Consideration and Approval of Intergovernmental Agreement: Agreement for the City of Flagstaff's Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program staff to administer Coconino County's Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program.

Approve the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Coconino County for the administration of the County's Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation(OOHR) Program.

The purpose of the IGA is to allow Coconino County Community Services and the City of Flagstaff Housing Section to combine the administration of their respective OOHR program in order to achieve a greater degree of efficiency, leveraging of resources, program stability and better service to regional customers.

Subsidiary Decisions Points: 
None

There no financial impacts to City General Funds.

The City of Flagstaff OOHR Program has historically utilized entitlement Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as HOME and Housing Trust Funds when awarded through the Arizona Department of Housing's (ADOH) competitive grant process. CDBG allocations in recent years have been around $100,000 and HOME awards have been around $330,000.

The County OOHR Program has historically utilized CDBG funding from ADOH and HOME and Housing Trust Funds when awarded through the ADOH competitive process. In FY 2011 HOME funding was awarded at $330,000. In FY 2010 State CDBG funding amounted to $303,586. The County currently has a pending award with the State for 2014/2015 funding for rehabilitation. Grant funding will be released in early 2015, pending the approval of this agreement.

The proposed OOHR administrative merger will not impact compliance of either agency with any funding source, however it is intended to streamline both programs and create efficiencies.

The merger will only combine administration of the two programs. Administration will be performed by the City, and the City will be a sub-recipient to the County. The resulting rehabilitation projects will be directly tied to the various funding requirements. City grant funding will be spent on City projects and County grant funding will be spent on County projects. This proposed structure will not impact compliance issues for either agency with the funding sources.

 5. Retain, expand, and diversify economic base
11. Effective governance.


Regional Plan Goals
Goal NH.4.  All housing is safe and sanitary.

No previous Council Decisions have been made regarding this IGA.

1) Approve the IGA and combine the administration of the two OOHR programs.
2) Not approve the IGA and continue only the administration of the City's OOHR Program.

OOHR services are designed to address health and safety housing needs of low and moderate income households (currently a maximum of $47,600 for a household of four) who reside in their homes. Both the City and County operate an OOHR Program. The programs are substantially the same, but serve different respective geographical areas. Both programs utilize CDBG, HOME and Housing Trust funds to provide services, leading to identical oversight regulation. Combining the programs under one staff position, with the City serving as the sub-recipient, will lead to administrative efficiencies and program stability for both programs.

The City has the administrative framework and staffing in place to effectively manage the merger of the two programs. The City OOHR program has been successfully operating for over 15 years. The City's Housing Rehabilitation Specialist is well versed in and familiar with all grant compliance regulations required for the administration of both programs.

Coconino County has not had funding for any housing programs since 2011 and currently does not have the funds to employ and support a housing program. Partnering with the City will provide the County with the administrative backbone that will enable them to utilize grant funds for this purpose when awarded.   In turn, the addition of the administration of the County OOHR program will provide funding stabilization to the Housing Rehabilitation Specialist, ensuring continuity in program delivery.

The County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the IGA on November 18, 2014. If approved by the City the IGA will allow the City to partner with Coconino County and will lead to administrative efficiencies and program stability for both programs. An Administration Plan is being developed to outline day to day operations of the program including reporting, outreach, marketing, etc. 
 

 

The City of Flagstaff Housing Rehabilitation Specialist position is grant funded. The merger of the programs will allow for greater program stability, as the City will bill the County (on a reimbursement basis) for the administration of the County rehabilitation projects. The County will serve as the pass through agency for grant funds, and the City will become the sub-recipient.

Currently, residents interested in the Program must obtain application materials from the agency that serves their area (City of Flagstaff residents come to the City, County resident go to the County). Combining administration of OOHR  programs will allow for better customer service through cross-pollination and applications for both programs being available at both locations, with all clients being served by the same Housing Rehabilitation Specialist. The merger will streamline the application process and provide a greater ability to leverage additional funding sources such as money from utility companies for new appliances, etc.

Collaborate

The City has worked closely with the County in creating a program that will best serve the public.