Title
Recommendation To Direct the Preparation of a Needs Statement to Confirm the Ongoing Needs for the FY 2022-23 Annual Action Plan; and To Designate the President and/or another Board member to Review the Statement and Represent the Board at the January 2, 2022 City Council Needs Hearing
Community Needs for Community Development Block Grant FY 2022-23
To: Honorable President Sarah Lewis and Members of the Social Service Human Relations Board
BACKGROUND
As part of the Annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) process, the City of Alameda (City) holds a public comment period on housing and community development needs, concluding with a public hearing at a City Council meeting, tentatively scheduled for January 4, 2022. The purpose of this staff report is to:
1. Provide an overview of the CDBG process
2. Review priority needs
3. Propose the schedule and timeline of CDBG activities
At the meeting, CDBG staff will briefly review the CDBG program and the Needs Hearing process. After the presentation, the Board will hear public comment and confirm the Needs Statement for fiscal year (FY) 2022-23, which will be presented to the City Council during the January 4, 2022 public hearing.
DISCUSSION
Overview of the Community Development Block Grant Process
As an entitlement jurisdiction, the City receives CDBG funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). CDBG regulations require that an annual public hearing be held to obtain community input on current housing and community development needs. This meeting provides an opportunity for input on the Annual Action Plan for FY 2022-23. Alameda’s FY 2022-23 Action Plan will identify local priorities and uses of CDBG funds to address needs in eligible categories.
Every five years, the City is required to prepare a Five-Year Consolidated Plan, which outlines the housing and community development priority needs that will inform CDBG funding decisions for the upcoming five-year period. The City’s Consolidated Plan for FYs 2020-25 included the following priority needs:
• Preserving and increasing affordable housing and supportive services;
• Reducing housing discrimination;
• Preventing and addressing homelessness;
• Addressing non-housing community development needs such as neighborhood improvements, public services, accessibility improvements and economic development.
Alameda’s FY 2022-23 Action Plan will identify local priorities and uses of CDBG funds to address needs in eligible categories. Eligible activities include property acquisition and rehabilitation, public facilities improvements, public services, accessibility improvements, economic development, and planning and administrative activities. At least 70 percent of CDBG funds must benefit low- and moderate-income residents or neighborhoods. A limited amount of funds may also be used to eliminate blight in selected areas.
The purpose of the public meeting is to support the City’s effort to identify the social service needs of the community and prepare a recommendation for the FY 2022-23 Needs Statement for approval by City Council. The January 4, 2022 City Council public hearing is the final step in the City of Alameda’s Citizen Participation Plan to complete the community needs assessment and comply with HUD’s CDBG requirements. The approved needs statement will be included in the upcoming CDBG FY 2022-23 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)/ Request for Proposals (RFP) and will inform prospective applicants of the priority needs for the upcoming fiscal year.
CDBG Past Performance
Listed below are the current, CDBG-funded public service providers, their service offerings, annual goal, and number of persons who benefitted from the program in FY 2020-21:
|
Service Provider |
Service Offering |
Annual Goal |
Number Benefited FY 20-21 |
|
Alameda Family Services |
Mental Health Counseling |
45 |
55 |
|
Alameda Food Bank |
Emergency Food Distribution |
2,200 |
10,537 |
|
Building Futures |
Shelter & Counseling |
85 |
120 |
|
Eden Council for Hope & Opportunity (ECHO) |
Fair Housing & Housing Counseling |
65 |
69 |
|
Eden Information & Referral |
Information & Referral |
350 |
397 |
|
Family Violence Law Center |
Family Violence Prevention |
25 |
43 |
|
Legal Assistance for Seniors |
Legal Assistance for Alameda Seniors |
45 |
50 |
All of the service providers exceeded their annual goals.
COVID-19 and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. The City received two allocations in the amounts of $683,116 and $597,112 for a total of $1,280,228. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City expanded capacity or launched new programs to assist impacted, low-income households. Listed below are the service providers, their service offerings, and number of persons who benefited from the program in FY 2020-21:
|
Service Provider |
Service Offering |
Number Benefited FY 20-21 |
|
Alameda Food Bank |
Emergency Food Distribution |
19,305 |
|
Building Futures |
Emergency Case Management |
24 |
|
Building Futures |
Emergency Rent Relief |
109 |
|
Family Violence Law Center |
Emergency Shelter |
5 |
|
Village of Love |
Safe Parking Services |
21* |
|
Village of Love |
Day Center Operations |
32* |
* These programs had been funded with HEAP dollars through March 31, 2021. Therefore, these numbers are for the CDBG-funded services provided during the fourth quarter of FY 20-21 (i.e., from April 1 to June 30, 2021).
Due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the needs that were identified in 2019 continue to grow. Fortunately, in addition to the CARES Act funds, there are some new funding sources to respond to the growing needs. For example, Alameda County Housing & Community Development received federal and state funds and expanded two of its programs - tenant eviction counseling and emergency rental assistance, both of which served Alameda residents.
Priority Needs
The Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB) conducts a citywide community needs assessment every three to five years as part of its chartered mandate. SSHRB’s most current needs assessment was conducted in 2017. In 2019, Community Development Department staff conducted a short, three-question survey to review and verify the community and social service priorities identified by community members from the 2017 Community Needs Assessment. The next citywide community needs assessment is planned to launch in 2022. Consequently, staff will recommend that:
1) the FY 2022-23 NOFA/RFP award funds for a single year; and
2) the NOFA/RFP for the following year consider offering agreements with two year terms.
Exhibit 1 contains the Consolidated Plan goal and activities that SSHRB previously determined to address the identified priority needs. Those priority needs include: Affordable Housing, Homelessness, and Non-Housing Community Development, which is addressed through Public Services, Economic Development and Public Facilities and Infrastructure.
Proposed Schedule and Timeline
The FY 2022-23 NOFA/RFP is tentatively scheduled to be released in January 2022.
In 2019, SSHRB recommended that the two-year funding cycle for the City’s CDBG public services funding recipients resume with the adoption for the Five Year Consolidated Plan. Since SSHRB will kick off its community wide needs assessment in spring 2022, staff recommends that the service provider agreements for the upcoming NOFA/RFP be for a single year so that next year’s RFP priorities can be informed by the results of the community needs survey.
In the past few years, the NOFA has been published prior to HUD’s announcement of the funding allocations for the upcoming fiscal year. Consequently, the amount of funds available for public services will not be known until HUD announces the City’s CDBG allocation for the upcoming year. At this time, staff estimates that the total CDBG funding available for public services will be approximately $192,900.
The proposed schedule is attached as Exhibit 2. Depending on the number of applications received, staff may once again recommend that either fair housing or information & referral services be classified as a CDBG administrative expense so that the public service funds will not be spread as thin. SSHRB members will be asked to review and score all other public service applications. Assuming that the NOFA/RFP is due on February 3, 2022, then the members of SSHRB will be asked to submit their scoring for the public service applicants by February 28, 2022 so that staff may present recommendations at the March 24, 2022 SSHRB Public Meeting in time to be published by April 1, 2022.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Board hear the presentation, receive public comments, and direct the preparation of a Needs Statement to confirm the ongoing needs for the FY 2022-23 Annual Action Plan. The Board should also designate the President and/or another Board member to review the statement and represent the Board at the January 4, 2022 City Council Needs Hearing.
Respectfully submitted by,
Lisa Fitts, Program Manager, Community Development
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1: Consolidated Plan Priorities & Goals
Exhibit 2: Action Plan FY 2022-23 Schedule