County seeking input on how to better utilize HUD funding
Oakland County is seeking public input on how to better utilize federal dollars that are used to support residents with housing and rental assistance.
Every year, the county receives millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and distributes them countywide through the administration of three local programs including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program.
The county’s Neighborhood and Housing Development Division administers the programs that utilizes the federally-allocated dollars. For Program Year 2020, which runs through June, the county received $8.66 million in total HUD funding to support these three programs.
The county’s federal allocation for all three programs (CDBG, HOME, and ESG) increased compared to Program Year 2019 including:
• CDBG: $5,311,554 to $5,383,560 (1.3% increase)
• HOME: $2,772,051 to 2,945,069 (6.2% increase)
• ESG: $333,894 to $335,035 (0.3% increase)
Now, the county is seeking feedback from residents through April 4 on how it could better utilize future year HUD funding through a 10-minute community needs survey. Residents can take the survey at OakGov.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eeoRbu9zhvzJkJE.
A copy of the county’s Program Year 2020 HUD Action Plan can be found at OakGov.com/AdvantageOakland/Communities/ Pages/Publications.aspx.
In 2018, HUD officials sent the county a 20-page “letter of noncompliance” that its housing policies had a “discriminatory effect on non-white households,” who are more likely to be renters. Federal officials stated the county rarely spent federal housing grants on helping low-income residents with rental assistance, but used the majority of the money to assist low-income homeowners.
The communities named in the letter included Pontiac, Southfield, Royal Oak Township, Oak Park and Lathrup Village where the majority of the county’s minority residents live and where the Caucasian populations are less than 50 percent.
As a result, the county entered into a five-year compliance agreement, which expires June 30, 2025, with HUD that required the county to make the following changes to its housing assistance plans and policies:
• Conducting targeted outreach to income-eligible residents, including in racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty. This will be done while preparing an Analysis to Fair Housing Choice for submittal to HUD to identify barriers to fair and affordable housing
• Developing and adopting a Fair Housing Plan to establish goals and outcome measures towards meeting the housing needs of income eligible households
• Homeowners who reside in owner-occupied rental premises will now be eligible to receive assistance under county’s Home Improvement Program
Beginning in 2019, the county created a rental rehabilitation initiative, which expanded the number of residents eligible to receive CDBG and HOME dollars to include income-qualified owner occupants of attached single family rental units.
In early 2020, the county released its findings following a survey of residents to identify barriers to fair and affordable housing. The community’s input was included in the county’s Analysis to Fair Housing Choice report that was later submitted to HUD.
The county’s annual action plan, which outlines how the county intends to utilize HUD dollars, must meet HUD application requirements and be formally approved by the county board of commissioners. The plan must be approved by the board before it can be sent to HUD for consideration and grant dollars are disbursed.