Code of Maine Rules
19 - DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
498 - OFFICE OF TOURISM AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 19 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM: 2000 FINAL STATEMENT
Section 498-19-1 - PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Universal Citation: 19 ME Code Rules ยง 498-19-1

Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024

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.

6. minimize development sprawl consistent with the State of Maine Growth Management Act.

B. METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION

DECD, through the Office of Community Development (OCD), offers programs to assist municipalities to achieve their community and economic development objectives. The 2000 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 Facility/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. Regional Super Park Program

3. Planning
a. Phase II Planning Grants

b. Community Planning Grants

c. Housing Assessment 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 Act) the DECD will utilize $100,000 plus 2% of its allotment from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer Maine's CDBG Program in accordance with Federal and State requirements.

2. Technical Assistance Administration Allocation: Pursuant to Section 106(d) (5) of the Act, 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.

E. NOTICE - GRANT ADMINSTRATION REQUIREMENT

Beginning with the 2000 CDBG grant awards, communities must employ a certified grant administrator (as employee or consultant) or send whoever will be administering their program to the next offered grant administrator training program. The goal of OCD is to have all grantees using the services of certified administrators as soon as possible. Communities may request exceptions to the requirement under special circumstances.

F. PROGRAM TIMEFRAME

Application deadlines - 4:00PM on the dates listed:

Public Infrastructure....................December 3, 1999

Public Facilities........................December 3, 1999

Housing Assistance.....................December 17, 1999

Downtown Revitalization................. January 21, 2000

Economic Development Infrastructure..........Ongoing beginning

January 3, 2000

(official application acceptance, 1st Thursday of every month)

Public Service.........................April 4, 2000

Micro-Loan..........................February 4, 2000

Community Planning.....................February 18, 2000

Housing Planning.......................February 18, 2000

Urgent Need..........................1st come basis beginning March 1, 2000

Development Fund.......................Monthly

(official application acceptance, 1st Thursday of every month)

Business Assistance Program...............Open

Regional Assistance Fund..................Open

Regional Super Park Program...............August 3, 2000

G. PROGRAM BUDGET

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT

2000 Program Budget

FY 2000 CDBG Budget $16,310,000
Administration 426,200
Technical Assistance Administration 163,100
Regional Council Technical Assistance 145,700
1. Housing Assistance Grants 2,400,000
2. Public Infrastructure Grants 3,600,000
3. Public Facilities Grants 1,500,000
4. Public Service Grants 200,000
5. Urgent Need Grants 200,000
6. Downtown Revitalization Grants 1,200,000
7. Development Fund 0
8. Business Assistance Program 1,550,000
9. Micro Loan Program 100,000
10. Regional Assistance Fund 500,000
11. Economic Development Infrastructure 3,000,000
12. Regional Super Park 1,000,000
13. Community Planning 100,000
14. Housing Assessment Planning 150,000
15. Phase II Planning 75,000

H. THRESHOLD CRITERIA AND REGULATIONS FOR THE CDBG PROGRAM

The following state and federal regulations APPLY TO ALL PROGRAMS:

1. Federal and State Certifications for Local Governments:

All communities applying for CDBG funds must certify that they will:

minimize displacement and adhere to a locally adopted displacement policy in compliance with Section 104(d) of the Act; take action to affirmatively further fair housing and comply with the provisions of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968; not attempt to recover certain capital costs of improvements funded in part with CDBG funds; establish a community development plan; meet all required State and Federal public participation requirements; comply with the Federal requirements of Section 319 of Public Law 101-122 regarding government-wide restriction on lobbying; 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; review the project proposed in the application to ensure 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), the Economic Development Infrastructure (EDI), 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 category in any grant year.

(b) Prohibition on Subsequent Year Award: Except for the Development Fund, Economic Development Infrastructure, Business Assistance and the 1999 Public Facilities/Infrastructure category #1 grant programs, units of local government and unorganized territories that benefited from a 1999 award may not apply again in that specific program until the 2001 program. 1999 Public Infrastructure Category #1 grantees may not receive grants for more than two consecutive grant years.

(c) Restriction of Grant Awards: OCD may restrict the award of grants to communities with outstanding audit or monitoring findings or a record of administrative misconduct.

(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 to a maximum of $2,500, most grants will not exceed $2,000.

(e) Grant Termination: OCD will terminate a community's grant if progress on the project is not apparent within 6 months from the date of contract signing. The Program Manager may grant waivers for cause.

(f) Eligible Activities: Applications will be reviewed to determine that the activities proposed are eligible under Section 105(a) of the Act. Activities not eligible for CDBG funding will not be considered.

(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 Act. If the activity does not meet a national objective the application will not be considered for funding.

(h) Repayment of Grant Funds: Recipients must repay to the State of Maine all funds expended if program benefits are not achieved.

(i) 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. 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. Groups of local governments may apply for multi-jurisdictional or joint projects. Multi-jurisdictional applications require designation of one local government as the lead applicant and consent for that designation by each participating local government. Counties may apply for economic development or Public Service grant projects on behalf of a collaboration of communities.

4. Scoring of Applications

Applicants will be placed in rank order from highest to lowest according to the scores determined by the scoring team. Raw scores will be converted to ordinal rankings. Final scores will be determined by: (all scores - lowest score) / (all scorers - 1). 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 to exceed the maximum grant award for that program.

5. Phase II & Final Application Project Development
(a) Project Planning: Details of the project including pre-engineering, inspections, cost analysis, feasibility and/ or market studies.

(b) Management Plan: Details of the structure and methods established by the community for program management.

(c) Regulations: Phase II applications will be reviewed for compliance with State and Federal regulations.

(d) Project Eligibility: Verification that proposed activities are eligible under the Act.

(e) Project Benefit: Verification that proposed activities meet one of the CDBG Program national objectives.

(f) Environmental Review: Review of project for compliance with state and federal environmental regulations.

6. 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 or final application within six months of receiving an invitation will forfeit their grant award. The CDBG Program Manager may waive this requirement in light of extenuating circumstances.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maine may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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