Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutEndorsing the thrust and concept of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's experimental program entitled "The Housing Allowance Program" RESOLUTION No. 408-74 Passed by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, JANUARY 28 , 19 74 Attest: `- City Clerk Attest: President of Common Council. Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana JANUARY 29 , 1974 City ClerK Approved and signed by me 192 . *L Mayor fi Ir si RESOLUTION NO . 408-74 A RESOLUTION TO ENDORSE THE THRUST AND CONCEPT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT' S EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM ENTITLED, "THE HOUSING ALLOWANCE PROGRAM" , AND ITS WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, in an attempt to provide adequate housing through an Experimental Housing Allowance Program, is considering South Bend, Indiana, and St. Joseph County as a target area, and WHEREAS, approximately 9, 000 to 10,000 families-- especially older adults--would benefit from such an Experimental Housing Allowance Program, and WHEREAS, the number of substandard units would be greatly reduced, and WHEREAS, this Experimental Program would be in effect for ten (10) years, and WHEREAS, no local monies are required for this Experimental Program, and WHEREAS, it potentially could produce approximately Sixty Million Dollars ($60,000,000) for better housing for St. Joseph County and South Bend, and WHEREAS, the South Bend City Council wishes to allow the citizens of South Bend to participate in this Experimental Program, and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, that: SECTION 1. The Common Council of the City of South Bend endorses the thrust and concept of the Experimental Housing Allowance Program and the thrust and concept of the attached Memorandum of Understanding prepared by the Department of Housing and Jrban Development. SECTION 2. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Common Council and its approval by the Mayor. Me r the Common Council Adopted January 28, 1974, as amended. MEMORANDUM. OF UNDERSTANDING between THE CIVIL CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA and THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter called "HUD") , an agency of the United States Government, as a part of its Exper- imental Housing Allowance Program, wishes to undertake a housing allowance experiment (hereinafter called the "Experiment") within a number of metro- politan areas of the United States. In these experiments, families will receive direct housing allowance payments to assist them in the rental, maintenance of ownership, or purchase of suitable housing. These exper- iments are designed to test this direct form of housing assistance for possible enactment as a full-scale national program. To accomplish this objective HUD wishes to replicate a full-scale national program of housing allowances in the St. Joseph County metropolitan area. This "Supply Experiment" is designed to obtain important information about the effects of housing allowances upon the housing market and to answer such questions as: How and to what extent does the increased purchasing power of housing allowance recipients get translated into increased rents or house sales prices -- by increases in real housing services to the occupant, or, by largely inflationary rent and house sales price rises? When large numbers of eligible families participate in the program, do they tend to move out of their neighborhoods and, if so, where do they move? Do minority groups seek more dispersed residential locations when broader choices are available to them through housing allowances? How are these housing choices shaped by bankers, realtors, and others in the resi- dential housing business? What is the impact on families not receiving housing allowances? All groups involved -- landlords, allowance recipients, non-recipients, and others -- will be periodically interviewed to obtain reliable measures of changes in housing quality, prices and other market responses. This information will then be systematically analyzed and evaluated. _ 1 _ The City of South Bend (hereinafter called the "City") , in the interest of seeing that housing allowance payments are provided to a number of its residents in need of such assistance and of assisting in an experiment of national importance, fully supports HUDts experimental effort and wishes to cooperate with HUD in undertaking the Experiment within the St. Joseph County metropolitan area. THEREFORE, HUD and the CITY have prepared this Memorandum of Understand- ing to evidence their understanding, as hereinafter set forth: ARTICLE 1 - HUD 1. HUD agrees to undertake an experiment within the St. Joseph County metropolitan area. HUD will carry out the Experiment (hereinafter called "Experiment") through a contract with the Rand Corporation (hereinafter called "Rand") , and its sub-contractors and such other organization(s) as Rand may establish as provided below. In so carrying out the Experiment, HUD, through Rand and such other organization(s) will: A. Provide housing allowances to approximately 9,000 to 10,000 households satisfying the income, family size and other pro- gram criteria for eligibility; and B. Analyze the results of the Experiment through a sizeable number of survey interviews and other data collection activities. As a part of this work, Rand will survey a sample of residential structures within the metropolitan area and interview the owners and tenants of such structures, at the beginning of the Experiment and annually thereafter. 2. The Experiment is planned to be administered as follows: A. Rental and Homeownership Payments: These payments are planned to be administered through a Housing Allowance Office which Rand shall establish as a separate non-profit corporation (hereinafter called the "Housing Allowance Office"). It is planned that the Housing Allowance Office will enroll eligible households, ad- minister payments, provide recipients with housing information, carry on administrative, fiscal and other activities associated with the Experiment, and shall direct and be responsible for the effectiveness of these activities. The Housing Allowance Office 2 - _y f X will be a joint undertaking with the locality as follows: 1. Its Board of Trustees or other policy-making body will include local membership. 2. It is intended that the control of and responsibility for the functions of the Housing Allowance Office will be transferred to the local housing authority(ies) or other appropriate local agency(ies) not later than the termination of the experimental period. B. Home Purchase Allowance Payments: Assistance to recipients in acquiring homeownership (hereinafter called "home pur- chase assistance") is expected to be furnished pursuant to some combination of existing HUD assistance programs and will be administered through existing HUD program channels. HUD anticipates that the Housing Allowance Office will assist HUD in the administration of home purchase assist- ance. C. Survey, Data Collection, Analysis: The Rand Corporation, and its subcontractors, will have sole responsibility for the survey work, data collection and analysis for the Ex- periment. 3. HUD will keep interested public officials, community leaders, and groups of the metropolitan area informed of the progress and findings of the Experiment. 4. HUD will designate representatives in its Regional and Area Offices to cooperate with the City in the successful conduct and completion of the Experiment. 5. The Experiment is planned to be set up as follows: A. Eligibility: The eligibility of a household for housing allowance payments will be determined by its income, size, and composition. All households residing in the area which are eligible and enroll will receive a housing allowance payment provided they reside in standard housing as pro- vided below in Part 3-D of this Article I. 3 - B. Housing Information: Recipients will be given information about the Experiment and related housing matters. C. Tenure: An eligible household may use its allowance for rental or homeownership payments. Assistance to recipients in rental units and recipients already residing in units which they already own (hereinafter called "homeownership assist- ance") is expected to be furnished pursuant to Section 23 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended. Assistance to recipients in acquiring homeownership is expected to be furnished pursuant to some combination of existing HUD assist- ance programs. D. Standard Housing: To receive housing allowance payments a household must reside in a standard house, apartment, or mobile home defined by HUD for purposes of the Experiment. E. Payments: Monthly allowance payments for rents and continuing homeownership will be made directly to eligible recipients. Allowance payments for home purchase will be made as required by the HUD program employed. F. Experimental Period: HUD expects to collect data from the Experiment for a period of at least five years (hereinafter called the "experimental period") . G. Period of Assistance: HUD will furnish assistance to eligible recipients for the following periods of time: 1. Rental and Homeownership Assistance: For a period of ten (10) years from the opening of enrollment. 2. Home Purchase Assistance: For at least ten (10) years from the opening of enrollment. H. Change of Residence or Type of Tenure: During the experimental period recipients generally will be able to move within the St. Joseph County metropolitan area and to change their type of tenure among the rental, homeownership, and home purchase options any time during the first five years following the beginning of enrollment in the Experiment Program, provided such recipients remain eligible and satisfy program procedures. After the - 4 - 4 � f experimental period, HUD will continue to make available Section 23 funding in order to continue rental and home- ownership assistance. Families then eligible under that program shall be governed by the terms and conditions of Section 23 subject to such procedures as may be agreed to by HUD. ARTICLE II -- THE CITY In consideration of the foregoing, the City agrees to assist and co- operate with HUD, Rand, and other contractors in carrying the Experi- ment to a successful conclusion, to the extent that the expense to the City of such assistance is reimbursed by HUD, as follows: 1. Because the St. Joseph County metropolitan area will be one experi- mental site in a multiple site experiment, and because it is necessary in order to obtain statistically valid comparisons of results among sites that the methods and procedures be uniform from site to site, and in recognition of the need to establish, maintain and preserve the validity of the Experiment, the City agrees to assist HUD, Rand, and other organi- zations designated by HUD in establishing, maintaining and preserving the integrity of the Experiment; accordingly, the City further agrees that HUD, either directly or indirectly through Rand, its subcontractors, or the Housing Allowance Office shall have the right, after consultation with the City, to make final decisions with regard to the establishment, conduct, and termination of the Experiment. 2. The City and the local Housing Authority, or other comparable agency, if any (hereinafter called "Authority") , will make available to HUD, Rand, and its subcontractors demographic, housing stock and other data pertinent to the Experiment and will cooperate with them in collecting data. 3. The City and the Authority will permit or assist in obtaining the issuance of appropriate licenses, permits, waivers, opinions, or other authority required or appropriate for the conduct of the Experiment at local, state, and federal levels. 4. The City will, to the extent that it is within its authority, deter- mine that the housing assistance payments to households are not considered income under any present or future City income tax, and the City will 5 - exclude these payments from calculations of income in determining pay- ments to recipients under welfare and other social programs which employ an income test as a determinant of eligibility and/or amount of program assistance. 5. The City and the Authority will cooperate with and coordinate their affirmative action program and enforcement of fair housing laws with HUD and other jurisdictions involved so that households receiving allow- ance will have the full opportunities and protections of such laws. 6. The City and the Authority agree to join with other jurisdictions and authorities in designating or organizing a single entity (if no such entity presently exists) with the authority to receive and administer Section 23 funds and to participate as required in carrying out a pro- gram of experimental housing assistance for a period of ten years. If appropriate, in order to carry out this Experiment, the Authority will apply for, enter into, and carry out an Annual Contributions Contract with HUD for the purpose of providing federal funding for rental allow- ance payments for a period of at least five years to recipients who are eligible for the experiment and providing equivalent rental assistance for an additional five year period after completion of the experimental period, and will enter into an agreement with the Housing Allowance Office including such terms and financing arrangements as may be required by HUD to authorize the Housing Allowance Office to carry out its functions as described in Part 2-A of Article I above. 7. As required by Section 23 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, the City hereby grants its approval of the use of Section 23 funds within its jurisdiction and further authorizes the Authority or some other body established in accordance with Part 6 above, to enter into an Annual Contributions Contract to receive such funds for purposes of conducting the Experiment. 8. The City shall designate at least one of its officials to act as its representative for purposes of coordinating the establishment and operation of the Experiment with representatives from HUD, Rand, its subcontractors and other participating organizations. 9. The City and the Authority will cooperate with HUD and Rand, its subcontractors, the Housing Allowance Office, and such other organiza- 6 - tions as HUD may designate, in maintaining the confidentiality of the information obtained in the Experiment with regard to the tenants, land- lords, and other persons interviewed and households interviewed or enrolled. 10. The City will cooperate with HUD in obtaining the approval and cooperation of the state government and any other regional or local government authorities or agencies in the metropolitan area to the extent required for, or appropriate in the conduct of the Experiment and will join in the formation of a single housing assistance entity as described in Paragraph 6 above. 11. The City has made a thorough investigation of State and local requirements for its execution of this memorandum and declares that it has complied with those requirements. To evidence their agreement with the items set forth above, the City and HUD have caused to be executed this Memorandum of Understanding by the duly authorized representatives to be effective as of the last date indicated herein. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT Dated By. Dated: January 28, 1974 By: 7 - a r CONCURRENCE: The Housing Authority, in the interest of facilitating participation in the Experiment, fully supports the roles of HUD and the City in that regard and wishes to cooperate in the conduct, monitoring and analysis of the Experiment, and hereby agrees to undertake those duties and obligations ascribed to it in this Memorandum of Understanding. Housing Authority Dated: By: 8 - RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION TO ENDORSE THE THRUST AND CONCEPT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT'S EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM ENTITLED, "THE HOUSING ALLOWANCE PROGRAM" , AND ITS WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, in an attempt to provide adequate housing through an Experimental Housing Allowance Program, is considering South Bend, Indiana, and St. Joseph County as a target area, and WHEREAS, approximately 9, 000 to 10, 000 families-- especially older adults--would benefit from such an Experimental Housing Allowance Program, and WHEREAS, the number of substandard units would be greatly reduced, and WHEREAS, this Experimental Program would be in effect for ten (10) years, and WHEREAS, no local monies are required for this Experimental Program, and WHEREAS, it potentially could produce approximately Sixty Million Dollars ($60, 000 , 000) for better housing for St. Joseph County and South Bend, and WHEREAS, the South Bend City Council wishes to allow the citizens of South Bend to participate in this Experimental Program, and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, that: SECTION 1. The Common Council of the City of South Bend endorses the thrust and concept of the Experimental Housing Allowance Program and the attached Memorandum of Understanding prepared by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. SECTION 2 . This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Common Council and its approval by the Mayor. C� Member of the Comm n Council PRESENTED /- 8 _ FILED IN CLERK'S OFFICE NOT APPROVED ADOPTED J A f 12 % 1974 Irene Gammon CITY CLERK, SOUTH BEND, IND.