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Priorities Set for CDBG/HOME Programs
Pending federal budget approval, Kane County and the Kane County-City of Elgin Home Consortium are prepared to allocate an estimated $2.8 million toward improving housing conditions, strengthening neighborhood infrastructure, enhancing public facilities and expanding emergency shelter services under a Housing and Community Development Annual Action Plan for Program Year 2011 authorized April 12 by the County Board.
The plan describes the activities the county and the Consortium propose to undertake with funds received under two U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs, the Community Development Block Grant Fund (CDBG) program and the HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME).
Since 1998, Kane County has helped generate a total community investment of about $61 million through a variety of programs and projects by leveraging roughly $16.5 million in annual CDBG and HOME allocations with roughly $44.5 million in state, local and private resources.
The overall objective of the CDBG program is to foster development of viable urban communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities, largely for low-income and moderate income residents.
The Kane-Elgin HOME Consortium is a city-county partnership authorized by HUD for receiving federal HOME Program funds and consists of Kane County, Elgin and the 23 municipalities that participate in the county's CDBG program. The HOME program leverages private investment by offering a flexible source of "gap" financing for both the preservation and development of affordable housing for low-income households.
As the lead entity in the consortium, Kane County has adopted a Housing and Community Development Consolidated Plan for 2010-2014 that identifies the needs in the Consortium area and establishes funding priorities for those program years . The activities outlined for 2011 that address those priorities make up the Action Plan approved by the County Board.
Kane County estimates its Community Development Fund for 2011 to be about $1.5 million, including carryover funds from prior years and program income generated by activities funded in previous years. The Kane-Elgin HOME Consortium estimates its overall HOME fund, including carryover, will be about $1.3 million for the program year.
With the exception of funds proposed for program administration and planning activities, all of the county's community development funding and the Consortium's HOME funding is recommended for programs and projects that will benefit low-income to moderate-income residents. Following is a summary of the recommended activities authorized by the County Board April 12:
The Community Development Fund is administered by the Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment, under the oversight of the Community Development Commission. The 15-member commission is charged with reviewing applications annually and making funding recommendations to the County Board, which approves the program budget for submission to HUD.
Applications are evaluated for their responsiveness to four broad criteria, including how effectively they address the high-priority needs listed above, the amount of private and other public funds they will leverage, their �readiness� to proceed, and the overall impact they will have in the community, especially regarding their potential to create jobs.
Project sponsors (or �subrecipients�) enter into funding agreements with Kane County which include various requirements as they relate to contracting, reporting/recordkeeping, and the process for receiving reimbursement for eligible project expenses.
Applications for the Community Development Fund are typically accepted in December of each year for projects/activities that will begin the following summer. For additional information, contact Scott Berger, Director, Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment, at 630-208-5351, or go to www.countyofkane.org/Pages/OCR.aspx and click on �Community Development Fund
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