Register Today for NACCED's 34th Annual Conference and Training With a host of outstanding speakers, including HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims, this year's Conference is sure to provide you with all the information you need to revitalize and renew your communities. To register online and reserve your room, for the Conference, click here. Don't forget, hotel reservations must be made by Friday, September 11, 2009.
Legislative Update
Grantees to Begin Quarterly Reporting on Use of Recovery Act Funds October 1st
Grantees who have received funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) are required to file quarterly reports with the Federal Agency that funded them along with a separate report to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) between October 1st and October 10th. OMB last month released procedures for grantees to report on the use of funding received under ARRA. Grantees must register at www.federalreporting.gov. Each grantee must have a DUNS number, which is issued by Dun & Bradstreet. The web address to obtain a DUNS number is http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. In addition, grantees must register in the Central Contractor Registration database at https://www.bpn.gov/CCRSearch/Search.aspx. Grantees will have to enter data IDIS specifically on the nature of projects and the number of jobs created and retained. Grantees will also have to report on the status of compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). HUD grantees who complete NEPA reviews according to Part 58 must report related data directly into the HUD-administered Recovery Act Management and Performance System (RAMPS). Recipients of funds through the Section 8 project-based rental assistance program and the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing program are not required to report in RAMPS.
According to an OMB webinar, grantees reporting on jobs created or retained will be reported in two separate fields - a numeric field and a separate narrative with an expanded description of the job created and the reporting methodology. The number of jobs created or retained will be measured using a standard calculation, translating both full and part-time jobs into full time equivalents (FTEs). In limited circumstances grantees may employ an approved statistical methodology to generate estimates of job impact, collecting data only from a smaller set of sub-recipients and vendors.
HUD Receives Over 500 NSP 2 Applications Seeking More than $12 Billion in Funding
According to reliable reports HUD received over 500 applications for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP 2) seeking more than $12 billion in funding. HUD staff is currently reviewing the applications. Applicants who score at least 30 out of 40 points on factor 2, which measures capacity to carry out a program, will be fully reviewed. Applications that score at least 115 out of a possible 150 for all six factors will be eligible for funding and will be force-ranked. HUD expects to announce awards before December 1, 2009 at which time consortia must have their consortium funding agreements filed with HUD. The funding agreements are to set forth the responsibilities of the consortia members for carrying out NSP 2 activities and compliance with program requirements.
Senate Expected to Consider FY 2010 HUD Appropriations Bill This Month
Once it returns next week, the Senate is expected to consider H.R. 3288, a $45.828 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 spending plan for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The total amount for HUD is $1.2 billion below the House-passed version of H.R. 3288.
As reported earlier, the Community Development Fund gets $4.45 billion, the same amount requested by the Obama Administration, but $150 million below the House amount. Included in this total are: $3.992 in formula grants, compared to $4.166 billion in the House version; $150 million for a new Sustainable Communities Initiative, the same as the House version, which is an effort to integrate housing transportation, energy and environmental planning at the regional level; $171 million in project-specific Economic Development Initiative grants; $65 million for Indian tribes; $22 million for project-specific neighborhood initiatives to improve conditions in distressed and blighted neighborhoods, and $25 million for a Rural Innovation Fund to address concentrations of rural housing distress and community poverty; and $25 million to continue HUD's partnerships with Historically Black and other colleges and universities.
The Committee report accompanying the bill states that "… the President's budget proposed altering the existing CDBG formula. However, specific reform legislation was not transmitted for the authorizing committees [House Financial Services and Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs] to consider. As such, the funding provided will be allocated under the existing formula."
The Sustainable Communities Initiative is designed to support an interagency collaboration among HUD, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Funding includes $100 million for regional integrated planning grants, $40 million for Community Challenge Planning Grants and $10 million for HUD, in partnership with DOT, to conduct research around the Initiative.
The HOME Investment Partnerships Program is level-funded under the Senate bill at this year's $1.825 billion, the same amount requested by the President. This is $175 million below the House amount of $2 billion. The Senate bill also proposes $1.875 billion for homeless housing programs, $81 million more that the President's request and $25 million over the House amount. The amount includes full funding for renewal of Shelter Plus Care rent subsidy contracts, requires a 25 percent match for social services, and requires all homeless fund recipients to coordinate with other mainstream and targeted social services programs.
NACCED, NACo and others had pressed the Senate HUD Appropriations Subcommittee to include the higher House amounts for CDBG and HOME formula grants.
The Senate does include funding for Brownfields Redevelopment Program as proposed by the President. The House bill does fund the program at $25 million, a $15 million increase over FY 2009. Like the House bill, the Senate version includes $275 million for the Section 108 loan guarantee program under CDBG. The Committee report notes that this program is needed now more than ever due to the shortage of capital in the credit markets.
Also included in the Senate bill is $18.187 billion to renew expiring Section-8 tenant-based rent subsidy contracts, $60 million below the House level of $18.242 billion. Included in the total is funding for 10,000 additional vouchers for homeless veterans, the same level as the House-passed bill. Also included in the Senate bill is $8.1 billion to renew Section-8 project-based rent subsidy contracts. This is a decrease of $600 million from the House level, but it is the same level requested by the administration.
The public housing capital fund would get $2.5 billion under the Senate bill, the same level provided under the House bill. The public housing operating fund gets $4.750 billion, $25 million les than the House bill but $150 million above the budget request. The Senate bill also adopts the administration's choice neighborhoods initiative. This initiative expands the Hope VI demolition and replacement of severely distressed public housing to include other federally-assisted housing. The initiative is funded at $250 million, the same amount as the House bill and the budget request.
The Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program would be funded at $320 million under the Senate bill, a $10 million increase over the budget request, but a $20 million reduction from the House-approved amount.
Housing counseling gets $100 million under the Senate bill, the same level as the budget request and $30 million above the House amount. The Senate bill funds an energy innovation fund at $75 million, $25 million less than the budget request, and $25 million above the House allowance. The funding is intended to promote local initiatives that can be replicated in cost-saving energy retrofits of existing housing.
Finally, the section 202 elderly housing program would get $785 million under the Senate bill, $20 million more than the budget request, but down from the $1 billion provided by the House-passed bill. The section 811 housing program for persons with disabilities is funded at $265 million under the Senate bill down sharply from the $300 million in the House version.
Once the Senate passes the bill it will have to be reconciled with the House-passed version by a House-Senate conference committee. It is possible that a final bill could be enacted by the October 1st start of the federal fiscal year. If so, that would be the first time that this has happened in a very long time!
For a chart of FY 2010 HUD Appropriations, click here.
Association News
NACCED Now Accepting Applications for the 2009 Awards of Excellence
Eligible applicants are invited to participate in the 2009 NACCED Awards of Excellence by submitting an innovative, effective, and exemplary activity in the areas of: (1) Community development, (2) Economic development, (3) Homeless coordination/assistance, (4) Affordable housing, (5) HOME Investment Partnerships Program, (6) Planning/policy/program management, and/or (7) Innovation. Applications are due by Friday, September 11, 2009 ($100 processing fee applies). To view the application, click here.
NACCED Now Accepting Applications for 2009 John C. Murphy Scholarship Grant Award Program
NACCED is now accepting applications for the seventh Annual John C. Murphy Scholarship Grant Award Program. The grant award will provide assistance in the amount of $1,500 to an undergraduate or graduate student currently attending an American college or university with a chosen field of study that includes course work in the areas of affordable housing and/or community and economic development and who exhibit financial need. Students may not be awarded a scholarship more than once. The application deadline is Friday, August 28, 2009. NACCED encourages members to advertise the scholarship in their communities. To view the press release and application, click here. To view marketing tips, click here.
House Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2010 HUD Spending Plan
The House Appropriations Committee has approved a $47 billion fiscal year 2010 spending plan for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), described as a "catch up" budget by House HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Olver (D-MA). The bill includes a total of $4.6 billion for the Community Development Fund, including $4.166 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) formula funds, $65 million for Native American Housing and Economic Development Block Grants, $150 million for the Obama Administration's Sustainable Communities Initiative, $25 million for a Rural Innovation Fund, $25 million for the University Community Fund, $8 million for Insular Areas, $151 million for project-specific economic development initiatives, and $18 million for neighborhood initiatives. The report accompanying the bill notes:
… The Committee recognizes that HUD has proposed to change the formula [for CDBG] and agrees that the formula should be evaluated and that an update should be carefully considered. However, it is not in the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations to enact such a change. The Department should work closely with the relevant authorizing committees, in consultation with stakeholder groups, to devise an updated formula.
NACCED, NACo and others pressed hard for the $500 million increase in CDBG formula grants and for any formula change to be considered by the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees, rather than being done in the appropriations process. The increase was sought by the Administration to "hold harmless" at their FY 2009 level any community that would lose funding by the formula change. Committee staff indicated that, under the House bill, formula grants would remain at $4.166 billion even without a formula change. The committees of jurisdiction must wrestle with financial regulatory reform this session leaving little, if any, time to consider a controversial formula change.
The Sustainable Communities Initiative is a joint venture between HUD and the Department of Transportation to fund regional planning efforts that consider housing, transportation, housing, energy and environmental planning in a holistic and complementary manner.
The HOME Investment Partnerships Program gets a $175 million increase in formula grants to $2 billion, an amount long sought by NACCED and NACo. The Committee Report states that the Committee has provided an increase:
… in recognition of the fact that HOME funds provide an opportunity for communities to rehabilitate affordable housing, often in a manner that is sustainable and energy efficient. In the current housing and economic crisis, the confluence of factors such as large numbers of vacant, deteriorating housing and an increasing population in need of affordable rental housing makes HOME a wise investment in communities and families. The Committee expects that communities will prioritize the energy efficient rehabilitation of housing and will use these funds in coordination with Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding to increase affordable housing opportunities for low-income families.
The Committee-approved bill provides $18.242 billion to renew all Section-8 tenant-based rent subsidies plus provide 10,000 vouchers for homeless veterans, a $1.2 billion increase over FY 2009. It also provides $8.5 billion in funding, up from this year's $7.1 billion, to renew all expiring project-based rent subsidy contracts.
The bill refuses to eliminate two programs, the Section 108 loan guarantee and Brownfields Redevelopment, proposed by the Obama Administration. Instead it provide $275 million l08 loan guarantees and $25 million for Brownfields Redevelopment, up from this year's $10 million. The Committee Report says it disagrees with the Administration's assertion that Section 108 activities are duplicative of CDBG or that brownfields activities are duplicative of those under the Environmental Protection Agency's programs.
Homeless assistance would get a significant increase under the bill, from this year's $1.677 billion to $1.850 billion. All rent subsidy contracts for permanent housing serving the homeless would be funded under this program. Thirty percent of the funds must be reserved for permanent housing for the homeless, and all funds used for services must be matched by the grantee at twenty-five percent.
The Public Housing Capital Fund gets $2.5 billion under the bill, a $50 million increase over the FY 2009 funding level, while the Public Housing Operating Fund gets a $200 million increase over FY 2009 to $4.8 billion.
The HOPE VI revitalization of severely distressed public housing gets a $130 million increase to $250 million. The Committee Report notes that the Obama Administration has proposed to broaden the HOPE IV program through its Choice Neighborhoods Initiative to include other HUD assisted housing. It states that the Initiative is yet to be authorized. If it is authorized, the appropriation will be modified accordingly.
The Section 202 elderly housing program would get $1 billion under the House bill, a $235 million increase over FY 2009, while the Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities would get $350 million, $100 million over FY 2009. Housing counseling would get $70 million, and the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS would be funded at $350 million.
Finally, the bill provides $50 million for an Energy Innovation Fund, $50 million below the budget request. The Fund would enable the Federal Housing Administration and a new Office of Sustainability to catalyze innovations in the residential energy efficiency sector that have the promise of replicability and help create a standardized home energy retrofit market. One-half of the funding would be directed at an Energy Efficient Mortgage Innovation pilot program for single-family housing and one-half for multifamily housing.
The bill may be considered by the House this week. The Senate Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to mark up its version of the FY 2010 HUD appropriations bill on July 30th.
To view the FY 2010 HUD Appropriations chart, click here.
Association News
NACCED Schedule for 2009 Summer Meeting
The Meeting will open on Thursday, July 23rd with a "Hot Topics" Roundtable Discussion at 1:00 PM and will be followed by Committee Meetings. To view the full schedule and hotel accommodation information, click here. Committee Meeting materials will be distributed at a later date. For questions, contact Danielle at
.
NACCED Now Accepting Applications for the 2009 Awards of Excellence
Eligible applicants are invited to participate in the 2009 NACCED Awards of Excellence by submitting an innovative, effective, and exemplary activity in the areas of: (1) Community development, (2) Economic development, (3) Homeless coordination/assistance, (4) Affordable housing, (5) HOME Investment Partnerships Program, (6) Planning/policy/program management, and/or (7) Innovation. Applications are due by Friday, September 11, 2009 ($100 processing fee applies). To view the application, click here.
NACCED Now Accepting Applications for 2009 John C. Murphy Scholarship Grant Award Program
NACCED is now accepting applications for the seventh Annual John C. Murphy Scholarship Grant Award Program. The grant award will provide assistance in the amount of $1,500 to an undergraduate or graduate student currently attending an American college or university with a chosen field of study that includes course work in the areas of affordable housing and/or community and economic development and who exhibit financial need. Students may not be awarded a scholarship more than once. The application deadline is Friday, August 28, 2009. NACCED encourages members to advertise the scholarship in their communities. To view the press release and application, click here. To view marketing tips, click here.
Stay Tuned for Information on NACCED's 34th Annual Conference and Training Don't forget to mark your calendars for NACCED's 34th Annual Conference and Training in Chicago, IL October 3-7, 2009. Information regarding the conference can be found at http://www.nacced.org/annualconf09. This website will be updated in early July with registration and hotel information.
House Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2010 HUD Spending Plan
The House Appropriations Committee has approved a $47 billion fiscal year 2010 spending plan for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), described as a "catch up" budget by House HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Olver (D-MA). The bill includes a total of $4.6 billion for the Community Development Fund, including $4.166 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) formula funds, $65 million for Native American Housing and Economic Development Block Grants, $150 million for the Obama Administration's Sustainable Communities Initiative, $25 million for a Rural Innovation Fund, $25 million for the University Community Fund, $8 million for Insular Areas, $151 million for project-specific economic development initiatives, and $18 million for neighborhood initiatives. The report accompanying the bill notes:
… The Committee recognizes that HUD has proposed to change the formula [for CDBG] and agrees that the formula should be evaluated and that an update should be carefully considered. However, it is not in the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations to enact such a change. The Department should work closely with the relevant authorizing committees, in consultation with stakeholder groups, to devise an updated formula.
NACCED, NACo and others pressed hard for the $500 million increase in CDBG formula grants and for any formula change to be considered by the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees, rather than being done in the appropriations process. The increase was sought by the Administration to "hold harmless" at their FY 2009 level any community that would lose funding by the formula change. Committee staff indicated that, under the House bill, formula grants would remain at $4.166 billion even without a formula change. The committees of jurisdiction must wrestle with financial regulatory reform this session leaving little, if any, time to consider a controversial formula change.
The Sustainable Communities Initiative is a joint venture between HUD and the Department of Transportation to fund regional planning efforts that consider housing, transportation, housing, energy and environmental planning in a holistic and complementary manner.
The HOME Investment Partnerships Program gets a $175 million increase in formula grants to $2 billion, an amount long sought by NACCED and NACo. The Committee Report states that the Committee has provided an increase:
… in recognition of the fact that HOME funds provide an opportunity for communities to rehabilitate affordable housing, often in a manner that is sustainable and energy efficient. In the current housing and economic crisis, the confluence of factors such as large numbers of vacant, deteriorating housing and an increasing population in need of affordable rental housing makes HOME a wise investment in communities and families. The Committee expects that communities will prioritize the energy efficient rehabilitation of housing and will use these funds in coordination with Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding to increase affordable housing opportunities for low-income families.
The Committee-approved bill provides $18.242 billion to renew all Section-8 tenant-based rent subsidies plus provide 10,000 vouchers for homeless veterans, a $1.2 billion increase over FY 2009. It also provides $8.5 billion in funding, up from this year's $7.1 billion, to renew all expiring project-based rent subsidy contracts.
The bill refuses to eliminate two programs, the Section 108 loan guarantee and Brownfields Redevelopment, proposed by the Obama Administration. Instead it provide $275 million l08 loan guarantees and $25 million for Brownfields Redevelopment, up from this year's $10 million. The Committee Report says it disagrees with the Administration's assertion that Section 108 activities are duplicative of CDBG or that brownfields activities are duplicative of those under the Environmental Protection Agency's programs.
Homeless assistance would get a significant increase under the bill, from this year's $1.677 billion to $1.850 billion. All rent subsidy contracts for permanent housing serving the homeless would be funded under this program. Thirty percent of the funds must be reserved for permanent housing for the homeless, and all funds used for services must be matched by the grantee at twenty-five percent.
The Public Housing Capital Fund gets $2.5 billion under the bill, a $50 million increase over the FY 2009 funding level, while the Public Housing Operating Fund gets a $200 million increase over FY 2009 to $4.8 billion.
The HOPE VI revitalization of severely distressed public housing gets a $130 million increase to $250 million. The Committee Report notes that the Obama Administration has proposed to broaden the HOPE IV program through its Choice Neighborhoods Initiative to include other HUD assisted housing. It states that the Initiative is yet to be authorized. If it is authorized, the appropriation will be modified accordingly.
The Section 202 elderly housing program would get $1 billion under the House bill, a $235 million increase over FY 2009, while the Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities would get $350 million, $100 million over FY 2009. Housing counseling would get $70 million, and the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS would be funded at $350 million.
Finally, the bill provides $50 million for an Energy Innovation Fund, $50 million below the budget request. The Fund would enable the Federal Housing Administration and a new Office of Sustainability to catalyze innovations in the residential energy efficiency sector that have the promise of replicability and help create a standardized home energy retrofit market. One-half of the funding would be directed at an Energy Efficient Mortgage Innovation pilot program for single-family housing and one-half for multifamily housing.
The bill may be considered by the House this week. The Senate Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to mark up its version of the FY 2010 HUD appropriations bill on July 30th.
To view the FY 2010 HUD Appropriations chart, click here.
Association News
NACCED Schedule for 2009 Summer Meeting
The Meeting will open on Thursday, July 23rd with a "Hot Topics" Roundtable Discussion at 1:00 PM and will be followed by Committee Meetings. To view the full schedule and hotel accommodation information, click here. Committee Meeting materials will be distributed at a later date. For questions, contact Danielle at
.
NACCED Now Accepting Applications for the 2009 Awards of Excellence
Eligible applicants are invited to participate in the 2009 NACCED Awards of Excellence by submitting an innovative, effective, and exemplary activity in the areas of: (1) Community development, (2) Economic development, (3) Homeless coordination/assistance, (4) Affordable housing, (5) HOME Investment Partnerships Program, (6) Planning/policy/program management, and/or (7) Innovation. Applications are due by Friday, September 11, 2009 ($100 processing fee applies). To view the application, click here.
NACCED Now Accepting Applications for 2009 John C. Murphy Scholarship Grant Award Program
NACCED is now accepting applications for the seventh Annual John C. Murphy Scholarship Grant Award Program. The grant award will provide assistance in the amount of $1,500 to an undergraduate or graduate student currently attending an American college or university with a chosen field of study that includes course work in the areas of affordable housing and/or community and economic development and who exhibit financial need. Students may not be awarded a scholarship more than once. The application deadline is Friday, August 28, 2009. NACCED encourages members to advertise the scholarship in their communities. To view the press release and application, click here. To view marketing tips, click here.
Stay Tuned for Information on NACCED's 34th Annual Conference and Training Don't forget to mark your calendars for NACCED's 34th Annual Conference and Training in Chicago, IL October 3-7, 2009. Information regarding the conference can be found at http://www.nacced.org/annualconf09. This website will be updated in early July with registration and hotel information.
