HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-20-20; 8-d - North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) Urgent Repair Program (URP20) Award and Updates to ESFRLP20 Assistance PolicyORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date:October 20, 2020
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-d
SUBJECT: North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) Urgent Repair Program
(URP20) Award and Updates to ESFRLP20 Assistance Policy
DEPARTMENT: Department of Housing and
Community Development
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment 1: URP20 Assistance Policy
Attachment 2: ESFRLP20 Assistance Policy
Attachment 3: Orange County Procurement and
Disbursement Policy
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emila Sutton, Director
Housing and Community Development
(919) 245-2490
PURPOSE:
1. To approve the 2020 Urgent Repair Program (URP20) Assistance Policy, updated 2020
Essential Single-Family Rehabilitation Loan Pool (ESFRLP20) Assistance Policy, and
updated Orange County Procurement and Disbursement Policy for all housing rehab
programs.
2. To authorize the County Manager to sign the Funding and Written Agreement for the
URP20 award from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA).
BACKGROUND: In May 2020, Orange County received a notice of award from NCHFA for the
2020 Urgent Repair Program (URP20). As an URP awardee, the County will receive $80,000 for
eligible repair projects.
Orange County’s application for funding stated that match funds of $40,000 will be available to
assist with repair of eligible housing units. The Housing and Community Development Department
will contribute this $40,000 from its Local Urgent Repair account.
NCHFA requires recipients of URP20 awards to complete a packet of Post Approval
Documentation, which includes documentation that an Assistance Policy and a Procurement and
Disbursement Policy have been adopted. These policies describe how eligible applicants are
selected for the program, and how the bid solicitation and payment processes for the rehabilitation
work are conducted, respectively. The Procurement and Disbursement Policy will apply to all
Orange County home rehab and repair programs. These two policies are attached for review and
approval.
Once the Post Approval Documentation packet is reviewed and approved by NCHFA, Orange
County must execute a Funding and Written Agreement with NCHFA.
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Additionally, the Department has revised its Assistance Policy for ESFRLP20, which was signed
by the Chair in June 2020, with updated staff contact information. This policy is also attached for
review and approval.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: This $80,000 award will increase funds available in Orange County for the
repair of substandard housing. The $40,000 matching funds are already in the Local Urgent
Repair account.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are applicable to
this agenda item:
GOAL: FOSTER A COMMUNITY CULTURE THAT REJECTS OPPRESSION AND
INEQUITY
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or color;
religious or philosophical beliefs; sex, gender or sexual orientation; national origin or ethnic
background; age; military service; disability; and familial, residential or economic status.
GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary
for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their
dependents.
The creation and preservation of affordable housing options helps to meet a basic need and
advances economic self-sufficiency.
GOAL: CREATE A SAFE COMMUNITY
The reduction of risks from vehicle/traffic accidents, childhood and senior injuries, gang
activity, substance abuse and domestic violence.
Affordable housing options allow individuals to reduce risks associated with being un-housed.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There are no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goals
applicable to this agenda item.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board:
1. Adopt the URP20 Assistance Policy, revised ESFRLP20 Assistance Policy, and Orange
County Procurement and Disbursement Policy, and authorize the Chair to sign the policies.
2. Authorize the County Manager to sign the URP20 Funding and Written Agreement, once
received, and any renewals of the agreement.
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Orange County Assistance Policy
For the 2019 Cycle of the
NCHFA‐Funded Urgent Repair Program 2020
What is the Urgent Repair Program? Orange County has been awarded $80,000 by the North
Carolina Housing Finance Agency (“NCHFA”) under the 202019 cycle of the Urgent Repair Program
(“URP2019”). This program provides funds to assist very low and low‐income households with
special needs in addressing housing conditions which pose imminent threats to their life and/or
safety or to provide accessibility modifications and other repairs necessary to prevent displacement
of very low and low‐income homeowners with special needs such as the frail, elderly and persons
with disabilities. A total of (12) households will be assisted under Orange County’s URP2019
Program.
This Assistance Policy describes who is eligible to apply for assistance under URP2019, how
applications for assistance will be rated and ranked, what the form of assistance is and how the
repair/modification process will be managed. Orange County designed this URP2019 project to be
fair, open and consistent with the County’s approved application for funding and with NCHFA’s URP
Program Guidelines.
The funds provided by NCHFA come from the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund. Additional funds
for construction costs are provided by Orange County in the amount of $40,000.
EMERGENCY and HEALTH Notifications: Due to the current COVID‐19 pandemic, increased
awareness of the need to protect Orange County representatives and the homeowners they
service from various health‐related exposures has become more apparent than ever. Homeowners
participating in URP must agree to follow all local, state, and federal guidelines for emergency
preparedness surrounding the COVID‐19 pandemic and any other emergency declared that
includes their property address for the duration of construction on the property.
Who is eligible to apply? : To be eligible for assistance under URP2019 applicants must meet the
following requirements:
Reside within the county limits of Orange County and own and occupy the home in
need of repair
Have a household income which does not exceed 50% of the County median income
for the household size (see income limits below);
Have a special need (i.e. be ≥ 62 years old, handicapped or disabled, a single parent
with a dependent child living at home, a Veteran, a large family with ≥ 5 or more
household members or a household with a child below the age of six with an elevated
blood lead lead hazards in the homelevel (between 10g/dl and 20g/dl));
Have urgent repair needs which cannot be met through other state‐ or federally‐
funded housing assistance programs.
URP2019 Income Limits* for Orange County
Number in
Household
30% of Median
(very‐low income)
50% of Median
(low income)
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1 $19,100$17,850 $31,850$29,700
2 $21,800$20,400 $36,400$33,950
3 $24,550$22,950 $40,950$38,200
4 $27,250$25,450 $45,450$42,400
5 $29,450$27,500 $49,100$45,800
6 $31,650$29,550 $52,750$49,200
7 $33,800$31,600 $56,400$52,600
8 $36,000$33,600 $60,000$56,000
*Income limits are subject to change based on annually published HUD HOME Limits and will be
updated each year. This update will not require a re‐approval by the governing authority.
Outreach Efforts of the Urgent Repair Program Orange County will advertise or publish an article
about the Urgent Repair Program in local English‐speaking and Spanish‐speaking newspapers
serving the County (such as The Daily Tar Heel, The News of Orange and La Noticia) at senior centers
throughout the County, with the County’s partner agencies, and provide printed information about
the program at the Passmore and Seymour Senior Centers; Cedar Grove, Rogers Road and the
Efland‐Cheeks Community Centers; Orange County Home Preservation Coalition; Orange County
Affordable Housing Coalition; Carrboro Town Hall, Chapel Hill Town Hall, Orange County DSS Office
and on the County’s website.
Selection of Applicants: The County has devised the following priority system to rank eligible
applicants, determine which of them will be selected for assistance and in what order. Under this
system, applicants will receive points for falling into certain categories of special need and income.
The applications will be ranked according to which receive the most points.
Priority Ranking System for Orange County’s URP2019
Special Needs (for definitions, see below) Points
Disabled, Elderly or Veteran Head of Household (62 or older) 4
Disabled, Elderly or Veteran Household Member (not Head of Household) 3
Single‐Parent Household (with one or more minor children in the home) 3
Emergency (may submit without regard to application deadlines) 23
Large Family (5 or more permanent family members) 2
Elevated Blood Lead Level ChildChild under six years of age with lead
hazards in the home
2
Income (See Income Table above) Points
Less than 30% of County Area Median Income 10
30% to 50% of County Area Median Income 5
Under NCHFA Program Guidelines, a minimum of 50% of households assisted must have incomes
which are less than 30% of the area median income for the household size, and no household with
an income exceeding 50% of the area median income will be eligible. This guideline will be adhered
to strictly and will be the primary factor in the selection of those households to be assisted under
URP2019.
Recipients of assistance under the URP2019 will be chosen by the above criteria without regard to
race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. Note that in the likely case of
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applicants receiving identical scores, the application with the earlier submission date will be
considered first.
The definitions of special needs populations under URP2019 are:
Elderly: An individual age 62 or older.
Emergency: A situation in which a household member has an immediate threat of being evicted
or removed from a home due to health or safety issues within a time frame that the program
can complete a repair to stop eviction or removal. These applications will be received at any
time during the funding cycle and evaluated on the ability of the program to complete the work
in a timely manner that meets the goal of assisting homeowners to remain in their home.
Disabled: A person who has a physical, mental or developmental disability that greatly limits
one or more major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having
such an impairment.
Large Family: A large family household is composed of five or more individuals; at least four
are immediate family members.
Head of Household: The person or persons who own(s) the house.
Household Member: Any individual who is an occupant (defined below) of the unit to be
rehabilitated shall be considered a “household member” (the number of household members
will be used to determine household size and all household members are subject to income
verification).
Occupant: An occupant is defined as any immediate family member (mother, father, spouse,
son/daughter of the head of the household, regardless of the time of occupancy); or non‐
immediate family member who has resided in the dwelling at least three (3) months prior to
the submission of the family’s application.
Single‐Parent Household: A household in which one and only one adult resides with one or
more dependent children.
Veteran: A person who served in the active military, naval or air service, and who was
discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.
Child with elevated blood lead level lead hazards in the home: a child younger thanbelow the
age of six (6) living in the applicant house which contains lead hazardswith an elevated blood
lead level between 10 g/dl and 20g/dl.
Client referral and support services: Many homeowners assisted through the Urgent Repair
Program may also need other services. When the Urgent Repair Program staff meet the homeowner
during the work write‐up, they will discuss the resources and programs available in Orange County
and provide pamphlets and a list of the agencies with contact information. With the homeowner's
permission, a case file will be created and a staff person will follow up with the homeowner
concerning the available services in the referral network. any referrals to other agencies will be
included in the Housing Case File.
What is the form of assistance Under URP2019? The County will provide assistance to
homeowners, whose homes are selected for repair/modification in the form of a loan. Homeowners
will receive an unsecured deferred, interest‐free loan, forgiven at a rate of $2,000 per year until the
principal balance is reduced to zero.
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What is the amount of the loan? The amount of the loan will depend on the scope of work
necessary to address the identified imminent threats to life and/or safety and that will be
determined by the County’s rehabilitation specialist. There is no minimum to the amount of the
loan; however, the maximum life‐time limit according to the guidelines of URP2019 is $10,000.
What kinds of work will be done? Only repairs that address imminent threats to the life and/or
safety of occupants of the dwelling unit or accessibility modifications will be performed under the
County’s URP. Please understand that all deficiencies in a home will likely not be able to be repaired
with the available funds.
All work that is completed under URP2019 must meet or exceed the NC Residential Building Code.
Who will do the work on the homes? The County is obligated under URP2019 to ensure that quality
work is done at reasonable prices and that all work is contracted through a fair, open and
competitive process. To meet those very difficult requirements, the County will invite bids only from
contractors who are part of an “approved contractors’ registry”. Please request a copy of the
County’s Procurement and Disbursement Policy for further information.
(Homeowners who know of quality rehabilitation contractors that are not on the County’s
Contractor Registry are welcome to invite them to apply.)
A minimum of three approved contractors will be invited to bid on each job and the lowest
responsive and responsible bidder will be selected for the contract. “Responsive and responsible” is
described in the Procurement and Disbursement Policy.
What are the steps in the process, from application to completion? Now that you have the
information about how to qualify for the Orange County URP2019 , what work can be done and who
will do it, let’s go through all the major steps in the process:
1. Completing an Application Form: Homeowners who wish to apply for assistance may apply by
completing an application form, available at http://orangecountync.gov/2211/Home‐Repair‐
Programs or by contacting Erika Brown at (919) 558‐2700 or ebrown@tjcog.org. Applications
will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning October 21, 2020 until all funds are committed.
Proof of ownership and income will be required. Applications are available on the Orange County
Website or at other locations as described in Section on Outreach Efforts above or by contacting
Diane Beecham, Community Development Specialist at 919‐245‐4358 or
dbeecham@orangecountync.gov. Proof of ownership and income will be required. Those who
have applied for housing assistance from the County in the past will not automatically be
reconsidered. A new application will need to be submitted.
2. Preliminary Inspection: The County's Rehabilitation Specialist will visit the homes of potential
loan recipients to determine the need and feasibility of repairs/modifications. The
Rehabilitation Specialist will also make a second visit to the home in order to do a more thorough
inspection. See Item 5 below.
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