| | | | | | | | | Resolutions - C7 J
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM |
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| | | | | | | | TO: | Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission | | FROM: | Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager | | DATE: | July 29, 2020 | | |
| SUBJECT: | A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE, AT ITS JUNE 16, 2020 MEETING, TO ALLOCATE UP TO $700,000 IN GENERAL RESERVE FUNDS FOR POTENTIAL USE TO ADDRESS THE PRESSING NEED OF RENT, MORTGAGE, AND UTILITIES ASSISTANCE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF $330,000 OUT OF $700,000 FUNDS AT THIS TIME TO SUPPORT RENT, MORTGAGE AND UTILITIES ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR QUALIFIED CITY RESIDENTS DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS; AND DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO AWARD THESE FUNDS TO NON-PROFIT SUCH AS CITRUS HEAL TH NETWORK TO ENSURE ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE TO THE BROADEST RANGE OF MIAMI BEACH RESIDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE NOT ACHIEVED PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATUS. |
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| | | | | | | | RECOMMENDATION
| The Administration recommends approval of the Resolution. |
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| | | | | | | | BACKGROUND/HISTORY
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The City has been providing emergency rent assistance for eligible residents who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 resulting in rent arrears. The City is using a variety of federal funds including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME). The households assisted through these funds must be United States citizens or permanent residents earning no more than 80 percent Area Median Income (AMI) for CDBG programs and 60 percent AMI for HOME programs. As of June 30, 2020, the City has funded 169 applications with $346,451.30 in rent and utility assistance.
The City established two tranches of rent and utility assistance:
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Funding Sources
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Amount Available
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Tranche 1
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CDBG-CV (CARES)
CDBG (Annual Formula Allocation)
Emergency Food & Shelter Program (existing award)
HOME (Annual Formula Allocation)
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$311,829
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Tranche 2
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CDBG-CV (CARES)
HOME (Annual Formula Allocation)
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$336,000
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In addition to realigning unexpended CDBG and HOME funds from its annual allocations, the City received $564,276 in CDBG-CV funds that were allocated for Small Business Assistance loans as well as rent assistance. These funds have a variety of requirements including income eligibility and residency status. While the City allocated the maximum funds to direct service, doing so meant that households with provisional immigration status could not be served with these funds. Based on the initial tranche of applications processed through appointments as well as the online views versus application for the second tranche of funds, staff estimates that four of five households in the City needing rent assistance are ineligible to access federal funds. More so, of the 502 appointments in Tranche 1, 159 were funded after all 502 appointments had been processed and funds were exhausted on June 25th.
At its June 12, 2020 meeting, the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) discussed the demand for rent assistance services in the community and acknowledged that the need was greater than what could be met with the funds allocated in Tranches 1 and 2. As such, the Committee recommended that up to $700,000 in General Reserve Funds be set aside for potential use to address the pressing need of rent assistance. However, the Committee requested that only $330,000 of these funds be released at this time – a number equivalent to the value allocated in the two prior tranches of rent assistance. This will provide flexibility should the economic conditions in our community improve. Furthermore, the Committee emphasized the desire that, if possible, these funds be reimbursed through other sources such as CARES funds from Miami-Dade County. |
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS
| The Administration supports the effort to expand rent assistance funds to stabilize housing conditions for the hundreds of resident households at risk of homelessness because their return to full-time employment has been stymied by the pandemic. More so, the Committee’s directive to ensure access to as broad a resident base as possible reflects what has been encountered in those households which were deemed ineligible for funds in Tranches 1 and 2. Finally, the goal should be to pursue reimbursement for these funds in hopes of returning them to the City’s reserves once the pandemic is over.
In order to maximize the reach of these funds and ensure reimbursement from potential federal sources, the Administration recommends awarding these funds to Citrus Health Network, the lead agency of the Housing Assistance Network of Dade (HAND) Program. This is the agency that administered the COVID-19 rent assistance funds on behalf of Miami-Dade County serving income eligible applicants regardless of residency status. HAND recently administered the online rent assistance lottery on behalf of Miami-Dade County that received more than 29,000 applications. Of these applications, 3,466 qualified for the COVID-19 rent assistance program. At its June 16, 2020 meeting, the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) recommended that, if the County were to allocate additional CARES funds to the City, that the City allocate a portion of these funds to Citrus Health Network as a means of ensuring that those residents without permanent status are served.
As a reminder, pandemic related funds required that households earn no more than 60 or 80 percent Area Median Income ($45,780 and $73,100 for a family of four respectively) and demonstrate adverse impact by COVID-19. HAND began serving the first 300 eligible households on June 8th.
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| | | | | | | | FINANCIAL INFORMATION
| The proposed funds would be drawn from the City's General Operating Reserves. The City would explore available options to have these funds reimbursed through County, State or Federal sources. |
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION
| The Administration recommends accepting the recommendation of the FERC to appropriate and authorize an initial $330,000 and have the FERC reevaluate the need for additional funds in the future, not to exceed $700,000, to support rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs.
Furthermore, the Administration recommends awarding these funds to a non-profit such as Citrus Health Network to ensure assistance is available to the broadest range of Miami Beach residents including those who have not achieved permanent residency status.
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| | | | | | | | Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? | | Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds? | | No | | No | |
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| | | | | | | | Strategic Connection
| Mobility - Address homelessness. |
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| | | | | | | | Legislative Tracking Housing and Community Services |
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| | | | | | | | Sponsor Commissioner David Richardson & Co-sponsored by Commissioners Gongora & Samuelian |
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