In FY 1995, Tarrant County prepared a Consolidated Plan with needs assessment, housing and community development strategies to be undertaken over a five year period. Tarrant County is not required to prepare an entirely new needs assessment and set of strategies each year, rather it must submit an action program for the program year for each of the following four years. The Plan submitted below is therefore the FY 1996 Action Plan for formula- based HUD programs. Each of the programs below are consistent with the five-year plan submitted last year and the overall goals and priorities of Tarrant County's efforts in housing and community development.
The Plan below was approved by the Mayors' Council of Tarrant County on April 1, 1996. A plan summary and notice of public hearing was published on Sunday, April 7, 1996 in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram; a thirty day public comment period then commenced, ending May 6, 1996 with copies of the draft Plan available at all Precinct SubCourthouses. As per the notice, a public hearing was held in Commissioners Court at 10:00 A.M. on April 30, 1996. No public comments were received at that public hearing nor during the public comment period. The CDD staff also prepared an environmental review of the projects under the Plan and made all appropriate public notice requirements.
The Plan was approved by Commissioners Court on May 7, 1996, and submitted to HUD 45 days prior to the beginning of the FY 1996 program year on July 1, 1996. Because HUD did not notify grantees of their FY 1996 HUD allocations before Tarrant County's Action Plan was due, CDD staff submitted that Plan with projected figures: $3,813,000 for CDBG, $1,022,000 for HOME and $126,000 for ESG, for a total allocation of $4,961,000. The actual allocations released by HUD were close to these projections ($4,002,000 for CDBG, $1,022,000 for HOME, $104,000 for ESG, for a total allocation of $5,205,000). CDD staff adjusted the projects accordingly: first, by adding $8,000 ( a total of $192,000) to each CDBG city public works project (this was approved by the Mayors' Council on June 3, 1996) and subtracting $2,000 from CDBG housing rehabilitation. A sum of $69,100 was added to the HOME housing rehabilitation work program and $7,700 added to the HOME administration budget. In ESG, $6,200 was cut from homeless prevention services, and the administrative budget ($6,300) was zeroed out. None of these changes constitutes a 25% alteration in the scope or purpose of any project and therefore are not deemed, either by federal regulations or County policy, to be amendments to the Consolidated Plan.
Tarrant County, through the citizen participation planning process, primarily addresses activities funded through CDBG for infrastructure improvements within residential target areas. This type of project benefits the largest number of residents and requires special attention to ensure that citizens have ample time to comment on a proposed project located in their neighborhood. Tarrant County requires each city to hold a public hearing prior to submitting an application to the County for a CDBG funded "city project." Under the funding criteria established by the Mayors' Council each member city is allowed to submit one project for CDBG funding on an annual basis. Staff reviews each project to ensure eligibility under HUD guidelines, and then presents all submitted projects to the Mayors' Council for review and approval.
The Consolidated Plan also includes the HOME Investment Partnership Act. HOME funds may be used for a variety of housing activities in accordance with the County's five year housing strategy as contained in the FY 1995 Consolidated Plan, needs assessment section. The Community Development Division works closely with private agencies in creating the annual HOME work program. The HOME program requires participating jurisdictions to create public/private partnerships. Tarrant County will continue to administer the housing rehabilitation program in-house and request project proposals from community-based non-profit agencies for the first-time homebuyer program and multi-family acquisition and rehabilitation.
Since 1987, the CDD has administered the Emergency Shelter Grant in order to assist local emergency shelters pay operational costs. A portion of this grant is also administered by the Human Services Department in order to provide emergency assistance to families on the verge of becoming homeless.
HOME and ESG both require local match. The CDD designs programs intended to generate match under the HOME program. This year match sources include tax exemptions for indigent housing by Tarrant County, bond proceeds, financing discounted properties (amount of discount may be used as match), and city participation in low income target areas. It is expected that approximately $500,000 will be committed to CDBG projects by cities expanding their FY 1996 projects. The match for ESG is provided by each participating shelter through in-kind salary costs incurred by the shelters. These costs are monitored by the CDD.
| Grant Program | FY 1995 Allocation | FY 1996 Allocation |
| CDBG | $4,100,000 | $4,002,000 |
| HOME | $1,099,000 * | $1,099,000 |
| ESG | $ 136,000 * | $ 104,000 |
| TOTAL | $5,335,000** | $5,205,000** |
*requires local match**does not include match or non-programmed carryovers |
| CDBG: | Public Works ($125,120 @ city) | $3,128,000 | (78%) | |
| Housing Rehabilitation (approximately 20 houses) | $ 302,050 | (8%) | ||
| Administration (Planning/Staff/ Citizen Participation) | $ 571,950 | (14%) | ||
| Sub-Total | $4,002,000 | |||
| HOME: | Housing Rehabilitation (approximately 45 houses) | $ 569,100 | (52%) | |
| First-Time Homebuyer (approximately 50) | $ 100,000 | ( 9%) | ||
| Multi-family Acquisition Rehabilitation | $ 320,000 | (29%) | ||
| Administration | $ 109,900 | (10%) | ||
| Sub-Total | $1,099,000 | |||
| ESG: | Shelter Operations (81%): | |||
| Arlington NS | $ 9,000 | Utilities | ||
| Bridge Association | $ 8,500 | Food | ||
| Presbyterian NS | $45,000 | Utilities | ||
| Women's Haven | $15,000 | Utilities | ||
| Women's Shelter | $ 7,500 | Utilities | ||
| Prevention of Homeless(19%) | $19,000 | |||
| Sub-Total | $104,000 | |||
| Consolidated Plan Budget Recap | ||||
| Public Works/Community Facilities: (CDBG) | $3,128,000 | (60%) | ||
| Affordable Housing (CDBG, HOME) | $1,291,150 | (25%) | ||
| Homeless (ESG) | $ 104,000 | ( 2%) | ||
| Administration/Planning/Citizen Participation | $ 681,850 | (13%) | ||
| (CDBG 14%, HOME 10%) Reallocated Public Works carryovers from previous years equal $82,000 in FY 1996. This increases the Public Works project budget to $3,210,000 and the total CDBG budget to $4,084,000. | ||||
| Total | $5,205,000 | |||
Please note that this total figure does not include $82,000 in CDBG reallocated public works funds from previous years.
| Public Works | $3,128,000 (58%) | (In-house) |
| Reallocated Funds | $ 82,000 ( 2%) | (In-house) |
| Housing Rehabilitation | $ 871,150 (16%) | (In-house) |
| FTHB | $ 100,000 ( 2%) | (In-house, Non-Profit, Lenders) |
| Multifamily Acq/Reh. | $ 320,000 ( 6%) | (Non-Profit, Private) |
| Homeless | $ 104,000 ( 2%) | (Non-Profit)** |
| Administration | $ 681,850 (13%) | (County) |
| TOTAL | $5,287,000 |
If there are any questions and/or comments relating to the FY 1996 Consolidated Plan or the proposed work programs for the different grants, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Ward or Darren Lacey at (817)338-9129.
