The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) recommends Council approval of an Ordinance authorizing a First Amendment to the Agreement between the City of Houston (City) and the Houston Area Urban League (HAUL), to provide up to an additional $300,000.00 in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery 2017 (CDBG-DR17) funds for Housing Counseling Services to a minimum of 350 low-to moderate- income households directly or indirectly impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Continued services for the program include HUD certified pre-purchase education classes, one-on-one homebuyer counseling, post-purchase counseling, and foreclosure prevention education.
|
Category
|
Amount
|
Percentage
|
|
Program Services
|
$264,441.51
|
88.15%
|
|
Program Administration
|
$35,558.49
|
11.85%
|
|
Total
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$300,000.00
|
100%
|
The initial term of this Agreement was June 1, 2020 – May 31, 2021, with a one-year administrative extension through May 31, 2022. This First Amendment will fund the extension period. HAUL has received funding from the City since June 2020.
HAUL has expended approximately 97% of their funds in the first 12 months and achieved 70% of their client service goal. There were no findings on the annual compliance monitoring. Service goals were lower than anticipated due to impacts of COVID-19 such as technology barriers and eliminating walk -in client traffic. To ensure the success of the program going forward, Housing Counselors will have additional technology support to assist with service delivery.
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
This item was reviewed by the Housing and Community Affairs Committee on August 31, 2021.
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Tom McCasland, Director