The Administration recommends approving the Resolution.

The Five-Year Consolidated Plan is a federal requirement for all U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) entitlement cities.  The City of Miami Beach is a HUD-designated entitlement city as determined by the decennial census information on population growth lag, over-crowding, age of housing stock, and poverty.  The City of Miami Beach has been a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement community since 1975.  The HOME Program was started in 1992 to provide funding specifically for affordable housing.

As an entitlement community, the City automatically qualifies for an annual allocation of federal funding under HUD’s grant programs.  HUD requires each entitlement community to submit an annual One-Year Action Plan describing how it will utilize funding and resources to address priority needs identified in the City’s Consolidated Plan. The One-Year Action Plan is a component of the Five-Year Consolidated Plan filed with HUD.

CARES Act

On April 2, 2020, HUD sent a letter to the City notifying of a special allocation of CDBG funds to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus (COVID-19). This allocation was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which was signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020, to respond to the growing effects of the public health crisis. The CARES Act provided the City $564,276 in CDBG Coronavirus funds (CDBG-CV). The Administration amended the 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan and 2019 Action Plan to enable the City to receive and administer these new funds.

The CARES Act authorized three rounds of funding for states and local governments for a total of $5 billion. The final $2 billion in CDBG-CV funds required by the CARES Act was allocated to states and local governments at the discretion of the Secretary on a rolling basis; this constituted the third round of CDBG-CV funds. On September 11, 2020, HUD sent a letter notifying the City of its allocation for the third round of CDBG-CV funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus (COVID-19) as $1,553,629. The Administration is making amendments to the 2020 Action Plan to enable the City to receive and administer these new funds.

Below is a summary of the proposed use of the CDBG-CV funds:

Emergency Services: This program provides assistance including, mortgage, rent and utility payments, to qualifying Miami Beach residents who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. CDBG-CV regulation waivers, approved recently by HUD, allow emergency payments for impacted individuals or families for up to six consecutive months. Previously, the City could not provide more than three (3) months of assistance.

Small Business Assistance: $600,000 will be utilized to assist small businesses/microenterprises impacted by COVID-19 with grants of up to $20,000 to pay for normal business expenses including rent, mortgage, utilities, payroll and operating supplies. At least thirty (30) businesses will receive assistance. The balance will be utilized to provide technical assistance, including small business and entrepreneurship trainings for business owners and the hiring of a city employee to  provide hands-on business concierge services to guide and support small businesses navigating through the process of opening and operating a business within the city.

Under the previous allocation of CDBG-CV funds, the City Commission designated $200,000 for a Small Business Assistance program to provide up to $10,000 to twenty (20) eligible small businesses. Over ninety-seven (97) applications were received, demonstrating the need for additional funding. Through the lottery process conducted on July 9, 2020, twenty (20) businesses were identified to receive up to $10,000 each if all criteria is met. Under this program, for every business awarded a grant, at least one job must be created or retained. On October 9, 2020 the Economic Development Department signed an agreement with the Housing and Community Services Department to administer the program. As all required backup documentation is received from each eligible business, Economic Development will submit for award disbursement. While some of the selected businesses have submitted all additional required back-up documentation, many are still pending.

The need for additional resources is evident as businesses in the city continue to close. A greater level of funding for Small Business Assistance is necessary to provide a lifeline for existing businesses and to foster the growth of new businesses opening up during the reopening phases and beyond. The arduous grant application process also necessitates a greater amount of maximum funding per business.

Citizen Participation

In accordance with 24 CFR 91.05(c)(2) and subpart B of the federal regulations, the following applicable waiver made available through the CARES Act will be enacted by the City relative to citizen participation compliance:

Expenditures are tied to federal CDBG-CV funds and will not impact General Fund.

The Administration recommends approval and authorization for the Substantial Amendment to FY 2020 Action Plan and authorizing the City Manager to execute all required documents.