2006 Consolidated Annual Evaluation & Performance Report
Introduction

The national Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a principal revenue source for local communities to address the roots and consequences of poverty. The HOME Investment Partnership program (HOME) is designed to create affordable housing for low-income households through building, buying, and/or rehabilitating housing for rent or homeownership. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) administers these programs on a national basis and awards grants to entitlement communities - including the City of Burlington - each year on a formula basis. The City in turn awards grants and loans to local nonprofits as well as providing direct services to residents and businesses through several CDBG-funded programs. The overall goal of these community planning and development programs is to develop viable communities by providing decent housing, providing a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities principally for low and moderate income persons.

The City – through the Community & Economic Development Office – regularly prepares three major plans and reports about housing and community development. First, there is the City’s Consolidated Plan for Housing & Community Development. The Consolidated Plan covers a five-year time period and provides detailed information about city demographics, the local housing market and the local economy. It also outlines housing and community development needs and priorities. The current Consolidated Plan covers the five-year period beginning in July 2003.

Second, the City prepares an Action Plan each year to address the Consolidated Plan priorities. Each annual Action Plan details how the City plans to spend local resources – and in particular, the CDBG and HOME resources that the City receives from HUD – on specific activities.

Third, after the close of each program year, the City prepares a Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) to report on progress and on CDBG and HOME expenditures during the year. The City is required to prepare the Consolidated Plan, annual Action Plans and annual CAPERs in order to receive funding from these HUD programs.

What’s in the CAPER

This CAPER is a detailed performance report on the City’s expenditure of CDBG and HOME funds for the program year beginning July 1, 2006 and ending June 30, 2007 (referred to as Program Year 2006). It contains information on all CDBG and HOME projects that were underway and/or completed during this program year. The Report was prepared by the Community & Economic Development Office, which administers Burlington’s CDBG and HOME programs.

Volume I of the CAPER is organized into four sections: Affordable Housing, Economic Development, Social Services and Neighborhood Development. Each section starts with overall outcome indicators and then becomes progressively more specific, with first a summary of five-year projected cumulative results (or “outputs”) from funded activities and actual results to date; then an overview of results achieved this year; and finally a listing of activities on which funds were spent this year, showing how each activity relates to the priority needs identified in the City’s Consolidated Plan. Volume I also includes information on the City’s progress in leveraging other public and private resources; a self-evaluation of program effectiveness; and information on other actions described in the City’s Consolidated and Action plans (including eliminating barriers to as well as maintaining affordable housing; reducing lead paint hazards; overcoming gaps in institutional structure and enhancing coordination; ensuring compliance with program requirements; and reducing the number of people living in poverty).

Volume II of the CAPER contains a cover page, financial summary, and three reports downloaded from HUD’s Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS):

1. Summary of Accomplishments Report. This report presents data on CDBG and HOME activities and disbursements by priority need categories. It also contains data on CDBG accomplishments by various units of measure and housing units by racial/ethnic categories and HOME housing units by various income groups.
2. Summary of Consolidated Plan Projects for Report Year 2006. This report tracks progress in implementing projects identified in the 2006 Annual Action Plan portion of City’s Consolidated Plan for Housing & Community Development. The report lists all projects for Program Year 2006 in sequence by project number. Disbursements are summarized by program for each project’s activities. Accomplishments reported for the program year are summarized for each program area.
3. Summary of Activities. This report lists each CDBG activity which was open during Program Year 2006. It includes the status, accomplishments, program year narrative and program year expenditures. Also shown is the activity code, regulatory cite and characteristics of the beneficiaries. Please note that the actual CDBG and Section 108 funds expended during Program Year 2006 are included in the Accomplishments Narrative section of this report.

Volume II is not available online, but is available for review at the Community & Economic Development Office.

Performance Measurement

The Community Development Block Grant program is one that provides a great deal of local flexibility in the use of funds – and the program is valuable because of that very flexibility. At the same time, there is a need for national program accountability. To facilitate the assessment of performance and tracking of results nationally, HUD has adopted a uniform performance measurement system. The new system will allow HUD to aggregate results across the broad spectrum of local programs funded by these block grants so that the impact of housing and community development programs can be measured at the national level.

HUD’s performance measurement system combines the three statutory objectives of the CDBG program - to provide decent housing, to provide a suitable living environment, and to expand economic opportunities - with three outcome categories:

Availability/Accessibility. This outcome category applies to activities that make services, infrastructure, public services, public facilities, housing, or shelter available or accessible to low-and moderate-income people, including persons with disabilities. In this category, accessibility does not refer only to physical barriers, but also to making the affordable basics of daily living available and accessible to low and moderate income people where they live.

Affordability. This outcome category applies to activities that provide affordability in a variety of ways in the lives of low- and moderate-income people. It can include the creation or maintenance of affordable housing, basic infrastructure hook-ups, or services such as transportation or day care.

Sustainability: Promoting Livable or Viable Communities. This outcome applies to projects where the activity or activities are aimed at improving communities or neighborhoods, helping to make them livable or viable by providing benefit to persons of low- and moderate-income or by removing or eliminating slums or blighted areas, through multiple activities or services that sustain communities or neighborhoods.

The Summary of Annual Objectives organizes CDBG activities according to the three statutory objectives and the three outcome categories, and reports on progress according to the national measurement system. We continue to use our local performance outcome and output measures to track data and program results that are of concern to us here in Burlington. Those local measures appear at the beginning of the Affordable Housing, Economic Development, Social Services and Neighborhood Development sections of the CAPER.

Public Participation

Residents are heavily involved in deciding how the City's Community Development Block Grant resources will be spent. Since 1983, the City has involved its citizens in its CDBG program through the Neighborhood Planning Assemblies (NPAs), semi-autonomous grassroots organizations existing in each of the City’s seven wards.

The City sets aside 5% of its CDBG allocation each year for a Neighborhood Grants program. Residents of low and moderate-income neighborhoods develop neighborhood improvement projects, bring those projects to their local Neighborhood Planning Assembly for review, and then submit them to a Neighborhood Grants Board. Each of the seven ward-based Neighborhood Planning Assemblies elects a representative to the Neighborhood Grants Board, and the Mayor sends two representatives. The Community & Economic Development Office holds workshops to help residents develop applications.

All other applications for CDBG funding are reviewed by the CDBG Advisory Board. Each Neighborhood Planning Assembly elects a representative to the CDBG Advisory Board. Low-income neighborhoods organized through the Burlington Neighborhood Project elect two representatives to the Board. The Mayor sends three representatives, at least one of whom lives in assisted housing. The State and the United Way also send a representative. The members of the Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization Committee of City Council are non-voting members of the CDBG Advisory Board. The Community & Economic Development Office holds workshops for prospective community- and faith-based applicants to help them develop applications.

A list of the funding proposals received each year is published online for public review, and all meetings of the CDBG Advisory Board and the Neighborhood Grants Board are public meetings. The funding proposals themselves are available for public review at the Community & Economic Development Office. After the recommendations of the CDBG Advisory Board and the Neighborhood Grants Board are reviewed by the Mayor, the City holds a public hearing before City Council on those recommendations, as well as to gather broader input on housing and community development needs. The recommendations become the backbone of the annual Action Plan. The Action Plan is published online as well as in hard copy for public comment before it is approved by City Council and then submitted to HUD.

The CAPER is also published online as well as in hard copy for citizen review and comment. A televised Public Hearing will be held before City Council on September 24, 2007, to hear input on this CAPER as well as to gather broader input on housing and community development needs.

Summary of Resources and Distribution of Funds

Available CDBG and HOME funds, and expenditures, are shown below.

The chart below illustrates the CDBG funds expended in each of the following categories: Social Services, Housing, Economic Development and Neighborhood Development. Of total non-administration CDBG expenditures, $716,527 - or 91.2% - was spent in and/or to benefit the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area this year. (The Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area includes census tracts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 – roughly, the Old North End, downtown and the waterfront, Ward One including the Riverside Avenue corridor, and the area west of Pine Street down to Flynn Avenue.)

Housing  $275,774 Economic Development $389,880  Social Services $135,248  Neighborhood Development $92,126

Administration and Planning

The City spent $193,819  of its CDBG expenditures and $67,021 in HOME expenditures this year on general administration and planning activities. In addition to financial management, grant administration and environmental reviews, those activities include:

Planning

The Community & Economic Development Office facilitates and/or prepares housing and community development related plans such as the Consolidated Plan; Affordable Housing Task Force Recommendations, Action Plan and Annual Updates; Moving Towards Home, the City’s 10-Year Plan for Ending Homelessness; and the Burlington Family Report. CEDO also participates in community planning and assessment initiatives such as the Chittenden County Housing Targets Task Force; the Regional Plan for Early Childhood; the Agency of Human Services District Leadership Team and Incarcerated Women Initiative; the Chittenden County Substance Abuse Coalition; the Fletcher Allen Community Needs Assessment; the Substance Abuse, Racism and Long Term Care Study Circles; and the University of Vermont Quality of Life Survey and Genuine Progress Indicator work. CEDO also participated in development of the GBIC regional economic development plan and is providing comments on the revision of the City’s zoning ordinance, currently underway.

Monitoring, Program Compliance and General Program Effectiveness

In general, grant activities have been effective and on schedule. The activities are meeting the major goals outlined in the City’s Consolidated Plan, and there were no changes in the program objectives for Program Year 2006. Subrecipient contracts are reviewed and completed prior to disbursements (usually at the beginning of each fiscal year), and grant disbursements are timely (usually within two weeks of the request). The City continues to meet HUD’s timeliness requirements for expenditures.

As part of its administration and planning activities, the City monitors the activities funded through its Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership Act programs to ensure that they are in compliance with regulatory requirements, to discuss community needs and program challenges with subrecipients, and to assess the effectiveness of funded activities. The content of the monitoring plans for these programs are described in the City’s Consolidated Plan.

All CDBG subrecipient activities are monitored through program reports submitted by subgrantees with each request for funds. In addition, staff make onsite monitoring visits to selected subrecipients each year based on factors such as whether the subrecipient is a new organization or a new CDBG grantee; how long it has been since the last onsite monitoring visit; whether there were problems revealed during the last monitoring visit; whether the program reports indicate a need for onsite monitoring; whether there have been significant changes in subrecipient staff; and the size of the grant. This year, program staff made onsite visits to the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV), the Chittenden County Senior Citizens Alliance, the R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center, the Champlain Housing Trust, the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging, King Street Youth Center, Spectrum Youth & Family Services, the Women's Rape Crisis Center and the Community Health Center. In several cases, staff requested revisions in the way the agency was documenting and reporting beneficiary data and/or in the way the agency was separately accounting for CDBG revenues on its general ledger.

HOME subrecipient activities are monitored through annual project reports submitted by subgrantees and through onsite visits. The purpose of the project reports is to ensure that all HOME-assisted housing units meet federal regulations for rent and income levels as well as compliance with Housing Quality Standards. This year, program staff made onsite visits to the Champlain Housing Trust and Cathedral Square Corporation.

Developing, Enhancing and Supporting Institutional Structure and Cooperation

The City is committed to nurturing a strong nonprofit infrastructure. The Community & Economic Development Office actively supports the participation of community- and faith-based organizations in its CDBG program through annual requests for applications and through workshops to help organizations develop eligible and effective proposals. This year, CEDO administered 29 CDBG subgrants to 22 different nonprofit agencies. CEDO also regularly researches and distributes information on grant opportunities; assists in grant application efforts; and assists in grant administration for community-based programs such as the Mental Health Court and the Supervised Visitation Program.

CEDO also runs an AmeriCorps*VISTA program, which supports the local nonprofit infrastructure through the activities of around 30 VISTA members annually. A*VISTA members serve as “capacity builders” in nonprofit agencies and as grassroots organizers in the community.

CEDO hosts monthly meetings of the local nonprofit housing developers and actively participates in the monthly meetings of the Chittenden County Continuum of Care to address homelessness; the Champlain Initiative (a countywide regional partnership); the Early Childhood Regional Planning Group; the CASH Coalition; and the Legacy Project.

Additional specific actions this year to overcome gaps in institutional structures and to enhance coordination include:

• Participating in the Refugee Integration Collaboration to improve the integration of refugees into the Burlington community
• Participating in the Agency of Human Services Leadership Team collaborative process to improve the intersection between the delivery of human services and public education
• The recruitment of active attendance by the local NeighborWorks®HomeOwnership Center at meetings of the CASH Coalition

Pursuing Additional Resources

The Community & Economic Development Office actively pursues additional federal, state and foundation resources in support of City initiatives. CEDO regularly researches information on grant opportunities and pursues opportunities such as the federal Renewal Community and Lead Hazard Reduction applications and the state transportation grants supporting the North Street project. CEDO also administers additional federal and state grants such as Economic Development Initiative Special Project grants from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. CEDO works with private funders as well; for example, the City partnered with the Citizens Bank foundation, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and Brad Rabinowitz Architect to offer Façade Improvement grants for commercial buildings in the North Street area, and received support from Key Bank for the City's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site. Subrecipients also pursue additional funding resources, as CDBG and HOME typically represent small (though vital) portions of a project budget.

We continue to be highly successful in using CDBG dollars to leverage other funding to meet our community development goals. Overall, we leveraged over $57 million in other public and private funding for projects this program year – a ratio of 59:1 of dollars leveraged to CDBG dollars expended. Sources of leveraged funds are shown in the Affordable Housing, Economic Development, Social Services, and Neighborhood Development sections below.

The City provided all requested Certifications of Consistency, both for the Consolidated Plan and for the Renewal Community, in connection with applications by other organizations for federal funding.

Anti-Poverty Strategy

Recognizing that poverty is a regional and national issue, and that many factors contributing to poverty lie outside of local control, the City’s overarching goal for its CDBG program is nonetheless to reduce the number of people living in poverty in Burlington, and most especially those groups disproportionately affected by poverty. As the CDBG Advisory Board develops its funding recommendations, it rates applications on ten resource allocation principles designed to promote that goal and to set overarching priorities for allocating investments among priority needs.

Key components of the City’s anti-poverty strategy include:

• Meeting basic needs and stabilizing living situations, including increasing access to affordable housing and income supports where necessary
• Increasing earned income to livable wage levels
• Increasing and protecting asset accumulation and resident net worth

City policies directed towards this strategy include the Burlington Housing Trust Fund (tax revenues dedicated for affordable housing) and the city’s ordinances on Livable Wage, Women in Construction Trades (aimed at increasing opportunities for women in the construction trades), and Inclusionary Zoning. In the area of predatory lending, while Vermont does not have payday lenders or check cashing stores, refund anticipation loans and checks are offered here; one of the City’s representatives in the state legislature introduced a bill this year to regulate that practice.

The City also works to reduce poverty through its AmeriCorps*VISTA program. Each year, 40 AmeriCorps*VISTAs work in community development to expand voice and opportunity of underserved populations, create job and skills-training opportunities, alleviate homelessness, and expand access to healthcare, housing, and education. Members assess organizational capacity, access new resources, implement new programming, increase outreach, and recruit, train and support volunteers. Members also do multi-benefit outreach through annual door-to-door flyering on Martin Luther King Day.

Additional actions taken by the City this year to reduce the number of residents living below the poverty level include:

The City continued to fund the NeighborKeepers Circles of Support program. In 2004, the City brought together a group of local stakeholders – which include the district offices of the Agency of Human Services, the United Way and a diverse group of community- and faith-based organizations – to develop a community focus on family self-sufficiency and accountability for using existing resources in a unified, integrated way towards that goal. The group met monthly, looking for ways to expand systems of care/support (both within and outside of the mainstream service system); to create, sustain and honor relationships that successfully offer families choices for change; and to respond more immediately, comprehensively and flexibly to families’ needs. These meetings led to a new initiative designed to help low-income families access new resources, which was kicked off in January 2006. Based on the Circles of Support model developed in the Mid-West, and operated by NeighborKeepers in partnership with a group of six local social service agencies, each participating family is matched with three trained “Allies,” typically middle-class volunteers. Together, the family and its team of Allies work on developing social and community connections, increasing education and/or work skills, and building assets. The Allies in turn learn first-hand about the barriers that these families face. At weekly meetings held downtown in the First Baptist Church, participants and Allies share success stories, help each other to overcome obstacles, and participate in discussions with presenters on topics such as credit, homeownership and banking. The project is currently funded by the City, United Way, a local foundation and private donors, with Champlain College providing the program evaluation. Over the first six months of the project, participants saw a 69% increase in earned income and a 21% increase in overall income (including public benefits). An AmeriCorps*VISTA will be helping NeighborKeepers expand this program to serve refugee and immigrant families this year.

The City continues to participate in the National League of Cities’ Family Asset Building initiative. Through this initiative, the City and its partners have the opportunity to see what other cities across the country are doing to increase the net worth of low-income residents and to apply those lessons here at home. The City was also able to attend the national conference to kick off United Way’s new countrywide financial stability initiative.

The City also continues to participate in the Creating Assets, Savings and Hope (CASH) coalition, whose mission is to assist low- and moderate-income Vermonters to realize their financial goals through free tax assistance and asset building opportunities. Through the CASH Coalition, the City again sponsored a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site at City Hall, providing free help to low-income taxpayers in accessing the Earned Income Tax Credit (the largest federal anti-poverty program), the Child Tax Credit and other tax refund opportunities. There are three such sites in Chittenden County and collectively, the three sites helped 1,003 low- and moderate-income taxpayers file their tax returns this year. Forty-two volunteers, certified by the IRS and recognized as Hometown Hero Volunteers of the Month by WPTZ and United Way, worked throughout the tax season to help these taxpayers access over $1.5 million in federal and state refunds. In addition to their refunds, these taxpayers (all of whom had household income of less than $40,000) saved over $150,000 in tax preparation fees. United Way of Chittenden County, Key Bank, Chittenden Bank and Citizens Bank provided funding and other assistance for the program. Champlain College students, together with community volunteers, gave their time to be tax assistors. Clients were able to dial Vermont 2-1-1, an information and referral program of the United Ways of Vermont, to schedule an appointment to have their taxes done.

The CASH Coalition held two “Free Credit Score Days” during the program year, one in September and one in May. Open to those with a household income less than $40,000, the event offered free credit scores (obtained and paid for by Northfield Savings Bank) together with one-on-one interpretation/counseling on the associated credit reports and workshops on budgeting, saving and checking accounts. Seventy-three people participated in the two events this year. CEDO also sponsored a Money Smart “train the trainer” seminar provided by Boston FDIC staff, expanding opportunities for financial education.

CEDO contributed funding towards a pilot matched savings program to help low-income participants pay off debts in collection, with associated financial education requirements. Finally, through the CASH Coalition and with the assistance of a Leadership Champlain team, the City is participating in a data collection effort to more accurately assess local community conditions and needs around debt, savings and financial education.

The Community & Economic Development Office is the principal municipal agency responsible for the City’s anti-poverty efforts.

Page last updated April 04, 2008