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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 Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Act resources that the City
receives from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) – on
specific activities. This Action Plan covers the program year that begins on
July 1, 2007.
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.
In its Consolidated Plan, the City stated five-year priorities and goals for
its CDBG and HOME programs, together with specific
implementation strategies to meet those goals. Those priorities, goals and
strategies are restated in this Action Plan. The Action Plan then identifies the
projects/programs to be funded with CDBG and HOME resources this year under each
priority goal. Often, a funded project will meet more than one priority.
The City also looks at ways in which it can measure performance and
evaluate progress towards its goals. The Action Plan identifies specific
performance measures and tracks progress towards identified goals.
The Action Plan 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 then a listing of activities to be funded to this
year under each priority goal.
The last section of the Action Plan is a listing of each funded activity (in
the form of Excel spreadsheets) with
information about its federal regulatory compliance and a detailed breakout of
all funding sources.
The City anticipates that $198,731 of its CDBG expenditures and $51,596 of its HOME
expenditures this year will be
spent on general administration and planning activities. In addition to
financial management, grant administration and environmental reviews, those activities include:
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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 and
Recommendations. CEDO also participates in community planning and
assessment initiatives such as the Fletcher Allen Community Needs
Assessment;
Substance Abuse,
Racism
and Long Term Care Study Circles; the University
of Vermont Quality of Life Survey
and Genuine Progress Indicator;
and the Regional Early Childhood Planning Group. |
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As part of its administration and planning activities,
the City monitors the activities funded through its CDBG and HOME programs to
ensure that they are in compliance with regulatory requirements, to
discuss community needs and program challenges with subrecipients,
to assess the effectiveness of funded activities, to monitor program and
activity performance, and to ensure the
timeliness or expenditures. The
monitoring plans
for these programs are described in the City’s Consolidated Plan. |
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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. CEDO also regularly researches and distributes information on
other grant opportunities; assists in grant application efforts; and assists in grant administration for
community-based programs such as the Mental Health Court.
CEDO also runs an AmeriCorps*VISTA program
(A*VISTA), which supports the local
nonprofit infrastructure through the activities of around 34 A*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 CASH
(Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) Coalition; the
Refugee and Immigrant Service Providers Network; and the
Legacy Project. |
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The Community & Economic Development Office pursues
additional federal, state and foundation resources in support of City
initiatives. CEDO regularly researches information on grant
opportunities, and puts together proposals such as the federal Renewal
Community and Lead Hazard Reduction applications. CEDO also administers
additional federal and state grants such as Economic Development
Initiative Special Project grants from HUD and the state transportation grants supporting the
North Street project. |
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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, to help 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.
The City also works to reduce poverty through its AmeriCorps*VISTA
program. Each year, a team of around 14 education and wellness A*VISTAs works with schools,
colleges, nonprofits and family literacy organizations to help ensure that all
children read well and independently by grade three and to expand access
to healthcare. A second team of around 20 community and refugee
services A*VISTAs works to expand youth voice and opportunity,
to organize neighborhoods, to create job and skills-training opportunities,
and to help new Americans integrate into the community.
The City has also 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 an accountability for using existing resources in a unified,
integrated way towards that goal.
The partnership has crafted a plan to work with individual families to:
- Give them access to all available and appropriate community
resources in a coordinated way, through an agency Partner,
- Have the support of a team of community Allies to meet the
family’s financial, academic and community goals, and
- Use input from the families, Partners and Allies to develop
policy and/or system changes to sustain strategies that help the
families meet their goals.
The partnership began working with seven low-income families in January 2006.
By the end of November 2006, these families had seen a 69% increase in
monthly wages and a 28% reduction in public benefits.
The City, together with partners from the local CASH Coalition, is
also working with the National League of Cities on a Family
Asset-Building initiative. In collaboration with CASH
Coalition partners, the City sponsors a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
site at City Hall as well as other activities such as Free Credit Report
Days and a pilot matched debt reduction program.
The Community & Economic Development Office is the principal
municipal agency responsible for the City’s anti-poverty efforts. |
The City of Burlington has established general priorities for allocating
investments geographically within the jurisdiction. First, Burlington has an
approved Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy
Area covering census tracts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10. Neighborhood Revitalization
Strategy Area activities for Program Year 2007 are discussed
here. Then, within the Neighborhood
Revitalization Strategy Area, there are further specific target areas.
Burlington’s Old North End was designated as a
Renewal Community
based on the area’s pervasive poverty, high unemployment and general
distress, and is a target area for resources. The City also targets CDBG and HOME dollars to the King Street and
Lakeside neighborhoods, as well as to all areas of the City categorized in the
Census as low- and moderate-income. Homeownership resources are targeted to
census tracts with lower homeownership
rates.
The City uses CDBG funds for economic development throughout the
City, although there are certain targeted areas. See
Map of Targeted
Economic Districts in the Consolidated Plan.
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The locations for most activities funded with CDBG and
HOME funds are known in advance. There are some programs, however, that
are specifically designed to respond to requests for assistance as they
arise throughout the year. This section describes those programs. |
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Burlington Housing Initiatives Program (funded with
CDBG) |
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Emergency Loan Program: Sliding scale loans (50%
amortizing, 50% deferred payment) to low- and very-low income homeowners
in the Renewal Community and other CDBG-eligible neighborhoods. Loans
are typically $5,000 or less. |
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Accessibility Program: Grants are available to
low-income elderly or disabled Burlington residents. Grants are
typically $5,000 or less. |
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Paint Grants: Free paint for low-income
households in the Renewal Community and other CDBG-eligible
neighborhoods. Grants are generally limited to covering the cost of
paint. |
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Special Projects: Funds are available for special
projects to homeless shelters, and seed grants for high impact
projects such as permanent housing for homeless and disabled in
Burlington. Maximum grant amount is $10,000. |
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RePAIR (Rehabilitation Program Assisting Investment
Rentals): Loans are available to finance necessary repairs to
multifamily rental properties in Burlington, with priority to Renewal
Community neighborhoods. All rents charged after the rehabilitation must
be affordable to lower income families for one year, and at least 51% of
the occupants must have incomes less than 80% of the county median
during that period. RePAIR will assist with the financing of
rehabilitation and will also refinance existing debt. Applications are
reviewed for credit worthiness, ratio of income to expenses, loan to
value and other typical underwriting standards. |
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Duplex Program: CEDO and the NeighborWorks
Homeownership Center of Vermont operate a program to encourage
owner-occupancy of 2-4 unit buildings in targeted neighborhoods. The
renter-occupied unit in a building purchased through this
program is subject to rent restrictions. Typical down payment and
closing cost assistance is $10,000 per building. |
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Burlington Housing Initiatives Program (funded with
HOME) |
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Acquisition and Rehabilitation Program:
Acquisition and rehabilitation of owner-occupied and rental properties
to make them affordable to low-income households or to preserve them as
affordable units, convert them to cooperative properties, or for the
acquisition and improvement of mobile home parks. |
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New Construction Program: Production of
owner-occupied dwellings, cooperative properties, conventional rental
properties, single-room occupancy units, group homes or housing for
households/individuals with documented special needs. Units created
under this program must be affordable to low-income households. |
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Rehabilitation of Existing Owner-Occupied
Manufactured Homes Program: Rehabilitation of existing manufactured
housing stock is an eligible activity. Income-eligible owners of
manufactured housing units qualify for HOME funds to pay for
rehabilitation, including the creation or repair of a permanent
foundation, rehabilitation of the unit, and relocation costs associated
with moving a unit. |
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Refinancing Existing Debt: Multi-family projects
developed by locally-based housing organizations that receive HOME funds
for rehabilitation may utilize HOME funds to refinance existing debt if
there is significant rehabilitation of the property proposed in addition
to the refinancing. |
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Business Financing & Technical Assistance and
Burlington Sustainable Economic Development Strategies Program |
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Burlington Revolving Loan Program: Gap financing is
available to businesses that are located in Burlington, with particular
attention to certain targeted commercial revitalization areas including
the Renewal Community, the King Street neighborhood and the Pine Street
Business District. Loan applicants must meet the size guidelines of the
U.S. Small Business Administration. There is a formal application
process. Applicants must submit a business plan and show they are
investing their own time and money in the business. Loan applications
are reviewed when they are complete, and questions raised by the loan
committee are provided to applicants in writing for their response.
Loans range from $500 up, and the interest rate is 8%. Loans may be used
to finance fixed assets or inventory, or for operating capital.
Repayment schedules vary according to what's being financed, and loans
are secured by all business and personal assets.
CEDO also administers other business loans and grants. Loans used to
finance efficiency improvements and/or to reduce environmental waste are
offered at 4%. Loans used to finance handicapped access construction
will be offered at 0%. Occasionally, the City may also extend
no-interest loans for up to five years to nonprofit organizations or
government entities for projects that will create jobs. The City may
also provide small grants as an incentive to repair and improve
commercial facades where the improvement positively impacts the
neighborhood and facilitates economic development. The city may offer
grants for work force training for new employees and for job upgrading
skills. Finally, the city may provide financial assistance in the form
of a grant to refugee entrepreneurs in order to provide needed training,
marketing, and technical assistance. |
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NeighborWorks® Homeownership
Center Services |
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NeighborWorks® HomeOwnership
Center homebuyer education services are available to everyone. Certain
income requirements and geographical restrictions apply to the financial
assistance programs, rehab loans, Land Trust properties, and special
lender programs offered through the Center. Land Trust homeownership is
available to customers of the Center who have a stable source of income,
good credit and reasonable debts, and who meet maximum income
guidelines. Land Trust homebuyers may receive down payment assistance
for qualified single family home purchases or may purchase an existing
Land Trust home that is being resold. |
The City anticipates that the following City resources will be available to address housing and community development needs in this program year:
| Community Development Block Grant |
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Entitlement Allocation |
$ 908,540 |
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Program Income |
92,000 |
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Prior Year Funds |
321,300 |
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Section 108 |
1,227,000 |
| HOME Investment Partnership Act |
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Entitlement Allocation |
503,314 |
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Program Income |
7,000 |
| Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction |
50,000 |
| Housing Trust Fund |
189,000 |
| Apartment Registration Fees |
630,000 |
| Total funds for housing and community
development |
$ 3,928,154 |
The City anticipates that 100% of its CDBG resources this
year will be spent to benefit low- and moderate-income residents.
The City also anticipates that approximately $10,867,277 in
Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $8 to $9 million in Section 8 resources, and
$766,163 in McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act funds will be available to
address needs and objectives identified in the Action Plan. (These are not
resources that the City receives or controls.)
The CDBG Float Loan Program will be established to provide short-term
financial assistance for community development, housing development and economic
development projects in Burlington. Funding for the program will come from
allocations to other CDBG activities which are not anticipated to be expended
during the term of the float loan. An absolute pre-condition for any float loan
will be an unconditional, irrevocable Letter of Credit from a lending
institution in order to assure the availability of funding. One specific project has been targeted for the Float Loan Program:
Burlington Revolving Loan Program
- Benefits businesses, City departments and private nonprofit
organizations
- Short-term financing of business expansion, public infrastructure and
facilities, and housing and development projects in Burlington
- Projects must meet
the underwriting criteria of the Burlington Revolvlng Loan Program
Float Loan Allocation:
- Not to exceed $300,000
- Secured by an irrevocable Letter of Credit
- Repayments scheduled to ensure no delay of funding to other
subrecipients
Page last updated
August 01, 2007
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