A. CDBG OBJECTIVES
The Maine CDBG Program serves as a catalyst for local
governments to implement programs which:
1. benefit low and moderate income
persons;
2. are part of a long
range community strategy;
3.
improve deteriorated residential and business districts and local economic
conditions;
4. provide the
conditions and incentives for further public and private investment;
and
5. foster partnerships between
groups of municipalities, state and federal entities, multi-jurisdictional
organizations and the private sector to address common community and economic
development problems.
B.
METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION
DECD, through the Office of Community Development (OCD),
offers programs allowing municipalities to achieve their community development
objectives. The 1998 Program Statement provides a description of the selection
criteria that OCD will use to allocate CDBG funds among communities. Programs
are grouped under three broad categories: Community Development, Economic
Development and Planning.
1. Community
Development
a. Housing Assistance
Grants
b. Public
Facilities/Infrastructure Grants
c.
Public Service Grants
d. Downtown
Revitalization Program
e. Urgent
Need Grants
2. Economic
Development
a. Development Fund
b. Regional Assistance Fund
c. Micro-Loan Program
d. Economic Development Infrastructure
Grants
e. Business Assistance
Program
f. Interim Finance
Program
g. Regional Super Park
Program
3. Planning
a. Phase II Planning Grants
b. Community Planning Grants
C. STATE ADMINISTRATION
1. General Administration Allocation:
Pursuant to Section 106(d)(3)(A) of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974, as amended, the DECD will utilize $100,000 plus 2% of its allotment
from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer
Maine's Small Cities CDBG Program in accordance with Federal, State and local
requirements.
2. Technical
Assistance Administration Allocation: Pursuant to Section 106(d)(5) of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, DECD will utilize 1%
of its allotment from HUD to provide technical assistance to local governments
and nonprofit program recipients.
D. EXCLUSION OF ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITIES
The entitlement communities of Auburn, Bangor, Lewiston and
Portland are not eligible to receive State CDBG program funds.
F.
PROGRAM BUDGET
The program budget indicates how CDBG Funds will be allocated
for the 1998 grant year. The amount of the 1998 federal allocation is projected
to be $16,561,000. The amount available for each program is indicated in the
following budget.
1 The 1998 Development Fund Loan
Program will operate on program income only. Development Fund program income is
projected to be $650,000.
*The budget for the Interim Finance Program is comprised of
monies not yet disbursed from each of the other programs. These monies are lent
on a short-term basis. The maximum budget for this program is $5,000,000. This
program is capitalized only as loans are issued.
G. THRESHOLD CRITERIA AND REGULATIONS FOR THE
CDBG PROGRAM
1. The following state and
federal regulations APPLY TO ALL PROGRAMS:
Federal and State Certifications for Local
Governments:
All communities applying for CDBG funds must certify that
they will:
(i) minimize displacement
and adhere to a locally adopted displacement policy in compliance with Section
104(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as
amended;
(ii) take action to
affirmatively further fair housing and comply with the provisions of the Civil
Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968;
(iii)
not attempt to recover certain capital costs of improvements funded in part
with CDBG funds;
(iv) establish a
community development plan;
(v)
meet all required State and Federal public participation
requirements;
(vi) comply with the
Federal requirements of Section 319 of
Public Law
101-122 regarding government-wide restriction on
lobbying;
(vii) with the exception
of administrative or personnel costs, verify that no person who is an employee,
agent, consultant, officer, or elected official or appointed official of State
or local government or of any designated public agencies, or subrecipients
which are receiving CDBG funding may obtain a financial interest or benefit,
have an interest in or benefit from the activity, or have an interest in any
contract, subcontract or agreement with respect to CDBG activities;
(viii) review the project proposed in the
application to be sure it complies with the community's comprehensive plan
and/or applicable state and local land use requirements.
2. The following general requirements APPLY
TO ALL PROGRAMS:
(a) Prohibition on Multiple
Grants: Except for the Development Fund (DF), Business Assistance (BA) and
Regional Assistance Fund (RAF) programs, units of local government and
unorganized territories may not apply for, or benefit from, more than one grant
per program per grant year.
(b)
Prohibition on Subsequent Year Award: Except for the Development Fund Program,
Economic Development Infrastructure Program, Business Assistance and the Public
Facilities Infrastructure Program category #1, units of local government and
unorganized territories that benefited from a 1997 award may not apply again in
that specific program until the 1999 program.
(c) Computation of Distress Scores for
Multi-Jurisdictional Applications: Distress scores for multi-jurisdictional
applications will be computed on a weighted average basis. (population
1)(distress 1)+(population 2)(distress 2)+... /population 1 + population 2 +...
= weighted average distress score.
(d) Phase II Planning Grants: Phase II
participants may be eligible for planning grant funds on an as needed basis to
assist with payment of project development costs. Extent of assistance shall be
determined by OCD staff.
(e) Grant
Termination: The OCD may terminate a community's grant if progress on the
project is not apparent within 6 months from the date of contract
signing.
(f) Project Eligibility:
Applications will be reviewed to determine eligibility of activities the
applicant proposes to undertake with CDBG funds. Those activities must be
included in the list of eligible activities under the "special threshold
criteria and certifications" section for the respective program being applied
for and be eligible under Section 105(a) of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974, as amended.
(g) Project Benefit: Applications will be
reviewed to verify that the proposed activities meet one of the CDBG Program
national objectives pursuant to Section 104(b) 3 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974, as amended. If the activity does not meet a national
objective the application will not be considered for funding. The applicant
will be notified in writing of the determination made by the OCD.
(h) Preference for Certified Communities: In
accordance with Title 30-A M.R.S.A. subsection4349(2)(B) communities with
certified growth management programs (as determined by the State Planning
Office), as of 30 days prior to application deadline, will receive preference
in the award of CDBG grants in the following situation:
In the event of a tie between communities receiving the
lowest funded application score in any particular program, the grant will be
awarded to the certified community, except where the tie is between a certified
community and a community that never received an offer of financial assistance
to develop a growth management program.
3. The following Threshold Criteria APPLY
ONLY TO THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS:
* Housing Assistance (HA) * Public Service Grant (PSG)
* Economic Development Infrastructure (EDI) * Micro Loan
(ML)
* Public Facilities Infrastructure (PFIG) * Business
Assistance (BA)
* Community Planning Grant (CPG) * Downtown Revitalization
(DR)
(a) Eligible Applicants: All
units of general local government in Maine, including plantations, are eligible
to apply for and receive CDBG funds. County governments may apply on behalf of
unorganized territories. Counties may make more than one application per
program, but only on behalf of different unorganized territories. Groups of
local governments may apply for multi-jurisdictional or joint projects. These
multi-jurisdictional applications require designation of one local government
as the lead applicant and consent for that designation by each participating
local government.
(b) Phase II
Project Development:
(i) Invitation to
Proceed: Applicants will be placed in rank order from highest to lowest
according to the scores determined by the scoring team. Scores will be
determined by: (all scores - lowest score) / (all scorers - 1) plus distress
scores. Starting at the top of the scoring list, applicants will be invited to
proceed to Phase II. An invitation into Phase II is not a guarantee of funding.
However successful communities will receive an amount sufficient to complete
their project, but not over the maximum grant award for that program. Phase II
project development includes:
(aa) Project
Planning: Details of the project including pre-engineering, inspections, cost
analysis, feasibility and/or market studies.
(bb) Management Plan: Details of the
structure and methods established by the community for program
management.
(cc) Regulations: Phase
II applications will be reviewed for compliance with State and Federal
regulations.
(dd) Project
Eligibility: Verification that proposed activities are eligible pursuant to
Section 1.G.(2)(f) of the Program Statement.
(ee) Project Benefit: Verification that
proposed activities meet one of the CDBG Program national objectives.
(ff) Environmental Review: Review of project
for compliance with state and federal environmental regulations.
(c) Approval Process:
The emphasis during Phase II will be to finalize project development. The goal
is to develop a local-regional-State partnership that will facilitate project
development to best meet the community's identified needs. An OCD Project
Development Specialist will be assigned to work closely with each community to
finalize their project. Successful completion of Phase II criteria will allow
the applicant to contract with DECD and receive CDBG funds. Communities not
completing their Phase II application within six months of receiving a Phase II
invitation will forfeit their grant award. The Director of OCD may waive this
requirement in light of extenuating circumstances.
Project implementation shall begin upon execution of a
contract. All activities must be cleared through an environmental review
process prior to obligating CDBG funds. OCD staff will remain involved with the
community throughout project implementation.
