9978-09 Appropriating $2,463,435 from Community Development (Fund 212), defraying expenses of CED

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St. Joseph County Housing Consortium Strategic Plan Due every three, four, or five years (length of period is at the grantee's discretion) no less than 45 days prior to the start of the grantee's program year start date. HUD does not accept plans between August 15 and November 15. The Housing & Community Development Plan (°HCD Plan," also sometimes called the Consolidated or "Con" Plan) explains how and why HUD funding will be used. The Housing and Community Development plan requires the community to combine submission of all its HUD-funded grants into one document to allow for better coordination of various resources. In essence, the HCD Plan is a strategy or road map for the HUD grants of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG). Additionally, the HCD Plan addresses activities for special Federal funding opportunities such as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), Community Development Block Grant -Recovery (CDBG-R), and the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). Because the three jurisdictions of the City of South Bend, the City of Mishawaka, and St. Joseph County entered into an Inter-local Government Agreement in 1991 to establish the St. Joseph County Housing Consortium, they must develop the HCD Plan together. It is a challenge to define a common vision yet maintain unique identities, but the jurisdictions are committed to the process and have successfully worked together over the past 18 years. Years ago, each grant had its own plan. This was confusing to the public, in part, because of the differing requirements of the grants, but also because of the different time schedules for the grants. These numerous plans were also inefficient and duplicative, using portions of the same background information: demographics, statistics, goals, strategies, and resources. Now, all grants operate on the same program year, beginning January 1 and ending December 31 of each year. The HCD plan requires the community to work together and fosters a "bottom up" planning process that generates citizen involvement. When the community shares resources and plans cooperatively, it can advance their goals more effectively. The consolidated plan provides a comprehensive vision for the whole community with such issues as affordable housing, adequate infrastructure, fair housing, environmental justice, enhancement of civic design, and economic growth coordinated with human development. The HCD Plan helps to ensure the community uses its resources efficiently and allows the community as a whole to guide how HUD funding will be used to meet the community's needs. The St. Joseph County Housing Consortium receives funding from the Department of Housing & Urban Development in the following three programs: Community Development Block~Grant (CDBG), the HOME Program, and the Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG). In general, this funding must be used to help low-income residents through a variety of programs. These programs can include mortgage subsidies for homebuyers, homeowner rehabilitation, elimination of urban blight, and social programs for low-income and special needs populations. In order to develop the best possible plan for St. Joseph County citizens, the Consortium needs community input. Not only will this input help the Consortium to identify the most pressing community needs, but will also assist to ensure HUD funding is used as efficiently as possible. This fourth plan is expected to build upon the foundation developed under the previous three 5-year plans. In the first plan, staff spent a significant number of hours personally interviewing representatives from affected agencies. For the second plan, staff worked with topical committees (Housing, Homeless, Social Services), largely made up of 2010-2014 Housing and Community Development Plan 6