The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) recommends approval of the expenditure of previously appropriated Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) Affordable Housing funds, and a Contract Amendment between the City of Houston and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston to replace funding sources for the Rapid Rehousing Case Management Intermediary (CMI) Program.
This Contract Amendment is needed because the state had a six-month delay in executing the Homeless Housing and Services Program (HHSP) contract, which funded a portion of this Catholic Charities program. HCDD received assurances from the state that the HHSP contract could be extended beyond the original August 31, 2015 expiration date. Thirty days prior to the HHSP contract expiration, HCDD requested the extension. Two days prior to the expiration, HCDD was informed by the state that contrary to previous assurances, the HHSP contract could not legally be extended.
To enable the Rapid Rehousing CMI to continue, HCDD requests authorization to amend the Catholic Charities contract to replace HHSP funds with an equal amount of TIRZ Affordable Housing funds. The CMI helps homeless individuals and families achieve immediate and long-term housing stability by linking them to targeted and mainstream resources available in the community. Catholic Charities will deliver the following program services: (1) conduct a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to select providers of Case Management and Housing Navigation services to Rapid Rehousing clients, (2) negotiate contracts with providers, (3) process reimbursement requests, (4) monitor performance and compliance with HUD regulations, and (5) provide technical and management assistance and training.
The City originally granted Catholic Charities up to $300,000 in HHSP funds for this program. HCDD requests authorization to replace the $230,666.59 of unspent HHSP funds with TIRZ funds. The following table shows the revised funding sources:
|
Funding Source
|
Funding Period
|
Amount
|
|
HHSP
|
4/1/15 – 8/31/15
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$69,333.41
|
|
TIRZ
|
9/1/15 – 3/31/16
|
$230,666.59
|
|
Total Funding
|
|
$300,000.00
|
HCDD conducted a Request for Proposals for fiscal year 2015 for the Rapid Rehousing Case Management Intermediary utilizing HHSP funding. Catholic Charities was the selected agency. The initial Ordinance authorized a 12-month grant period from April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016, or until funds have been expended.
This item was reviewed by the Housing & Community Affairs Committee on September 15, 2015.