS, BUT I WOULD JUST, I'D LIKE TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CBRS ROLE IS.
UM, AND I THINK WHAT I'LL DO IS, UM, REACH OUT TO YOU OFFLINE.
UM, SO THAT I DON'T TAKE UP TOO MUCH TIME HERE.
UM, THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD TO THE DAH, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT CD CD, BGC V, AND IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU SAID AN EXTENSION TO JANUARY.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HEARD THAT CORRECTLY.
SO THOSE FUNDS DON'T HAVE TO BE EXTENDED OR EXPENDED BY THE END OF 2020 CALENDAR YEAR.
THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY HAVE A HARD AND FAST DEADLINE OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2020.
SO WE'RE SEQUENCING OUR FUNDING AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE FUNDING IS THE FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDING, BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE FRONT-LOADING THOSE FUNDS AND THEN SAVING QUOTE UNQUOTE, OUR LOCAL FUNDS AND CDBG CB, BECAUSE THERE IS NO SPECIFIC TIMELINE.
I SHOULD ALSO SAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE UTILIZING OUR LOCAL FUNDS, OUR GENERAL FUNDS, UM, FOR, UH, HOUSEHOLDS APPLYING WHO, UM, HAVE UNDETERMINED CITIZENSHIP STATUS.
UM, SO WE'RE GOING TO BE DIPPING INTO OUR LOCAL FUNDS TO ENSURE THAT WE SERVE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST THOSE WITH, UM, UH, CITIZENSHIP.
THE LAST QUESTION I WOULD HAVE ABOUT OUTREACH EFFORTS AND INITIATIVES IS, ARE YO WORKING WITH, OR WOULD IT BE HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME INTRODUCTIONS TO ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT DO ADVOCACY IN THE SPACE AROUND SPECIFIC SEGMENTS OF POPULATION? SO FOR EXAMPLE, I'VE BEEN HAVING SOME REALLY PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH A COUPLE OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO VETERAN ADVOCACY
[00:20:01]
AND A COUPLE OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO ADVOCACY FOR, UM, DIFFERENTLY ABLE, UH, PEOPLE, IN WHICH CASE DO Y'ALL ALREADY HAVE SOME CONNECTIONS IN ORGS THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH ON THOSE SEGMENTS, OR WOULD SOME INTRODUCTIONS BE HELPFUL? INTRODUCTIONS WOULD ALWAYS BE HELPFUL.MY APPROACH IS THE MORE THE MERRIER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF OUR INTERNAL CONTACTS ARE THE SAME AS YOURS, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT REALLY WITH THE SOLICITATION THAT WE REACH AS MANY GROUPS AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THOSE COMMUNITY GROUPS ARE THE FRONT FACING GROUPS, KNOW THEIR POPULATIONS BETTER THAN WE COULD EVER KNOW.
IF, IF SOMEBODY, UM, IF YOU KNOW, ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS WATCHING THIS RIGHT NOW AND THEY ARE HAVING AN AHA MOMENT OF AN ORGANIZATION, THEY'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO, HOW WOULD THEY BEST REACH OUT TO YOU? THEY CAN EMAIL US DIRECTLY AT NHC AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV, OR CONTACT OUR MAIN PHONE NUMBER (512) 974-3174 3,100.
SO THAT'S IN AS IN NANCY, H AS IN HOUSE, C AS IN CAT, D AS IN DOG AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
I WANTED TO JUST TALK ABOUT, WELL, FIRST OFF I WANTED TO, UM, UH, I'M VERY, I'M VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE, THE WORK THAT COUNCIL MEMBER HARBOR MADISON IS DOING.
AND I THINK SHE MENTIONED THAT YOU MIGHT BE DOING THIS ALSO A COUNCIL MEMBER CONCERN IN TERMS OF REACHING INTO THE COMMUNITY VERY TARGETED, PROACTIVE WAY.
AND SO I WOULD, UM, APPRECIATE LEARNING FROM WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
THERE ARE PARTS OF, UH, DISTRICT FIVE THAT I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL FOR.
SO, SO MANDY, IF, OR IF YOU COULD CONNECT ME TO THE RIGHT PERSON TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY FROM WHAT'S HAPPENING IN, IN THESE OTHER, UM, AREAS AND SEE IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN CONTRIBUTE ALSO.
SO IF YOU WOULD, UM, HELP ME WITH THAT.
UM, AND THEN I HAVE A QUESTION THAT REALLY, I'M TRYING TO THINK THROUGH WHERE WE ARE FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE REALLY ON THE EDGE HERE, YOU KNOW, UM, I KNOW WHERE THIS PROGRAM, I LIKED, THE WAY YOU TALKED ABOUT LOOKING AT THE FULL CONTINUUM, UH, FOR FOLKS, YOU KNOW, FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, STABILIZATION AND RENT ASSISTANCE, UM, WHICH IS ALL DESIGNED TO PREVENT FOLKS FROM BECOMING HOMELESS.
BUT, BUT TO ME, IT'S ALL A CONTINUUM AND I WOULD LIKE US TO BE THINKING ABOUT OUR HOMELESS POPULATION AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, AND I KNOW WE HAVE SOME DIFFERENT POTS OF MONEY, BUT, UM, BUT THAT'S THE WAY I THINK OF THAT BECAUSE, UM, INSTEAD OF HAVING, YOU KNOW, AND I'M NOT SUGGESTING THEY'RE SILOED, BUT SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE WE GOT, YOU KNOW, WE GOT A BUCKET OF APPROACHES AND FUNDING FOR PEOPLE, UM, WITH RENTAL ASSISTANCE NEEDS, AND THEY'RE AT RISK FOR BECOMING HOMELESS.
AND THEN WE'RE OVER, OVER HERE ONCE THEY BECOME HOMELESS, THEY FALL INTO ANOTHER POT.
SO, UM, I'M WANTING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE, HOW WE, HOW THESE ARE COORDINATED IN A, IN A WAY.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, OUR RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR THE PERSON WHO IS ENDING UP LIVING ON THE STREETS OR IN A PROLOGUE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHO JUST NEEDS HER, THEY'RE THERE LATE PAYMENTS ON RENT PAID FOR, AND THEN THEY CAN GET INTO HOUSING BECAUSE THEY HAVE A JOB.
UM, AND, UM, I'M JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS APPROACH TO RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND TENANT CIVILIZATION, HOW IT'S, UM, COORDINATED WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALREADY FALLEN OFF THE CLIFF AND ARE HOMELESS, UM, BECAUSE IT'S ALL A CONTINUUM.
AND I WILL SAY THAT WE COORDINATE CLOSELY WITH, UH, OUR FRIENDS AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL CONSULTANTS WE'VE LOOKED AT ALL OF OUR VARIOUS APPROACHES TO HOMELESSNESS.
ONE OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO TAKE A PORTION OF THE C D D G C V.
UM, WE WERE, YOU MAY RECALL WE WERE ALLOCATED, UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS FOUR POINT $6 MILLION.
WE'RE TAKING A PORTION OF THAT.
ONLY 2.6 MILLION IS GOING INTO THE RENT PROGRAM, THE DIRECT EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE, AND THE REMAINDER IS DEDICATED TO, UM, PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
WE'RE USING THOSE FUNDS IN COORDINATION WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, TO DIRECTLY SERVE THE POPULATION THAT WAS IDENTIFIED WAS FOLKS WHO WERE, UM, RAPID
[00:25:01]
REHOUSING, BUT THEIR CONTRACT OR THE TIME THROUGH RAPID REHOUSING WAS EXPIRING.UM, AND SO WE'LL BE LAYERING ON THE CDBG CV DOLLARS TO DIRECTLY ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THAT POPULATION.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH ECHO AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH ON THAT, UH, ON THAT ISSUE.
AND THAT WAS PRESENTED AS A PART OF THE VERY COMPLICATED SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR COUNCIL.
DOES THAT GET YOU, IS, UM, LIKE THE EXAMPLE THAT I GAVE YOU OR DID THEY ALREADY HAVE TO BE RECEIVING RAPID REHOUSING DOLLARS? THOSE SPECIFIC DOLLARS ARE RELATED TO, UM, FOLKS WHO ARE ALREADY IN THE RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAM.
THE EXAMPLE WAS SOMEBODY IN A PRO LODGE AND WE ARE WORKING WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, AND THE HOMELESS OFFICE, UM, ON DIRECTING SOME LOCAL FUNDS TO PROVIDE HOUSING, UH, RELIEF TO THOSE EXITING FROM THE PRO LODGES.
SO THAT IS A DIFFERENT SOURCE, BUT WE ARE KEENLY ATTUNED TO THE NEEDS OF, OF THAT PARTICULAR POPULATION.
UM, I'D LIKE SOME MORE DETAILS ABOUT THAT ASPECT OF IT, WHOEVER I NEED TO TALK TO ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE IT'S A, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL A, IT'S ALL A CONTINUUM AND, UM, I'M WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE WITH HELPING FOLKS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ON YOUR ALL'S RADAR SCREEN AND YOU'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY.
UH, I JUST DON'T WANT THOSE TO BECOME TWO SEPARATE APPROACHES SO THAT IF, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A RANGE OF NEEDS THAT PEOPLE HAVE, WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, JUST THE WHOLE RANGE OF NEEDS.
SOME OF THAT, SOME FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT OF HELP, UM, WITH RENT AND THEN THEY CAN GET BACK INTO HOUSING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, MAYBE I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UH, ONE IS MAYBE JUST A REQUEST.
IF WE COULD GET A SENSE OF HOW WE'RE MEASURING COVID-19 IMPACT, THAT COULD BE USEFUL.
DO YOU ALL ALREADY HAVE A SET OF, UH, QUESTIONS YOU'D BE ASKING OR DOCUMENTATION REQUIRING THE COVID-19 IMPACT? SO WE'VE LOOKED AT CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WHAT THEY REQUIRE, AND SOME OF THEM RANGE FROM SOME PRETTY INTENSIVE, UH, CERTIFICATIONS TO A SIMPLE SELF-SERVICE.
UM, WE ARE TRYING TO LAND ON A SWEET SPOT IS YET TO BE DETERMINED, UM, WHERE WE PROVIDE, WE PROVIDE A DECENT AMOUNT OF, UM, DOCUMENTATION FROM A MONITORING PERSPECTIVE DOWN THE ROAD.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMES IN.
THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S FUNDING AND BACKING TO GO TO, UM, FOLKS WHO WERE IMPACTED BY COVID-19 TYPICALLY IN THE RENT, THE FIRST ITERATION OF RENT IN MAY.
UM, IT WAS SIMPLY A DETERMINATION THAT INCOME HAD DROPPED, AND THAT WAS EASY ENOUGH TO, UM, TO PROVIDE BETWEEN APRIL AND MAY.
UM, AND SOMETIMES IT WAS AN UNEMPLOYMENT, SOMETHING FROM EXCESS WORKFORCE COMMISSION.
WE TRIED TO BE AS FLEXIBLE AS POSSIBLE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO TRY TO BE AS FLEXIBLE AS POSSIBLE, WHETHER IT IS SIMPLY A SELF-CERTIFICATION, WHICH WOULD BE THE MINIMUM BAR, UM, OR SOME ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION TO BOLSTER THAT.
BUT WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THE DETAILS OF THAT IN OUR PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR THIS UPCOMING ITERATION OF AS Y'ALL GET CLOSER TO LANDING OR THINGS OF THOSE LAST QUESTIONS.
I THINK JUST EVEN TOUCHING BASE WITH SOME OFFICES THAT ARE INTERESTED, IT COULD BE THE GOOD, UM, MY, MY SENSE IS THAT TENDING TOWARDS PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO BE ELIGIBLE, I DON'T ALWAYS TEND A LITTLE BIT MORE THAT WAY.
UM, BUT LET ME KNOW WHERE YOU ALL LAND ON THAT.
AS FAR AS YOUR NUMBERS OF HOW MANY FAMILIES YOU INTEND TO SERVE, YOU HAVE A, A TOTAL NUMBER THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO, TO GET TO.
CAUSE IT WAS, IT, IT WAS JUST UNDER 2000 FOR RENT 1.0, IS THAT RIGHT? SO FOR RENT 1.0, IT WAS 1,681 HOUSEHOLDS.
AND THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF RENT THAT WE PROVIDED WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND $765 OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR THAT MONTH.
UH, THE, THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PROGRAM, UM, WE, WE THINK THAT WE'LL BE SERVING AROUND 2000 HOUSEHOLDS PER MONTH.
UM, WITH THIS NEXT ITERATION OF RENT, THE DIFFERENCE IS WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT WE WILL BE SPENDING MORE PER HOUSEHOLD BECAUSE YOU'LL RECALL IN THE FIRST ITERATION OF RENT, WE REQUIRED ONE, WE HAD A CEILING OF WHAT WE
[00:30:01]
WOULD, UM, PROVIDE FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.IT WAS ESSENTIALLY, UM, FAIR MARKET RENT AS DETERMINED BY HUD MINUS UTILITIES.
IT WAS A PRETTY COMPLICATED, UH, CALCULATION.
AND THEN WE ALSO REQUIRED, WE BACKED OUT 30% OF A APPLICANT'S ADJUSTED, GROSS INCOME UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT THEY WOULD PAY THEIR 30%.
SO THAT IS WHY, UH, WE THINK THAT, UM, UH, THE RENT ASSISTANCE AMOUNT WAS FRANKLY LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED.
IT WAS ONLY AROUND $760, THE PER HOUSEHOLD AMOUNT.
WE BELIEVE THAT THAT WILL GO UP, UH, BECAUSE IN THIS ITERATION WE HAVE COMMITTED TO PAYING THE FULL CONTRACT RENT.
UM, SO WE ARE BALLPARKING AT THIS POINT.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL BE TWEAKING AS WE GO, BUT, UM, WE'RE BALLPARKING THAT IT'LL BE ABOUT A THOUSAND DOLLARS PER HOUSEHOLD.
UM, AND SOME OF THOSE HOUSEHOLDS OF COURSE ARE 30% AND BELOW WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THREE MONTHS OF ASSISTANCE.
OUR GOAL IS TO SERVE RIGHT NOW, WE'RE THINKING 2000 HOUSEHOLDS A MONTH AND TWO, SO 2000 HOUSEHOLDS A MONTH.
AND YOU'RE THINKING THIS PROGRAM RUNS THROUGH DECEMBER OR JANUARY, JANUARY SIX MONTHS.
AND WE'RE PLANNING ON LAUNCHING IN EARLY AUGUST OH SIX MONTHS, UM, 2000 FOLKS A MONTH OR 2000 HOUSEHOLDS A MONTH.
SO THE GUESS IS 12,000 HOUSEHOLDS THAT WOULD BE NOW KEEP IN MIND THAT 30% AND BELOW ARE GOING TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR MULTIPLE NOTIONS.
AND WE WOULD CERTAINLY WANT TO PROVIDE FOR A HOUSEHOLD AT 30% AND BELOW WE WOULD WANT TO PROVIDE THAT KIND OF, IT'S NOT A DUPLICATION OF SERVICES PER FEDERAL RULES, WHERE ELSE WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE UP TO THREE MONTHS OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND WE WANT TO DO THAT ONLY FOR THE VERY LOWEST OF THE LOW INCOME UNDERSTOOD.
SO THE IDEA IS IF IT'S 2000 A MONTH, IN SOME CASES, IT'S GOING TO BE THE SAME FAMILY EACH FOR BOTH MONTHS, BECAUSE THEY'RE IN SUCH IF THEY'RE BOTH 30% OF THE AVERAGE AUSTIN FAMILY.
UH, SO YOU'RE GOING TO DO A 2000 TIMES SIX THAT'S, 12,000 HOUSEHOLDS, ABOUT 10 TIMES MORE THAN RENT 1.0.
UM, UH, AND PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, MIGHT BE 50% MORE DOLLARS, UM, PER HOUSEHOLD.
UH, AND THAT ALL ADDS UP AS TO WHY THE PROGRAM IS ABOUT 10 TIMES BIGGER IN THOSE PROGRAMS. CORRECT.
UM, AND, AND IT'S MY SENSE THAT, YEAH, THE OUTREACH SHOULD BE PRETTY CONTINUOUS THEN, BECAUSE I ASSUME YOU'RE GOING TO GET MORE FAMILIES THAN YOU CAN ACCOMMODATE IN MONTH ONE, AND THEN YOU'LL KEEP ON TRYING TO ACCOMMODATE THEM.
AND LATER AMONGST IS THAT THINKING? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND SO I SHOULD ALSO POINT OUT FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AN OPEN APPLICATION PROCESS.
LET'S JUST SAY THAT THE APPLICATIONS OPEN, UH, AUGUST 10TH.
UM, AND I'M, I'M MAKING THAT, THAT DATA RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT SOMEBODY WILL SUBMIT AN APPLICATION.
THEY WON'T HAVE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION EVERY MONTH.
WE'LL DO A RANDOMIZED LOTTERY EACH MONTH.
AND IF IN FACT YOU WERE NOT CHOSEN FOR THE RANDOMIZED LOTTERY, YOUR APPLICATION WILL CARRY FORWARD.
WE WANT TO MAKE THIS AS SIMPLE, UM, ON BOTH ENDS, REALLY FROM THE RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE, WE'LL KEEP IN CONTACT WITH THEM, LET THEM KNOW.
YES, YOU WERE CHOSEN FOR THE LOTTERY.
WE'LL NEED SOME ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION OR NO, YOU WERE NOT CHOSEN, BUT WE ARE HOLDING YOUR APPLICATION FOR NEXT MONTH'S LOTTERY.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT ADMINISTRATIVELY EASIER ON OUR END, BUT ALSO THE LEAST BURDENSOME POSSIBLE ON THE RESIDENCE.
I GUESS A QUESTION THEN IS IF, IF WE KNOW WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR ALL THESE FAMILIES ACROSS MULTIPLE MONTHS, WE OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH, HOW MANY, BUT JUST HAVE A GOOD GENERAL SENSE.
THE REASON WE'RE THE REASON WE'RE ONLY GOING TO BE DELIVERING FUNDS TO 2000 OF THOSE FAMILIES EACH MONTH, IS THAT, DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH OUR CAPACITY TO ACTUALLY COVERS UP THE ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY TO DEAL WITH THAT LANDLORD AND COVER THAT REX IS THAT THE LIMITING FACTOR AS TO WHY WE'RE NOT DOING, YOU KNOW, 4,000 ACROSS THREE MONTHS, IT'S A COMBINATION OF CAPACITY.
I MEAN, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, SOMEBODY IS ACTUALLY CUTTING 4,000 CHECKS OR 2000 CHECKS, AND THEY'RE GATHERING ALL OF THE 10 99 DATA.
I MEAN, IT IS SO ADMINISTRATIVELY YES, HEAVY LIFT, UM, AND, AND CAPACITY IS CERTAINLY AN ISSUE, BUT WE'RE ALSO, UM, VERY MINDFUL OF THE FACT THAT SOMEBODY WHO CAN PAY THEIR RENT IN AUGUST MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO PAY THEIR RENT IN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER AND EVERYTHING WE ARE HEARING, UM, FROM A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE IS THAT, OF COURSE, DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS WITH EVICTION MORATORIUMS WITH LOCALLY AND FEDERALLY, UM, WE'RE HEARING
[00:35:01]
THAT THE FALL, UM, IS GOING TO BE A PRETTY INTENSIVE, UM, TIME PERIOD FOR FOLKS HAVING, UM, HOUSING STABILITY CHALLENGES.AND SO WE DON'T WANT TO SPEND ALL 17.7, 5 MILLION IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, AND THEN HAVE AN ENORMOUS NEED.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE FAIRLY CONSERVATIVE AND, AND SPREAD THE DOLLARS OUT, UM, OVER THIS TIME PERIOD, RECOGNIZING THAT OUR FUNDS NEED TO BE EXPENDED BY THE END.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE FUNDS NEED TO BE EXPENDED BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
AND SO IT'S OPEN, OPEN APPLICATION PERIOD.
IS IT ROLLING? OR WILL YOU SAY, OKAY, FOR PEOPLE THAT APPLY IN THESE TWO WEEKS, A LOTTERY IS GOING TO RUN THEIR APPLICATIONS.
AND THEN FOR PEOPLE THAT APPLY AND THESE OTHER, HOW IT WILL BE AN OPEN APPLICATION PERIOD, BUT THE LOTTERY HAS TO OCCUR AT A POINT IN TIME.
SO WE WILL ANNOUNCE I'M MAKING UPDATES.
APPLICATION OPENS AUGUST 10TH, AND WE SAY THE LOTTERY OCCURS ON THE 25TH OF EVERY MONTH.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE DO THE RANDOMIZED LOTTERY AND PULL THE FOLKS WHO WE THINK WE CAN SERVE AND GATHER THE ADDITION.
LET ME KEEP THINKING ABOUT THAT.
I THINK THAT THAT IS A GOOD WAY TO KEEP GET A LOT OF PEOPLE TO APPLY.
THERE MIGHT BE, AGAIN, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD IT.
SO I'M JUST BRAINSTORMING HERE AND WOULD REALLY WANT, UH, I, I PLAN ON TALKING TO PEOPLE WHO WENT THROUGH RENT 1.0, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS BEST, BUT IT MIGHT MAKE SENSE.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE KNOW THAT MONTH ONE, WE'RE GOING TO SERVE 2000 A MONTH, TWO, WE CAN SERVE ANOTHER 2000 TO MAYBE ALERT ALL 4,000 OF THOSE FAMILIES AND LET THEM KNOW, HEY, YOU'RE IN THE HALF THAT IS GOING TO GET THEIR RENT PAID BY THIS MONTH.
AND THE OTHER HALF OF, HEY, YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR RENT PAID BY THAT MONTH.
SO PEOPLE CAN PLAN, UM, OR HAVE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE AGAIN, THAT THERE MIGHT WHAT I JUST SAID.
THERE MIGHT BE GOOD REASONS THAT DOESN'T WORK, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY USEFUL TO HEAR THIS SO THAT WE CAN GO AND TALK WITH THE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE FOLKS THAT HAVE GONE AND TRIED TO SIGN PEOPLE UP, UM, AND, AND WITH, UM, AND WITH PEOPLE THAT NEED TO USE THESE SERVICES TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE MOST USEFUL FOR THEM, AND THEN WHAT'S ADMINISTRATIVELY POSSIBLE FOR US.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR EXPLAINING THAT.
AND WE MIGHT JUST HAVE TO GET BACK WITH USE WITH, WITH WHATEVER SOME OF OUR THOUGHTS MIGHT BE AND WE'LL TRY OUR BEST.
AND I WILL, UH, SAY WE'RE, WE'RE AT KIND OF HARDENING THE PROGRAM GUIDELINES IN THE PROCESS AS WE ARE CONTRACTING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, BUT THAT IS NOT TO SAY, WE ALWAYS LOOKED AT THIS PROGRAM AS ITERATED.
AND AS WE SEE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT DEMOGRAPHICS.
WE'RE NOT MEETING PEOPLE AT 30% OR BELOW.
WE'RE NOT MEETING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
WE'RE NOT MEETING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, WE'LL BE RE UM, CALIBRATING THE PROGRAM AS WE GO ALONG, WE ARE TRYING TO BE AS FLEXIBLE AND NIMBLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, KNOWING THAT OUR, OUR, OUR CITY COUNCIL, UM, HAS VERY DEFINITE PRIORITIES.
AND, AND WE WANNA, WE WANT TO MEET THOSE.
AND OVERALL, I KNOW THIS IS JUST A HUGE PROGRAM.
SOMETHING THE CITY'S NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE, AND WE'RE COMING TOGETHER IN THIS MOMENT OF CRISIS TO MAKE SURE THAT NOBODY LOSES THEIR HOUSING BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
THAT'S A BIG GOAL, BUT IT SHOULD BE THE GOAL.
AND THANK YOU FOR WORKING ON IT, UH, SAY, OH, I'M SORRY.
I JUST DID WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD CONTEMPLATED.
I KNOW WE'VE HAD CITY COUNCIL CONVERSATIONS AND WE'VE CERTAINLY HAD INTERNAL STAFF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A NEED BEFORE ANY OF US KNEW WHAT COVID-19 WAS, IT WASN'T NEED PENDANT STABILIZATION SERVICES, UM, AND EVICTION PREVENTION.
THOSE HAVE ALL BEEN HUGE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND THIS HAS REALLY KICKSTARTED AND LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT WE THINK AFTER WE'RE ALL SAID AND DONE.
AND WE NEVER SAY THE WORDS COVID-19 AGAIN.
UM, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ONGOING ISSUE, AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS REALLY LAYING THE FOUNDATION.
AND I WOULD ADD THE, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE, UH, JUSTICES OF THE PEACE AND TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, UH, WORKING ARE WORKING TO EXTEND THE EVICTION MORATORIUM.
I ASSUME THE CITY WOULD ALSO EXTEND OUR MORATORIUM TO AT LEAST SEPTEMBER 30TH.
SO, UH, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO LOSE THEIR HOME WHILE WE ARE PUTTING THE EMERGENCY HOUSING PROGRAM BACK ONLINE.
UH, SO THIS WILL HELP 10 TIMES MORE PEOPLE, UH, WITH MANY MORE DOLLARS THAN WE'VE EVER, UM, UH, PUT INTO THE COMMUNITY BEFORE FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND WE NEED TO DO IT BEFORE ANY EVICTION MORATORIUM IS LIFTED.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE MORATORIUM OF SHOULD BE EXTENDED SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN GET THE HELP THAT THEY NEED.
[00:40:01]
BIT OF PEACE OF MIND AS IT RELATES TO THEIR HOUSING, HOW'S REMEMBER KITCHEN.UM, I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THERE MAY BE SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, FEDERAL ASSISTANCE, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T KNOW YET, BUT, UM, UH, THEY'RE LOOKING AT, UH, UH, CONGRESS IS LOOKING AT AN ADDITIONAL PACKAGE WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE NEXT, I DON'T KNOW, TWO WEEKS OR SO.
SO THERE'S A CERTAIN SENATOR FROM KENTUCKY YESTERDAY, DECIDE WHETHER THERE'S A VOTE ON THAT OR NOT.
AND THEN YOU SHOULD BE ADVOCATING TO THEIR SENATORS EXACTLY.
THAT'S MY, YEAH, I GUESS MANDY.
YEAH, I REALLY WANT TO THANK, THANK YOU FOR THAT WORK.
I JUST WANTED IT TO FIND OUT I'M ANTSY.
IF YOU COULD TELL ME HOW MUCH OF THAT MONEY THAT YOU'RE ALLOCATING FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE COMES FROM THE RISE FUND.
SO NONE OF THAT WILL BE FROM THE RISE FUNDS.
UM, SO THE ENTIRE, WHEN I DID THE 17 POINT, THERE WAS A PIE CHART IN THE PRESENTATION.
THAT'S A COMBINATION OF GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS SEPARATE FROM RISE.
THIS IS NOT DIPPING INTO RISE AT ALL.
RISE WILL BE, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT IT AS AN ADDED RESOURCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS SEPARATE AND APART.
THE REST IS FEDERAL FUNDING, BUT 2.5 IS A GENERAL FUND DOLLARS SEPARATE FROM RISE.
AND ARE YOU PLANNING ON GIVING US A REPORT ON THAT? OR YOU CAN JUST SEND IT TOMORROW? MY OFFICE, WHEN YOU'RE GOOD TERMS, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW MUCH WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THAT KIND OF MONEY RIGHT NOW.
I'M SORRY WITH THE RISE FUNDING.
WHY IS THAT FOR THIS ITEM? THANK YOU, MANDY.
[3. Briefing and discussion on the Homestead Preservation Funding and Plaza Saltillo Transit Oriented District.]
ITEM IS A BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION ON, UH, HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION FUNDING IN THE SALTY.AND I CANNOT TELL MY STILL ON.
WE'RE HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE FROM WHAT I CAN SEE, I AM THE ONLY NACD STAFF ONLINE.
IS THAT CORRECT? YOU SHOULD SEE, I'VE GOT JAMES MAE ON HERE.
WANT ME TO UNMUTE JAMES, PLEASE DO.
JAMIE WAS GOING TO DO, AND JUST SO Y'ALL KNOW, UM, AS PART OF YOUR BACKUP, YOU ALL HAVE A ONE PAGER.
THIS IS A RESULT OF, UH, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER WRENCH, RHEA ASKS FOR JUST KIND OF AN UPDATE ON THESE FUNDING SOURCES MAY BE BACK IN JANUARY, BUT YOU DO HAVE A ONE PAGER DETAILING ALL OF THE, UM, ALL OF THE FUNDING SOURCES.
UM, THE, UH, UH, THIS WILL BE VERY BRIEF.
I KNOW THE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
UM, JUST RESPONDING TO THE QUESTION BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION ON THE HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION FUNDING AND FUNDS ASSAULT TO YOU, A TRANSIT ORIENTED DISTRICT.
UH, FIRST THE HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION REINVESTMENTS ARE HBR Z.
UH, UM, JUST A QUICK UPDATE, UH, IN 2019, UH, THE TAX INCREMENT WAS INCREASED FROM 10% TO 20% OF THE ASSESSED EVALUATION INCREASE.
UH, CURRENT BALANCE ON THAT FUND IS $2,334,462 A FISCAL YEAR 21 BUDGET, UH, IS, ARE APPROXIMATELY THREE POINT $4 MILLION.
UH, NOW NACD INTENDS TO DEPLOY THESE FUNDS ALONG, UH, THE PARAMETERS OUTLINED IN TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER THREE 73 EIGHT, UH, THROUGH OUR NORMAL PROGRAMS, SUCH AS
UM, SOME OF THE PARAMETERS AROUND THOSE DOLLARS, ACCORDING TO THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, UH, FUNDS HAVE TO BE SPENT ON HOUSING WITHIN THE GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES OF THE HDR Z AND THAT'S, UH, UH, NORTH OF LADY LAKE EAST OF 35.
AND AS FAR NORTHEAST AS THE INTERSECTION OF THREE 30, EIGHT AND A HALF AND AIRPORT BOULEVARD, UH, ASSISTANCE HAS TO GO TO HOUSEHOLDS EARNING NO MORE THAN 70% OF THEM OF MHI.
UH, 50% OF THE FUNDS HAVE TO BE, UH, SERVE, UH, HOUSEHOLDS MAKING NO MORE THAN 50% OF THE MFI AND 25% OF THE FUNDS HAVE TO BE SENT, SPENT ON HOUSEHOLDS EARNING NO MORE THAN 30%.
AND I APPLY THE, UH, PLAZA LTO,
[00:45:01]
UH, OR TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, UH, IS ONE OF SEVERAL KEY ODS THAT COUNCIL IS, UH, ADOPTED.UH, THE, THIS IS, THIS FUND IS GENERATED BY DEVELOPERS PAYING A FEE IN LIEU OF PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, IT'S ABOUT $12 PER SQUARE FOOT OF THAT BONUS DENSITY THAT THEY RECEIVE, UH, FOR BEING IN DISTRICT.
UH, CURRENTLY THERE ARE THREE NON-RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDER REVIEW OR UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN THE TOD DISTRICTS, AND THEY ARE ANTICIPATED TO PAY A DENSITY BONUS FEE IN LIEU, TOTALING AROUND TWO POINT $5 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT THREE YEARS, ASSUMING THAT ALL PROJECTS ARE COMPLETED AS PLANNED, UH, LAST YEAR, AUGUST 28TH, 2019, UH, THE HFC BOARD OF DIRECTORS, YOUR BOARD HAD A $3 MILLION LOAN TO BMA DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF CALAVERA LOSS.
THIS WAS AN AWARDEE OF THE LYTEC 9% AWARD IN 2019.
AND THIS LOAN WAS PARTIALLY FUNDED BY THE BALANCE OF THE PLAZA.
SALTY HAVE FUNDED AT THAT TIME, WHICH WAS AROUND ONE POINT $2 MILLION.
SO THE CURRENT BALANCE OF THE PLAZA SOUTHEAST TOD FUND IS ZERO.
WE HAVE ZERO DOUBT THAT BALANCE.
HOWEVER, THE FYI 21 BUDGET IS EXPECTED TO BE ONE POINT $4 MILLION A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE ARE SEEING MORE FUNDS COMING IN OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS WITH THOSE THREE, UH, NON-RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS.
UH, THIS INSTANCE, SINCE THIS IS A LOCAL PROGRAM, UH, IT'S ONLY GOVERNED BY LOCAL STATUTORY RESTRICTIONS.
UM, AND THOSE ARE THAT HOUSING FUNDS HAVE TO BE SPENT ON HOUSING AND THEY HAVE TO BE SPENT WITHIN NO MORE THAN HALF A MILE FROM THE BOUNDARY OF THE TOD.
UM, SO JUST THINK OF THE, UH, UM,
UH, WE CAN SPEND MONEY ON HOUSING WITHIN THAT CIRCLE.
UH, RENTAL UNITS, UH, HAVE TO BE LEASED TO HOUSEHOLDS EARNING NO MORE THAN 60% OF THE MFI AND HAVE TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR A PERIOD OF NOT LESS THAN 40 YEARS.
AND OWNER OCCUPIED HOUSES HAVE TO BE AFFORDABLE TO HOUSEHOLDS EARNING NO MORE THAN 80% MFI AND HAVE TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR 99 YEARS.
UH, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
HOW'S THE UMBRELLAS, I'VE GOT ONE.
UM, YOU DID SAY THAT THE MONEY FOR THE REINVESTMENT ZONE HAD TO BE USED FOR HOUSING.
DOES THAT APPLY TO LAND ACQUISITION OR IS THAT, HOW DOES THAT RELATIONSHIP IN, IN A FORMULA LIKE THIS? SO IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A SPENT ON HOUSING AS FOR THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE.
UM, WE JUST LIKE WITH OUR, UH, LAND ACQUISITION DOLLARS, WE WOULD ACQUIRE THE LAND AND THEN, UH, EITHER LAND BANK IT, BUT IN THIS AREA THAT PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE A WISE DECISION.
WHAT WE WOULD DO IS RFP WITH STIPULATION THAT THERE, UH, NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE HOUSING AS PART OF THAT INCORPORATION, IF ANY PORTION OF THE LAND THAT WAS ACQUIRED WITH THESE FUNDS, UH, WAS DEDICATED TO COMMERCIAL OR MIXED USE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND WE'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF, OKAY, HOW MUCH DID WE SPEND FROM THE HPRC FUND, UH, ON THIS LAND? WAS THERE ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL FUNDS THAT WERE SPENT ON THE LAND THAT WE COULD KIND OF JUSTIFY THAT THE LAND USE IS BEING SPLIT BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL? OKAY.
AND THEN WHAT OTHER REGULATIONS LIKE PARKLAND, DEDICATION STILL APPLYING TO THIS, OR IS THAT EXEMPT BECAUSE OF THE RE-INVESTMENT ZONE RULES? YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO, I'D HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT.
UM, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE IF PARKLAND WOULD QUALIFY OR IF WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY OURSELVES BACK.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THINGS LIKE FLOOD PLAIN WOULD STILL APPLY, BUT, UM, I WAS JUST KINDA CURIOUS HOW THAT WORKS, BUT, UM, MAYBE IF YOU FIND MORE INFORMATION, JUST SEND IT TO MY OFFICE AND WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT IT OFFLINE.
UH, BASICALLY THAT AREA AROUND THE, UH, THE SOUTH HILL DEVELOPMENT IS, UH, PRETTY LANDLOCKED AND THE LAND IS VERY EXPENSIVE, BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF, UH, NONPROFIT, ESPECIALLY THE WILD LOOP AND NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, UH, CORPORATION HOUSING CORPORATION.
UH, THEY'RE SITTING ON A LOT OF EMPTY LOTS THAT ARE IN NEED OR FUNDING.
AND WE ALSO HAVE THE, UH, CONDOS FROM HACA.
I MEAN, NOT HAKA, BUT, UH, HABITAT THAT'S A NEAT OR FUN.
SO, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF NEED THERE FOR, TO COMPLETE THESE PROJECTS THAT THESE NONPROFITS THAT ARE IN BLACK LAND IS ANOTHER ONE THAT SAID, NON-PROPERTY, IT'S A NEED OF FUNDING.
SO, UH, THOSE, THOSE, THOSE THREE NONPROFITS ARE COMPETING FOR A LOT OF THIS FUNDING.
SO THERE'S A GREATER NEED RIGHT NOW THAN THERE'S FUNDING.
SO, UH, I, YOU KNOW, COURAGE TO
[00:50:01]
STAFF THAT, TO LOOK AT THESE, THESE GROUPS BECAUSE THEY, THEY ARE SITTING ON, ON VACANT LOTS AND HOUSING CAN BE BUILT ON THAT.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I HAD, IT'S KIND OF INSPIRED BY THE IDEA OF THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND THE LGC BEING ESTABLISHED THERE.
I KNOW, UH, GENERALLY WE'VE BEEN DOING IS SLOWLY COLLECTING FUNDS AND THEN DEPLOYING THEM TO GET LOW INCOME HOUSING AND NOW A REALLY EXPENSIVE AREA.
AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, GETTING SOMETHING LIKE TELECARE LOSS DONE OR GETTING, UM, SOME OF THE PROJECTS COUNCIL MEMBER HEAD TODAY I DESCRIBED IS A GREAT WAY TO DO THAT, BUT YOU HAVE TO SORT OF WAIT SEVERAL YEARS OR, UM, FOR ESSENTIALLY THE FUNDS TO REPLENISH.
BUT SINCE WE HAVE KIND OF A, UH, A MORE DEDICATED STREAM OF DOLLARS APART FROM THE FEES AND LOO, THERE IS A DEDICATED TAX, UH, THAT IS GOING FROM THIS AREA GOING INTO THIS FUND.
CAN WE LOOK INTO THE POTENTIAL OF, OF REVENUE, BONDS, UM, OUT OF HFC WHERE WE COULD GET MONEY FASTER, BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GET THESE DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT 20 AND 30 YEARS.
HAVE WE LOOKED INTO THAT? I MEAN, THAT'S GENERALLY HOW THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IS THINKING OF WORKING FOR IS BECAUSE IT HAS A DEDICATED TAX STREAM, ISSUING REVENUE BONDS EARLY.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY DO WITH US? THAT'S WHY THE LAND IS CHEAPER.
THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT, UH, I'M SURE THAT ROSIE AND REBECCA WOULD WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS DEPLOYING THESE FUNDS, UH, WE WOULD, WE WOULD PUSH THEM OUT AS QUICKLY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN FOR ANY APPLICANTS THAT IS WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA.
UM, IF, UH, IF WE WANT IT TO ISSUE REVENUE, BONDS TO KIND OF FOR, OR PRE-FUND, UH, THOSE DEVELOPMENTS, WE WOULD PUSH IT THROUGH THE RFPA PROGRAM JUST THE SAME WAY.
UM, AGAIN, I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT UNTIL NOW, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN TALKING SO MUCH ABOUT THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, BUT AS PO MENTIONED, THIS AREA IS GETTING, HAS ALREADY OBVIOUSLY BEEN GENTRIFIED SO MUCH, BUT IT'S ONLY GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE, MATT, THAT IF, IF WE COULD ISSUE REVENUE BONDS OFF OF THIS REVENUE STREAM, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET MORE AFFORDABILITY NOW THAN IF WE HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER FIVE OR SIX YEARS FOR THAT, FOR THE BUCKET TO REPLENISH.
SO COUNCIL MEMBER CASAR, THIS IS MANDY TO MAYO.
UM, WE'D HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW THE HPD TERS WAS SET UP, UM, AND WE'D HAVE TO LOOK AT A STATE STATUTE, BUT I AM NOT SURE THAT THE TERS, UH, IS LIKE A STANDARD TIFF THAT YOU CAN BOND OFF OF.
I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS ALLOWABLE, BUT THAT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CONTEMPLATE.
UH, AND WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU ABOUT THAT.
WE WANT TO LOOK AT AS MANY CREATIVE, UM, ANYTHING THAT IS LEGALLY ALLOWABLE, UM, ANY CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO REALLY FRONT LOAD FUNDING AND PROVIDE MORE ROBUST.
AND, AND, AND WE PROBABLY ALREADY CHECKED, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY WE'RE NOT DOING IT, BUT JUST SAYING IT A LOT, ONE LAST TIME, JUST IN CASE, BECAUSE IF WE NEEDED TO REPUBLIC CONTRACT WITH HFC TO LIKE FULLY DEDICATE THE MONEY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UM, AND I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
I REMEMBER WHEN WE, UM, WHEN WE SET THIS UP EARLY UNDER TEN ONE, AND IT'S JUST A REALLY GREAT TO SEE THAT MONEY GO INTO THE FOND AND THEY GET PUT TO USE BUILDING HOUSING RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WORK ON IT.
ANYTHING ELSE, YOU KNOW, GREG, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT, UH, IF, IF IT'S NOT POSSIBLE, WE CAN ALWAYS GO BACK AND ASK OUR REPRESENTATIVE AND PUT IT ON OUR LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE TO MAYBE JUST MAYBE OUR, THAT THE, UH, UH, THE TARIFF, I MEAN, AND SO THAT WE CAN BORROW MONEY.
SO THAT'D BE A GOOD THING TO, TO LOOK INTO AND COME BACK AND ANDY, AND LET US KNOW IF IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
MAYBE WE COULD CONVINCE OUR STATE, OUR STATE LEGISLATORS, ESPECIALLY EVERY PAST WHEN, UM, 10, 12 YEARS AGO.
SO YOU PROBABLY COULD AMEND THIS ALSO SO THAT WE COULD GO OUT AND BORROW MONEY.
CAUSE, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S A BIG TEST, BRITTANY.
WE DO HAVE ALL THESE NONPROFITS THAT ARE SITTING ON THESE EMPTY LOT AND, UH, THE NEED IS THERE, THERE ARE MORE,
[00:55:01]
MORE NEED FOR FUNDING AND THEN THERE IS AVAILABLE.SO WE WILL COUNCIL MEMBER, WE WILL LOOK INTO THAT.
WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU AND IT MAY REQUIRE SOME SORT OF LEGISLATIVE FIX AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE REALLY NOT SURE, BUT WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND GET BACK TO Y'ALL.
I THINK IT'S OUR LAST BRIEFING OF THE DAY.
UH, I'M GOING TO TRY TO CLOSE THIS OUT BY 1120.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S DOABLE, BUT IF NOT, THEN I'LL PASS THE CHAIR TO THE VICE CHAIR AND ELLIS WHEN I HAVE TO STOP OFF AT 1120.
UH, AND, UM, MS. JELLO, YOU'RE ON.
[4. Briefing on Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Action Plan for funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.]
GLO, EVERYONE HEARING THE ARE I AM WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND I'M HERE TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 2021 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN.THE ACTION PLAN, AS A REMINDER, SERVES AS OUR GRANT APPLICATION TO HUD EACH YEAR, WE ARE ON A FIVE YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN AND EACH YEAR WE BRING OUR GRANT APPLICATION TO COUNCIL SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE REALLY A REAFFIRMED SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'LL BE DOING WITH OUR FEDERAL, OUR FEDERAL FUNDS.
UM, THE FEDERAL DOLLARS ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE, UH, THE FORMULA GRANTS.
AND I DON'T SEE THE PRESENTATION UP.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S PROBLEMATIC OR NOT.
I'M HAPPY TO PAUSE UNTIL WE GET THAT, OR YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SEE IT.
I JUST CAN'T OKAY, HERE WE GO.
YOU CAN ADVANCE THE SLIDE PLEASE.
SO WE HAVE FOUR FORMULA GRANTS WE'LL BE REVIEWING TODAY, AND THOSE ARE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS, THE HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP FUND HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS AND EMPLOY THE EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT.
AND IF YOU WANT TO ADVANCE THE SLIDE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
WE CAN KEEP GOING THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS.
AGAIN, WE HAVE FIVE YEARS IN OUR CONSOLIDATED PLAN.
THAT'S A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, AND THEN WE ARE ON YEAR TWO OF THE FIVE YEARS.
AND SO WE'RE IN OUR FIRST CURRENT ACTION PLAN.
AND WHAT WE'LL BE BRINGING TO YOU ON JULY 30TH IS YEAR TWO OF FIVE.
AND THEN EVERY YEAR AROUND DECEMBER, WE SUBMIT TO HUD, OUR CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION REPORT, WHICH PROVIDES THE COMMUNITY HUD AND OUR COUNCIL WITH THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OVERALL, UM, AND OVERALL LOOK AT AT HOW WE SERVE THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS.
FENCED THE SLIDE ACTUALLY THROUGH THE, UM, TRANSITION SLIDES I NOTICED IN THE TRANSITION, UH, IN A VIRTUAL MEETING, THE SLIDES ARE A LITTLE AWKWARD.
THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE REALLY JUST TALKS THROUGH THE INVESTMENT CATEGORIES AND THE INVESTMENT CATEGORIES ARE IN SPECIFIC AREAS OF INVESTMENT.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE REALLY ONLY LOOKING AT THE FEDERAL DOLLARS WE WILL IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES.
AND JUST A MOMENT WRITE DOWN HOW IMPORTANT THE LOCAL FUNDS ARE TO OUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO.
THE INFUSION OF THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS IS GAME CHANGING FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING.
AND SO WE WANT TO ALWAYS, UH, TALK THROUGH HOW THE COMMUNITY HAS REALLY ENRICHED THE PORTFOLIO OF OUR SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THROUGH, UM, PROVIDING THOSE LOCAL DOLLARS.
SO AGAIN, THESE INVESTMENT CATEGORY AMOUNTS ARE JUST LOOKING AT THE FOUR FORMULA GRANTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
AND SO STARTING WITH HOMELESS ASSISTANCE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, OUR INVESTMENT IN HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE IS A SIGNIFICANT, BUT AGAIN, THE 1.8 IS REALLY JUST TALKING THROUGH THE FOUR FORMULA GRANTS AND HOW WE ARE GOING TO BE UTILIZING THOSE DOLLARS THAT IN OUR DEPARTMENT, UM, IS REALLY FUNDING THE TENANT BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
IF YOU GO TO THE RIGHT AND THE CENTER, THE SPECIAL NEEDS ARE OUR PUBLIC SERVICES CONTRACTS, AND THOSE ARE SERVING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR AT RISK YOUTH AT RISK YOUTH CHILDCARE SERVICES SERVICES FOR SENIORS.
AND THOSE CONTRACTS WILL BE ADMINISTERED BEGINNING THIS NEXT YEAR BY THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
[01:00:01]
EXCELLENT PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, BECAUSE THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE INVESTMENTS THROUGH THE LENS OF THEIR OVERALL PORTFOLIO FOR SOCIAL SERVICES.AND THESE CONTRACTS WILL BE COMPETED BEGINNING IN PROBABLY AROUND FISCAL YEAR 22, SO THAT THERE IS A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO OUR SOCIAL SERVICES AND HOW WE'RE FUNDING THOSE EVEN WITH THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS TO THE RIGHT TOP ROW IS OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
THE BULK OF THESE DOLLARS WILL BE GOING TO A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, AND THIS WILL BE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK DAVID COLLAGEN, WHO IS ON THE LINE WITH US TODAY.
SHOULD THERE BE QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS PARTNERSHIP? UH, HOWEVER, WOULD WE, WHAT WE FOUND WHEN WE WENT THROUGH OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UM, THROUGH THE CONSOLIDATED PLAN IS AS MUCH CONCERN AND PRIORITIZATION FROM THE COMMUNITY AROUND JOB CREATION AND, UH, EMPLOYMENT STABILIZATION SERVICES, AS WE DID OBVIOUSLY WITH HOUSING.
UM, AND SO WE LOOKED AT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THE NEEDS THAT WE WERE HEARING.
AND THROUGH THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF HAVE WORKED WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UH, TO FORMULIZE HOW WE CAN DEPLOY, UM, CDBG, THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK, GRANT DOLLARS AND PARTNERSHIP STILL THROUGH THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY OUTCOME AREA, BUT IN DEEP PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AT EDD.
SO SECOND ROW TO THE LEFT IS OUR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
I WON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS SLIDE BECAUSE THE NEXT SLIDE WE'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL.
AGAIN, THAT PROGRAM PORTFOLIO HAS BEEN INFUSED WITH LOCAL FUNDS.
UH, WE STILL DO HAVE A SMALL AMOUNT AND THERE ARE FEDERAL DOLLARS, WHICH ASSISTS OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, OR WHAT WE KNOW IS CHODOS.
UH, HOMEOWNER ASSISTANCE SPECIFICALLY IS A NUMBER OF OUR, UM, HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS. I WILL NOTE THAT OUR HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS FOR FISCAL YEAR 21 ARE A LEVEL FUNDING.
WE ARE NOT DECREASING DOLLARS IN THERE, AND THERE IS A SLIDE THAT GOES INTO MORE DETAIL.
SO I WON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THAT.
RENTER ASSISTANCE IS PRIMARILY OUR TENANTS RIGHTS, UM, SERVICES, AND THAT IS LEVEL OF FUNDING AS WELL.
I WILL NOTE HOWEVER THAT A LOT OF THE CORONAVIRUS, UH, FUNDING MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS, WHICH MANDY HAS JUST GONE THROUGH AT DETAIL HAS ELEVATED SIGNIFICANTLY OUR TENANTS RIGHTS SERVICES, UM, AND OUR TENANT STABILIZATION SERVICES.
SO WE FEEL, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE INCREASED DOLLARS AND INVESTMENT IN THAT AREA MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH RENT IS GOING TO BE AN EXCELLENT LEVERAGING POINT FOR THIS SERVICE AREA.
AND FINALLY, OUR HOME BUYER ASSISTANCE IS PRIMARILY AS OUR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND WE HAVE SEEN A STEADY INCREASE IN THE PIPELINE OF ACTIVITY THERE.
AND SO, UH, THAT TUBE IS LEVEL OF FUNDING IF YOU CAN ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, REALLY WANTED TO JUST BE SURE THAT WE TALKED THROUGH TWO KEY HIGHLIGHTS.
OFTENTIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR PROGRAMMATIC PORTFOLIO, I KNOW THIS IS A FOCUS ON THE FEDERAL DOLLARS, BUT WE REALLY JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HOW THE LOCAL DOLLARS ARE LEVERAGING THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS.
AND SO, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE WITH ALMOST $59 MILLION, UM, ALLOWING FOR THE HOUSING DEVELOPER ASSISTANCE AND THREE PRIMARY CATEGORIES, RENTAL OWNERSHIP AND LAND ACQUISITION, THE GENERAL OBLIGATION AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND PROGRAM IS, UH, IS WORKING BEAUTIFULLY WITH THOSE LOCAL DOLLARS, BUT ALSO A SMALL PART OF OUR FEDERAL FUNDS DO GO THERE.
UM, AND FINALLY OUR HOME REPAIR SERVICES FOR SENIORS, UM, WANTED TO JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT WE ARE, UH, UTILIZING OUR FEDERAL DOLLARS AS WE HAVE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND WE HAVE THE $6 MILLION IN GO REPAIR, WHICH HAS ROUNDED OUT OUR, UH, PROGRAMMATIC PORTFOLIO FOR HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS QUITE NICELY.
THIS IS AGAIN, UH, THE GO REPAIR PROGRAM IS SEEING LEVEL FUNDING AS IS ALL OF THE ACTIVITIES NOTED ON THAT SLIDE.
I WANTED TO TAKE JUST A FEW MINUTES ON THE CAPACITY BUILDING FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AGAIN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND THESE, UH, THESE
[01:05:01]
FUNDS WILL SUPPORT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO UPSKILL AND RE-SKILL FURLOUGHED OR PREVIOUSLY FURLOUGHED WORKERS.THIS IS OBVIOUSLY AN AREA OF NEED, PARTICULARLY AS WE ARE RESPONDING TO CONTINUED RELIEF WORK, UH, DUE TO COVID HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE IMPACTED ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
UM, AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS WORKING TO ROUND OUT A STATEMENT OF WORK, AND WE'LL BE WORKING WITH A NONPROFIT COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS, UM, LIKELY, UH, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS TO, UH, ADMINISTER THESE DOLLARS.
AND AGAIN, SHOULD THERE BE QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION? WE HAVE DAVID WHO HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL AND LIFTING THIS PARTICULAR AREA AND WILL BE A LEAD AND WORKING WITH US IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, AGAIN, FUNDED WITH, UM, ROUGHLY 2 MILLION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DOLLARS.
ACTUALLY, YOU CAN JUST MOVE THROUGH THE TRANSITION SLIDE AS WELL.
WANTED TO REALLY JUST GIVE YOU THIS IS OUTSIDE OF THE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT ARE IN THE ACTION PLAN.
JUST A STRESS WEIGHT THERE, THAT WHAT WE WILL BE BRINGING TO COUNCIL JULY 30TH IS JUST RELATED TO THE FOUR FORMULA GRANTS NOTED IN RE WHERE, UH, THIS SLIDE IS, IS, UH, NOTING THE BLUE, HOWEVER, IS CARES, ACT FUNDING.
CAN YOU GO BACK JUST ONE, UM, TO THE CHART WHERE THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UM, CARES ACT FUNDING THAT IS ASSISTING US ON A NUMBER OF FRONTS IN OUR DEPLOYMENT OF DOLLARS, BOTH IN THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, AS WELL AS HOUSING.
SO YOU CAN SEE THERE IN GRAY ARE FORMULA GRANTS THAT YOU WILL BE ACTING ON JULY 30TH, BUT THEY ARE DEEPLY LEVERAGED WITH THE BLUE, WHICH IS THE CARES ACT FUNDING.
THOSE ARE BEING PROGRAMMED AS HUD IS MAKING THOSE DOLLARS AVAILABLE.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE, UH, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY CONFUSING, BUT FROM A TIMING PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE THOSE TRONCHES OF DOLLARS IN BLUE MOVING TO YOU ALL AS HUD IS MAKING THEM AVAILABLE.
AND THAT IS WHY THROUGH A NUMBER OF THE PAST COUNCIL MEETINGS OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, YOU ALL HAVE BEEN APPROVING BUDGET AMENDMENTS, BOTH FOR THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
THOSE ARE KEY DOLLARS THAT ARE HELPING US LIFT PROGRAMS, EITHER INTACT OR CREATE NEW PROGRAMS TO GET A RELIEF AND RECOVERY DOLLARS OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT WHERE THOSE SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN FUNDED WITH WHAT WE CALL CV, WHICH IS CORONA VIRUS DOLLARS.
YOU'LL SEE THE FUNDING SOURCE ON THE RIGHT.
AGAIN, THESE ARE OUTSIDE OF OUR FORMULA GRANTS.
THESE ARE A CORONAVIRUS SUPPLEMENTAL DOLLARS BEING MADE AVAILABLE BY HUD.
AND INTERESTINGLY, YOU SEE THE EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT IS G A, THE ADMINISTERING DEPARTMENT IS AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND IT SAYS CV ONE, BECAUSE A HUD IS NOW MAKING ANOTHER ALLOCATION AVAILABLE.
AND I BELIEVE, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH HAS AN AMENDMENT TO THEIR BUDGET COMING TO YOU ALL ALSO ON JULY 30TH, THAT WILL BE CV TWO, WHICH IS THE CORONA VIRUS, SECOND ALLOCATION TO EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT.
AND A FINAL SLIDE REALLY IS JUST AN ACTION PLAN TIMELINE.
WE WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW, AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THE AMENDMENTS AS HUD DOLLARS ARE COMING AVAILABLE.
WE ARE HERE TODAY, JULY 21ST, AND THEN, UH, JULY 30TH, THERE WILL BE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE ACTION PLAN WITH AN ACTION ITEM NOTED ON THE SAME DAY ON THE AGENDA SO THAT WE CAN SUBMIT, UM, THIS PARTICULAR GRANT APPLICATION TO HUD NO LATER THAN AUGUST 15TH.
WITH THAT, WE JUST REALLY, THIS WAS A, UM, WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU JUST A, A GLANCE AT WHAT IS COMING TO YOU ON YOUR AGENDA, UM, FOR JULY 30TH.
AND WE ARE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS HERE IN BETWEEN, AND CERTAINLY WE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO YOU JULY 30TH.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH US AROUND THIS ISSUE.
THEY'RE NOTED THEY'RE ON A SLIDE, UM, AND, UH, AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS NOW OR IN THE FUTURE.
WE RECOGNIZE YOUR TIME TODAY ENDS IN FIVE MINUTES.
I KNOW WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE HEARING ABOUT THIS AS IT COMES UP, COUNCILMEMBER HARPER, MADISON, AND THEN VICE JOURNALISTS.
I PROMISE TO KEEP IT REALLY SHORT.
I ONLY HAVE ONE QUESTION, UM, AROUND THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT,
[01:10:01]
UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND I HEARD THE NUMBER $2 MILLION.SO I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL MEASURE OF CONSIDERATION, UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT IT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE UNDER THOSE UNDER THE PARAMETERS WITH WHICH WE COULD USE THOSE DOLLARS.
AND IT'S AROUND FINANCIAL LITERACY, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS.
I BELIEVE THERE IS ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY.
AND SO I WANT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION BY SAYING THE ELIGIBILITY WOULD BE THERE UNDER CDBG, UM, AND UNDER THE $2 MILLION BEING LOOKED AT FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WE WOULD LOVE TO ENGAGE WITH YOU TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS THERE, UM, SO THAT WE CAN DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE CURRENT STATEMENT OF ACTIVITY OR SCOPE BEING CONTEMPLATED AS RESPONSIVE.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU SORT OF A QUICK, UM, LOOK INTO WHAT MY CONCERNS AND CONSIDERATIONS ARE, IT'S, YOU KNOW, AS WE ARE RIGHTFULLY, UM, ADDING PEOPLE REAL DOLLARS, WHICH THEY NEED, AND AS WE ARE RIGHTFULLY HELPING PEOPLE TO PREPARE BY WAY OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND SORT OF RETOOLING THEIR SKILLSETS, ET CETERA, I JUST AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, ONE PREDATORY LENDERS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PAWN SHOPS AND PAYDAY LENDERS ARE JUMPING RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THEN THE SECOND POINT OF CONSIDERATION AND CONCERN THERE HAS TO DO WITH, UM, FINANCIAL LITERACY AND BUDGETING TOOLS, UM, HOW TWO PEOPLE ARE ACCUMULATING DEBT RIGHT NOW, AND AMASSING DEBT, HOW TO HELP WALK PEOPLE THROUGH MAKING THE DETERMINATION WHEN AND WHERE TO APPLY A FINITE AMOUNT OF DOLLARS.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE JUST A LOT OF FOLKS WHO DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF, UM, PERCENTAGE RATES, AND DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF CHOOSING TO PAY ONE BILL OVER ANOTHER, OR HOW TO EVENLY DISPERSE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF FUNDS, OR WHICH ONES YOU JUST GIVE UP ON 'EM BECAUSE THEY DON'T AFFECT YOUR CREDIT AT A, YOU KNOW, LIKE I REALLY JUST THINK, UM, NOW IS AN IDEAL TIME TO DIVE IN AND, UM, BE HAVING SOME, SOME DELIVERY OF THIS TYPE OF EDUCATION TO FOLKS WHO, YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES AREN'T GETTING IT OTHERWISE AND THEY NEED IT NOW MORE THAN EVER.
SO THIS HAS BEAUTIFULLY TIMED THAT I TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS BECAUSE WE ARE, UM, RETHINKING HOW TO DEPLOY OUR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS THROUGH WHAT WE HAVE CALLED HOUSING SMARTS FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SILVER LININGS INDEPENDENT AND GET ALL IT IS BECAUSE IT IS REALLY PUT PRESSURE ON, UM, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS TO RETHINK HOW TO REACH PEOPLE IN A MARKET RESPONSIVE WAY, AS WELL AS MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR HOUSING SMARTS CLASS AND THE CURRICULUM CURRENTLY, AND LOOKING AT HOW TO RETOOL THAT NOT ONLY IN THE WAY WE'RE DEPLOYING IT, BUT IN THE CURRICULUM ITSELF.
AND SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND WE ARE ABSOLUTELY WILLING TO, TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE, TO BE SURE THAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE INFORMING THOSE NEW PROGRAM, UM, GUIDELINES AND LOOK FORWARD ACTUALLY, TO DEPLOYING THE PROGRAM IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE, NOT JUST IN THIS PANDEMIC, BUT IN, IN OUR MARKET CONTEXT, THINGS DO CHANGE.
AND SO APPRECIATE THOSE COMMENTS AND WE'LL TAKE THEM INTO CONSIDERATION GOING FORWARD WITH THAT.
ONE LAST THING, I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS.
I SAW ON THE DECA WEBSITE THE OTHER DAY THAT THEY GO SO GRANULAR AS TO TALK PEOPLE THROUGH CAR BUYING.
LIKE IF YOU MAKE THIS MUCH MONEY, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO PURCHASE AT A CAR, WHICH OFTENTIMES IT WAS BASICALLY SAYING YOU CAN'T AFFORD A $500 A MONTH CAR PAYMENT.
THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD WHEN YOU BUY A CAR, YOUR APR NEEDS TO BE THIS OR LESS.
AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE RE I WANT US TO GET REALLY GRANULAR.
SO AS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CURRICULUM, UM, I DEFINITELY WANT TO BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
AND THERE'S SOME ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE ALREADY WORKING WITH THAT I KNOW WOULD ALSO ENJOYED BEING A PART OF THAT DIALOGUE AND HELPING PEOPLE MOVE FORWARD IN THE MOST EMPOWERED, INDEPENDENT WAYS POSSIBLE.
AND I'LL END BY SAYING, WE DO ENVISION A SOLICITATION, AND SO WE WILL ABSOLUTELY GET WITH YOU TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHEN THAT SOLICITATION WILL BE DEPLOYED.
I'M GOING TO PASS THE CHAIR TO USE, AND YOU CAN ASK YOUR QUESTION, WRAP UP THE MEETING IN A, IN A JOURNAL CAUSE I HAVE TO CAUSE I HAVE TO GO.
UM, BUT I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE WORK THAT THIS COMMITTEE AND THE STAFF ARE DOING TO ONE, PULL FOLKS OUT OF HOMELESSNESS AND PROTECT THEM DURING THE PANDEMIC AND THEN TO,
[01:15:01]
UH, TO PREVENT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM FALLING INTO THE SAME, UH, CIRCUMSTANCES, BECAUSE WE CAN SEE HOW FRAGILE, UH, PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES ECONOMIC CONDITION REALLY IS DURING COVID-19.SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WE'LL DO WHATEVER WE CAN, WE CAN DO TO KEEP PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES AT THIS TIME.
MY COMMENTS ARE, UM, NOT NECESSARILY A QUESTION, BUT I WANTED TO REITERATE THAT THE CENSUS IS CURRENTLY GOING ON.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL FUNDING, ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS, UM, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU FILL OUT YOURS AND REMIND YOUR NEIGHBORS TO FILL OUT THEIR CENSUS WHILE IT'S STILL GOING ON.
BECAUSE, UM, IT HELPS US WITH INFRASTRUCTURE, HOUSING, ALLOCATIONS, AND OTHER SORTS OF FEDERAL FUNDING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY IS GETTING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF ASSISTANCE.
UM, AND THE OTHER ONE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT DURING THIS TIME, DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHEN WE ARE MEETING REMOTELY, THAT YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT THE, THE COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA AND LOOK AT THE CLERK'S OFFICE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SIGNING UP TO SPEAK.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE USED TO BEING ABLE TO SIGN UP THE MORNING OF THAT MEETING AND THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LITTLE BIT SINCE WE'RE ALL TRYING TO MAKE THINGS WORK REMOTELY AND YOU WILL HAVE TO SIGN UP THE DAY BEFORE I BELIEVE.
SO, IF YOU WANT TO PROVIDE COMMENT DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ACTION PLAN, WE VERY MUCH WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.
YOU JUST MAY NEED TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF PLANNING AHEAD OF TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE REGISTERED WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THEY KNOW HOW TO ROUTE YOU TO OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS.
ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BEFORE WE ADJOURN? I KNOW WE STILL NEED TO ASK IF THERE'S ANY OTHER FUTURE ITEMS WE WANT TO DISCUSS AT THE NEXT MEETING, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ADDRESSED ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR BEFORE DOING THAT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOOD.
WELL, MAKE SURE TO CHAT WITH ME OR GREG, IF YOU HAVE OTHER ITEMS, COUNCIL MEMBERS TO PUT ON THE NEXT AGENDA AND WITH THAT, IT IS 1122, AND I WILL ADJOURN THIS ISSUE OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.