I. The Consolidated Plan

The Consolidated Plan is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that larger cities and all states must prepare in order to receive federal monetary assistance from HUD programs. The Plan is a comprehensive strategy developed by the community addressing the affordable housing and community development needs present within the community. Ultimately, the Plan will be used to implement the following HUD grant programs: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), Home Investment Partnerships (HOME), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA).

As mandated by HUD, The Consolidated Plan must contain the following elements. The City of Middletown must have the plan submitted to HUD by April 1, 1995.

I. Needs/Market Conditions;
including an assessment of the community's affordable housing needs, public housing needs, homeless needs, lead-based paint concerns, fair housing concerns, identification of barriers to affordable housing, and community and economic development needs.

II. Housing and Community Development Priorities and Strategies;
present statistical and analytical information that provides an overall picture of the housing and community development needs of the community. Once gathered, this information will help to establish priorities for assistance and the allocation of resources.

III. One Year Action Plan.
list the activities the community will undertake to address priority needs and local objectives with anticipated program income and funds received during the next program year under the HOME, CDBG, ESG, HOPWA, Public Housing Comprehensive Grant, and other HUD programs for meeting housing and community development objectives.

II. Guiding Principals in the Consolidated Plan Planning Process

On Thursday, February 2, 1995, the City of Middletown convened a public hearing to get citizen input on how the city should "involve" citizens in the preparation of a citizen participation plan. At that meeting it was agreed that at least two public hearings would be convened to apprise citizens of the contents of the Consolidated Plan as it evolves. Furthermore, it was agreed that an "oversight" committee identified as the Middletown Consolidated Planning Committee (MCPC) made up of providers and extremely low, very low and low income neighborhood consumers from the city be established to oversee the Consolidated Plan's development. The group also agreed that a focus group of MCPC members be conducted "prior to" strategy development in order to get direct, structured input into the plan. Finally, the citizens felt that surveys should be taken of both providers and consumers in order to determine program/service needs and strategies to address those needs.

The approach taken by the City of Middletown regarding the development of the Consolidated Plan was guided by two leading principles:

• Customer Service: Focus program efforts to the most critical needs, i.e. those of extremely low income households.
• Comprehensive Approach: The Consolidated Plan's objective is to achieve empowerment of individuals and families and ensure long-term economic independence.

These two principals are of major importance to the Plan. However, inherent in these two principals is extensive, relevant, and ongoing citizen participation. The City of Middletown believes it is very important to have widespread, substantive participation throughout the planning process to ensure community "ownership" of the plan. A variety of techniques, including focus groups, public hearings, workshops, etc., were used to achieve this end. A Consolidated Plan Committee (CPC) consisting of key stakeholders in the Consolidated Plan was formed at the start of the process. In addition, the City and the CPC will facilitated the creation of partnerships among stakeholders that were critical for implementation of the Consolidated Plan.

The City of Middletown's Consolidated Plan consists of six sections; Section 1 is the Citizens Participation Plan, Section 2 is a Needs/Market Profile, Section 3 is a Five Year Strategic Plan, Section 4 is a One Year Action Plan, Section 5 is a Three Year Action Plan, Section 6 contains Attachments.

The Citizens Participation Plan outlines how the City of Middletown solicited citizen input into the development of the Consolidated Plan process and citizen participation in the Plan's development. A major element of the plan was the identification of the Middletown Consolidated Plan Committee (MCPC). The group met four times to review the Consolidated Plan's development from needs, to strategies to action plans. In addition, four public hearings were held at convenient and accessible locations.

The Needs/Market Profile identified the city's affordable housing, community and economic development needs by income, household type, program, service needs. Primary sources of information used were HUD census data, community interviews, focus group sessions.

A Five Year Strategy was developed and involved identifying housing and community development resources, housing and community and economic development objectives and projects rated on a priority housing (including Homeless Needs, Other Special Population Needs, Public Housing needs) community/economic development basis. Other areas covered included lead based paint issues, institutional structure, reduction of barriers, and coordination.

A One Year Action Plan was developed which provided a description of strategies undertaken, their priority, HUD code, funding source and amounts, CDBG national objective documentation, accomplishments, location, beneficiaries, timing and administration. The Three Year Action Plan identifies "additional" activities to be undertaken in 1996 and 1997. Also included are monitoring processes to be followed and a description of anti poverty and coordination activities the Plan intends to accomplish. Finally, the Action Plan addresses the City's CDBG program income and special HOME submission requirements.

Attachments to the Plan include MCPC composition, HUD Certifications, MCPC and public hearing minutes, focus group and neighborhood meeting results, samples of the survey instruments, HUD Table 2 methodology, resource list, citizen comments.

CT= Census Tract; BG= Block Group; pt= Part of Census Tract

OVERVIEW-- GENERAL POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS

Total Population

• Middletown's population increased by 2303 (5.3%) from 43,719 to 46,022 during the 1980s.
• The proportion of the population under 25 years old declined from 40.2% (17,561 persons) to 35.7% (16,456 persons) from 1980 to 1990.
• The proportion of the population that is elderly increased from 12.9% (5,628 persons) to 14.5% (6,724 persons) from 1980 to 1990.
• In 1990, the minority population of Middletown was 11.7% of the total population. This figure has remained stable over the past few decades. Middletown contains 33.2% of Butler County's minority population.
• The CTs containing the highest proportion of minorities are 130 (54.4%),131 (53.2%) and 140pt. (70.5%). In the "Area of Low Income Concentration," the BGs with minority populations over 60% included CT 131, BGs 2-4 and CT 140 BGs 1 and 9
• The Native American population increased by 197% (67 persons) during the 1980s.

Household Population

• The number of female-headed families with no husband present increased by 488 (23%) during the 1980s. Overall, the number of families increased by 593 (4.8%) during this decade.
• The number of Non-family households declined slightly and the number of persons living alone declined by 19.1% (1131 persons).
• Of the 4,790 persons that lived alone in 1990, 2,182 (45.6%) were elderly.

Income

• The 1989 median family income for the City of Middletown was $31,313, below that of Butler County ($38,673) and the national median ($35,939). The median household income was $25,714 and the median non-family income was only $14,306.
• In 1989, 19.8% (3,633) of all households earned under $10,000. These households are most at risk of becoming homeless.
• The Middletown CHAS reported that 31% of all households had incomes under 50% of the Butler County Median in 1990. Another 20% had incomes between 51-80% of the median, and 9% had incomes between 81-95% of the median (moderate income). For the Black population, the proportion of low and moderate-income households is 79%, while in the Asian population it is 63% and in the Native American population is 100%. The Hispanic population has the lowest percentage of low and moderate income households, at 52 percent.
• The "Area of Low Income Concentration" (CTs where 50% or more families are low income) includes tracts 122, 128, 129, 131, 132, 138 and 140 (pt). In these tracts, BGs with 60% or more families under 50% of the median family income include CT 128, BG 2 (78.5%) and BG 4 (61.3%); CT 129, BGs 3-5 (100%), CT 131, BG 2 (60%) and CT 140pt, BG 1 (63%).
• In the "Area of Low Income Concentration" CTs, there are 5 BGs where more than 65% of all persons are under 50% of the median family income, representing 593 persons.
• In the "Area of Low Income Concentration" CTs, there are 3 BGs where more than 45% of all persons are below 30% of the median family income, representing 323 persons.

Poverty

• In 1989, 15.4% (7000 persons) of Middletown's population lived in poverty. Poverty rates are generally higher for children under 18 (23.5%), under 5 (25.2%), female-headed households (37.2%) and unrelated individuals in households (23.4%).
• The elderly poverty rate was 12.3% in 1989.
• Of the 7,000 persons in poverty, 5,269 (75.3%) were white, 1,648 (23.5%) were black and 83 (11.9%) were in the "Other" race category. While 12.9% of the White population lives in poverty, this figure is 33.3% for the Black population and 27.9% for those in the "Other" race category.
• Of all persons in poverty, 42.2% (2,955) were in female-headed households with no husband present and 27.3% were in married-couple families.
• Poverty rates were highest in CTs 113pt.(100%), 131 (38.7%), BG 1 at 46.9%; 129 (34.8%), BG 3 at 100% and BG 6 at 69.4%; and 128 (31%), BG 1 at 42.3%.

HOUSING

General Inventory

• The number of housing units in Middletown increased from 17,830 to 19,386 (1556 units, 8.7%) during the 1980s. Most of this development (1332 units, 85%) took place in 5 Census Tracts: 136pt, 135, 125pt, 129, and 137pt. Between 1970 and 1990, the number of housing units in Middletown increased 16%, while in Butler County there was a 60% increase.
• In 1990 the median age of a housing unit was 33 years (built in 1957). However, 56.5% (10,951 units) were 40 or more years in 1990. Only 12.7% (2,464) units were constructed from 1980 to March, 1990.
• Most new housing development is in the $100,000 to $225,000+ range.
• The City of Middletown's exterior housing condition survey designated Census Tracts 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 138 and 140pt as areas with substantial housing rehab needs where there were concentrations of low-income households and/or minorities. Of the 4309 housing units included, 42% (1810 units) were standard and 58% (2499 units) needed minor or major repair or were not suitable for rehab.
• The number of overcrowded units decreased by 70% during the 1980s. Currently, 2% (120 owner and 280 renter) units are overcrowded.
• There are approximately 4,255 rental units and 7,369 owner units occupied by low and moderate-income households that have lead-based paint. CTs with the most lead-based paint units included 136pt (2,120), 122pt (1,963), 125 (1,764), and 132 (1,588).
• According to the Butler County Health Dept., the Well Child Clinic performed 730 blood tests for lead in children under 6 in 1994. There were 25 possible toxic cases, 11 of which needed home study and 3 of which were of "significant concern."
• In 1990 there were 1,023 vacant housing units in Middletown (vacancy rate 5.3%). Of these, 50.4% (516 units) were 40 or more years old. There were 579 vacant units for rent and 160 vacant units for sale in 1990.
• In 1980, 1142 units were vacant (vacancy rate 6.4%).

Owner Housing

• In 1990, 60% of Middletown's housing stock was owner-occupied and 40% was renter-occupied. The highest percentages of renter-occupied housing were found in Census Tracts 129 (84.3%), 128 (71.2%), and 140pt. (62.3%).
• In 1990 there were 9,918 owner-occupied housing units in Middletown. The median value of owner-occupied housing was $56,700, while that of Butler County was $72,500. Census Tracts with the lowest median values were 128 ($30,600), 140pt. ($32,800), 131 ($33,700) and 138 ($33,900).
• The percentage of cost-burdened (over 30%) owner households increased from 12% to 15% during the 1980s. HUD data reports that of 5,413 low and moderate-income owner households, 1572 (29%) have cost burden over 30% and 544 (10%) have cost burden over 50%.

Renter Housing

• There are 7,339 renter housing units in Middletown. The 1990 median gross rent was $376. Median gross rents were lowest in Census Tracts 113pt ($125) and 140pt ($261) and highest in Tracts 125pt ($490) and 126 ($469).
• The percentage of cost-burdened renter households increased from 38% to 44% during the 1980s. HUD data reports that of 5,638 low and moderate-income renter households, 2,778 (49.3%) have cost burden over 30% and 1,418 (25.2%) have cost burden over 50%.
• The Middletown exterior housing conditions survey found that there is a higher percentage of multi-family units needing major rehab than single-family units.

Public Housing

• There are currently 450 households with Section 8 housing vouchers and certificates from the Middletown Housing Agency, and 480 on the waiting list according to the Director.
• The Butler County Public Housing Authority maintains 595 units in Middletown, serving 1,491 persons. There are 80 eligible applications on the waiting list.
• According to the Middletown Housing Agency director, there is a need for more public housing units in the City of Middletown.

Homeless

• Hope House, Middletown's only overnight homeless shelter, provided emergency shelter to 850 individuals in 1994. Of these, 62.1% (528) were from Middletown, 36.4% were women, 32% were men, and 31.7% were children.
• The number of homeless served by Hope House has increased from 450 to 850 (88.9%) since 1990. According to Hope House, the number of homeless families has increased during the past 8 years.
• Those most likely to become homeless include low-income renters with severe cost burden, the mentally ill, those addicted to drugs and alcohol, victims of domestic violence and evicted renters.
• According to Hope House, there is a need for transitional housing with supportive services for the homeless.

Special Needs Populations

• The nursing home population in Middletown increased 116% during the 1980s from 209 to 452 persons, indicating an increasing need for supportive services and housing for the elderly.
• There are 50 elderly people on the waiting list for elderly housing at Trinity House.
• Giant Step's Emergency repair funding, most of which is used to help the elderly, is expected to be cut this year.
• There are approximately 2,573 disabled persons in Middletown. According to an ORSC study, it is possible that 2,143 (83.3%) have incomes under $10,000. These persons are likely to be severely cost-burdened or threatened with homelessness.

COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Local Economy

• 29.6% of the labor force is employed in the manufacturing sector and 19% are employed in retail trade. The remaining 52.4% are quite evenly distributed over a wide range of industries.
• Only 21.6% of Middletown's labor force hold a managerial or professional occupation, which tend to be the highest-paying occupations.
• The 1990 unemployment rate in Middletown was 7.8% (1,695 persons), down from 10.5% in 1980. Unemployment is generally higher among males than females. Among persons 16-19 without high school diplomas who were not enrolled in school, the unemployment rate was 16.4%.
• Some parts of the city had higher unemployment rates, especially CTs 129 (16.4%), BG 5 at 50% and BG 3 at 40%; 131 (15.3%), BG 3 at 52.7%; and 128 (14%), BG 4 at 37.1% and BG 3 at 19.2%.

Labor Force

• According to the Butler County Dept. of Human Services, 53.4%of Middletown's labor force earns $4.25-$5.00 per hour.
• In 1990, 21,620 persons, or 61% of the population over 16, participated in the labor force.
• More than half of all Females with children (54.7%) participate in the labor force. For nearly two-thirds of children in families, both parents were in the labor force.
• In 1980, 73.5% of Middletown's resident labor force worked in Middletown. By 1990, this figure had declined to 45.8%.
• Over 28% of persons 25 and older (8,432 persons) had not graduated from high school in 1990. CTs with the lowest education levels include 113pt, 128 and 138. Those with the highest levels include 124, 126 and 133.
• Only 12.8% of the population over 25 had a bachelor's degree or higher in 1990.

Zoning and Land Development Policy

• The City of Middletown annexed over 2,718 acres from December, 1990 to November, 1994. The land use in these areas is primarily residential (2,573 acres, 94.7%) There are 115 commercial acres and 30 industrial acres.
• The newly annexed areas contain 5,852 persons and 2,116 housing units. At build- out, these areas could contain a total of 9,010 persons and 3,351 housing units.
• There are 465 low and moderate-income families in the annexed areas, all of whom reside in two developments.
• Most of the newly annexed land does not have public sewer service.
• The Middletown zoning code includes provisions for zero lot line subdivisions and a single-family narrow lot zone. Many low and moderate-income housing units have been developed in these zones.

Health and Vital Statistics

• There have been 94 reported AIDS cases to date in Butler County, of which 57 have died. According to the Ohio Dept. of Health, the AIDS rate in Butler County (no. qualifying cases per 100,000) is 7.0, which translates into approximately 3 cases in Middletown.
• There is currently no City HIV/AIDS program. Planned Parenthood is the only organization offering such a program.
• Approximately 1,000 persons with mental illness were served by the Middletown Area Mental Health agency in 1994.
• There were 247 live births to teenagers in Middletown in 1994.
• The infant mortality rate in Middletown is low--3.6 per 1,000 births.
• 65% of children under 24 months have received complete immunizations in Middletown.
• The Middletown City School District drop-out rate has increased by 467.5% from .83% in 1984 to 4.71% in 1993. The highest reported rate during this period was 6.38% in 1990.
• There is proportionately more crime in the city's low and moderate-income neighborhoods.
• There is more crack cocaine usage and increasing violence among 14-30 year olds.

Transportation

• Most users of Middletown Transit are elderly and 85% are low and moderate income.

1. AFFORDABLE HOUSING

2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

3. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Description of Annual Funding Plan

This section of the Consolidated Plan outlines the City of Middletown's description of the eligible programs, policies and activities to be undertaken with funds made available and their relationship to the priority housing, homelessness, community and economic development needs.

The City of Middletown is the primary under for affordable housing, community and economic development activities in the city. Below is a summary and budget of the City's One Year Action Plan. The total dollars available are $1,079,550.

City of Middletown FY 95 Projected Use of Funds:

A.  Housing:                                                      $431,970	
	
    1. Continue the rehabilitation programs in the South,         $341,970
       Prospect, Douglass, Sherman, Oakland, Church and 
       Meadowlawn neighborhoods through the use of Revolving 
       Rehab Loan Fund.                                         

    2. Emergency Home Repairs                                      $90,000	
       Provide emergency home repairs to low income 
       owners/occupants

B.  Public Services                                                $58,000

    1. Support of Social Service Center                             40,000

    2. Support Summer Youth Employment and                          18,000
       Training Project 					

C.  Housing Code Enforcement                                       $37,450

    1. Provide inspections to eliminate                             37,450
       housing code violations  						

D.  Neighborhood Facilities                                        $20,000

    1. Improvements to Senior Center                                20,000 

E.  Infrastructure                                                $223,700

    1. Design, engineering and contractual services                 13,700
    2. Street Improvements                                         150,000		 
    3. Park Improvements                                            60,000

F.  Economic Development Loans                                     $95,200

G.  Commercial Rehabilitation                                      $25,000

H.  Demolition                                                     $10,000

I.  Property Management                                           $180,200

    1. Pay property taxes, maintain property,                      180,200
       weed cutting, necessary mechanical/
       structural improvements.

J.  Administration and Planning/Contingencies and                 $194,030
    Adjustments in Final Grant Amount  	  					

K.  Fair Housing                                                    $4,000

L.  Total Grant Funds:                                          $1,079,550

      RLF:                                                        $200,000	

M.  Total Funds:                                                $1,279,550

MAPS

MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction

MAP 2 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and proposed HUD funded projects..

MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects..

MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, areas of minority concentration, and proposed HUD funded projects.

MAP 5 depicts points of interest, a Neighborhood Segment, streets, and proposed HUD funded projects.

Mr. Neal A. Barille
Director, Department of Planning
and Economic Development
One City Centre Plaza
Middletown, OH 45042-4099
PH: (513) 425-7941