Saginaw is an industrial city in East Central Michigan with a multi-cultural population of about 69,000. Saginaw industrial strength is in auto parts manufacture. Health care, retail trade, wholesale trade and other services are increasing in importance in the local economy. Effort is being made to encourage entrepreneurs in several kinds of business.

Action Plan

The action plan of the City of Saginaw will be implemented through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds of $5,855,719, (which comes from entitlement, carry over and program income), Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds of $124,000 and HOME funds of $918,000. These funds will be used to:

• promote better conditions for low and moderate income people through revitalizing neighborhoods and improving housing.
• provide public services in low and moderate income areas.
• improve public facilities
• to stimulate economic development
• provide funds to homeless shelter facilities for operations and maintenance.

Citizen Participation

Citizen's participation is always welcome. Citizens can participate in the CDBG, HOME and/or ESG programs through public hearings and through review of documents placed at various sites prior to their submissions to HUD.

Conditions

To date new housing to replace aging existing housing in the City is not being built except in very small numbers by such organizations as Habitat for Humanity. Rehabilitation is the major tool to provide adequate standard housing in the City. Without major, ongoing rehabilitation aging units will either slip to substandard condition or be abandoned. People with enough income to make a choice may continue to leave the City as existing housing becomes less competitive in design, age and location.

Housing Needs

There is a stable demand for new housing in the metro area housing market while market rate demand is somewhat lower in the City housing market. However low interest rates and high construction costs are helping to create a demand for existing housing in the City.

Affordable Housing Needs

Demand for affordable housing will increase in the city and metro area housing markets, due to increasing numbers of low income households. To meet this demand either direct rent subsidies will have to be increased or other forms of subsidy will have to provided; and a stock of standard units will have to be available. The City is currently looking at building new homes with HOMES monies for low to moderate income residents.

Homeless Needs

The City's homeless needs are: 1) providing emergency shelter for homeless women, children and men; 2) providing transitional housing for persons leaving shelters as persons need it; and 3) providing permanent housing. The city's local homeless providers are in the process of developing a Continuum of Care strategy for homeless persons. Elements to be included in the continuum of care are these steps: 1) outreach to and assessment of homeless persons needs; 2) provide emergency shelter; 3) provide transitional housing to persons leaving the shelters; 4) provide permanent supportive housing; and 5) preventing homelessness.

The city's main provider to homeless youths, men, women and children are as follows: Underground Railroad, Innerlink Shelter, Transitional Housing - Prescott House, Restoration Community Outreach, Transitional Housing - Restoration Community Outreach, and Rescue Mission.

Overall the city's homeless are primarily families with children, (including teen parent families), homeless individuals, runaway youth and victims of domestic violence. Both sheltered and unsheltered persons are considered here and included between 380 and 500 persons and families annually.

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

The Saginaw Housing Commission administers the following subsidized housing profile.

• 220 approved rental certificates of which 96.8% are currently under lease. Of these 42 are under lease to elderly, disabled or handicapped households.
• 227 approved rental vouchers of which 98% are currently under lease. Ten of these units are leased to elderly, disabled or handicapped households.
• 480 Family Housing Units which are 92% occupied.
• 492 Senior High Rise Units which are 76% occupied and there are currently 6 barrier free units in theses developments.

The physical condition of the public housing units is good overall. Units are improved annually through major renovation, which systematically ensures quality subsidized housing.

Barriers to Affordable Housing

The City continues its effort to enhance spatial deconcentration through continued reliance by:

• Continue use of the comprehensive Fair Housing Program that is carried out locally in order to mitigate housing discrimination.
• Reliance on the activities of Legal Services of Eastern Michigan will continue also since the activity refers people both to Fair Housing Services and/or to landlords with Section 8 units.
• Constructing infill housing by groups like Habitat for Humanity and also with HOME funds through one of the City's programs.

Fair Housing

One Agency that the City uses to combat housing discrimination and make people generally aware of the laws regarding fair housing is Tri-County Fair Housing Services, Inc. They are a city CDBG subgrantee. The agency provides housing discrimination complaint intake, investigation, advocacy and referral services. They make presentations to groups involved in providing housing. They also undertake other educational activities each year to foster fair housing.

The City also has a subgrantee contract with Legal Services of Eastern Michigan. This agency operates the Legal Services Housing activity which assists low income persons with legal help.

Lead-Based Paint

The Saginaw County Dept. of Public Health is taking steps on an annual basis to screen low income and very low income children for elevated blood levels. Conducted by the Nursing Division these screening include children residing in the City of Saginaw. Results of the most recent year for which screening data were analyzed, October 1, 1991 through September 30, 1992, indicate very few children had elevated blood levels. Of 3,320 initial screenings done county wide, 22 children had elevated lead blood levels. Three of these children were determined to be lead toxic. These three children lived in the City of Saginaw and seven of the 22 children revealed to have elevated blood lead levels lived in the City.

Despite a very low number of children with elevated blood levels found in the County and City to date, several events can occur which can increase this number. This can occur in the City given that 98.5% of City houses were built before 1980 (and so can have lead paint in them) and the 49% of City households were low income in 1990.

To date the City and county governments are comprehensive and thorough in identifying cases of blood lead poisoning and in removing lead paint from housing units where children age seven or under can be exposed to it by continuing to:

1. implement the county blood lead level screening programs which identifies children and units with lead paint problems;
2. pay for lead paint reduction via CDBG funded landlords and grants to rehab housing units;
3. train City housing inspectors to identify and write corrective specifications for lead paint surfaces.
4. inspect for lead hazards as part of ongoing housing inspections;
5. meet HQS for lead reduction in rehab programs and codes.

Community Development Needs

To meet its community development and housing need the city currently funds the following categories:

• Housing $3,396,866
• Public Facilities $354,181
• Economic Development $1,038,736
• Public Services $736,226
• Planning & Administration $329,710
• Total $5,855,719

Vision for Change

The general strategy is to provide or support programs that: 1) deal with immediate and long-term community needs; 2) promote the long-range well being of the community; and 3) overcome the effects of past discriminatory practices and avoid future discriminations.

Housing Priorities

Provide rehabilitation of existing housing for very low and other low income renters and homeowner household.

Provide rental assistance to very low income elderly, small related, large related and other households which are renters.

Provide homebuyers assistance for first time homebuyers that are low income renters.

Provide support services to help very low income and other low income renters and home owners reduce or eliminate overcrowding, facility deterioration and related housing problems.

Provide support facilities and services to help homeless persons especially homeless person with special needs: severe mental illness; alcohol and other drug abuse; severe mental illness and drug abuse; domestic violence; homeless youth; and AIDS.

Provide support facilities and services to non-homeless persons with special needs including; elderly; frail elderly; persons with severe mental illness; developmentally disabled persons; physically disabled persons; drug abusers; and AIDS patients.

Non-housing Community Development Priorities

The city's non-housing Community development priorities are:

• to preserve and use to best advantage the city's natural and historic assets;
• to encourage high quality development of new and revitalized housing and, where possible, commercial and industrial uses;
• to meet the human as well as physical needs of residents;
• to involve citizens in the revitalization of selected neighborhoods;
• to promote an economically strong community in order to provide employment for present citizens and for those who will live here in the future; and at the same time;
• to provide a base for city operating revenues by supporting existing business and industry and encouraging new ones;
• to seek to attain an economic and social community that encourages people to achieve generally accepted levels of participation in the economic and social benefits of the community.

Anti-Poverty Strategy

The city's chief annual actions to implement its antipoverty strategy are:

1. assist firms to expand and create more jobs available to Low/Mod persons.
2. reply on job training, job matching and placement activities which assists low income persons quality for good paying jobs.
3. enforce non discrimination practices in hiring employees.

The following three goals guide the antipoverty strategy in Saginaw.

1. Maintain a constant effort to reduce the number of households in the City living in poverty.
2. Use all relevant City operated activities or activities which the City helps financially to provide services to implement this reduction of households living in poverty.
3. Strive to attain a declining rate of increase of housing households in poverty 1993-94 and 1998-99, since Saginaw has the seventh highest rate of child poverty in the United States.

Housing and Community Development Resources

The City's resources for its housing and community development includes:

• federal, state and local fundings.
• banks' financial commitments
• private fundings
• volunteer labor and materials

Coordination of Strategic Plan

Informal coordination occurs continuously between agency staff via meetings, assignments, problem solving for clients and in response to official directives.

Formal coordination occurs through such activities as: contract implementation between different government units; the city wide Housing Task Force; DSS advisory groups; Wellness Network members. Effective working relations exist between state, county and local government staff at which level client assistance is provided and housing is rehabilitated or built. Governing bodies promote and support this coordination.

The city's chief steps for monitoring are:

1. on site monitoring of activities receiving CDBG funds which also carry out the Consolidated Plan;
2. annual report preparation involving activities not subject to CDBG monitoring; and
3. Annual city budget decision making which can coordinate City Housing Commission actions with other City sponsored housing activities.

Description of Key Projects

The city's key projects include maintaining and improving the housing stock, construct new homes for low and moderate income persons and subsidize the cost of purchasing new and existing housing.

Locations

These activities will occur mostly in geographic project areas that the city has established where the residents are low and moderate income.

Lead Agencies

The lead agencies working in collaboration with the City of Saginaw, besides its internal department and divisions, to meet its goals are:

• Saginaw County CAC
• Neighborhood Renewal Services
• MSU Cooperative Extension
• Tri City SER, Inc.
• Mid Michigan Child Care Centers
• Youth Protective Services
• Underground Railroad
• Restoration Community Outreach
• Tri county Fair Housing Center, Inc.
• Legal Services of Eastern Michigan

Housing Goals

The City's housing goals for 1995-96 are:

• assist rehabilitating 23 houses through the Residential Loan Program.
• assist rehabilitating 62 houses through the Minor Home Repair Program.
• provide 300 home visits to carry out repairs and provide 60 workshops to train residents regarding repairs through the Home Maintenance Self Help Program.
• assist rehabilitating 13 rental units through the Rental Loan Program.
• assist rehabilitating 13 rental units through the Rental Grant Program.
• assist providing emergency repairs to 35 houses through the Emergency Repair Program.
• make available 10 houses to the Urban Homesteading Program.
• assist 20 houses to be financed and rehabilitated through the Home Ownership Promotion Program.
• assist installing siding or painting on 10 houses through the Residential Painting/Siding Program.

Maps

MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.

MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.

MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.

MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.

MAP 6 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one neighborhood.

TABLE (without associated map) provides information about the project(s).