HomeMy WebLinkAbout106-4-14-11 Letter to County Executive.pdf
April 14, 2011 Jeff Smith, County Executive County of Santa Clara 70 West Hedding Street, 11th Floor San Jose, CA 95110 Dear Mr. Smith; The City Managers and CDBG staff of the participating
Urban County cities want to acknowledge the significant benefits of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Over the past week, the cities and county staff have come to
agreement on several issues in an effort to streamline the program. To summarize, the participating jurisdictions have agreed on the following changes in the restructuring of the CDBG
program as outlined in your March 21st letter and the April 12th draft of the JPA and Guiding Principles: Shift to web-based grants and loan management system All applications
(including cities) will be submitted to County under a single RFP Public Service funds will be pooled and made available to an open RFP Set minimum public service grant at $10,000
Encourage collaborative applications and combine duplicate grants All applications will be reviewed by the HCDAC at a single public hearing HCDAC members will be more involved
and will evaluate and recommend approval of all applications County Board of Supervisors will approve all applications Formalize the existing ‘Urban County Staff’ group into a
“Technical Advisory Committee” (TAC) to the HCDAC. The TAC will develop the Guiding Principles, Local Priorities Plan, and evaluation criteria as well as evaluate all CDBG applications
and make recommendations to the HCDAC. Public Infrastructure funds (category III) would be evenly split and set-aside (not open to the RFP) for the participating jurisdictions (approximately
$100,000 for each city annually, pending funding availability). Cities may apply for a maximum of two infrastructure projects which must be completed within a maximum of two years
from the start of the fiscal year that funds are received. Unused infrastructure funds will not be carried over and will subsequently be used for Category I and II projects in the
same fiscal year. City monitors infrastructure projects. County monitors public services projects.
Documents to be drafted: The TAC will have a significant role in developing the Guiding Principles, Local Priorities Plan, and Evaluation Criteria. These documents should be honored
by the HCDAC and Board of Supervisors to ensure geographical balance and prioritize the funding of projects and Community Based Organizations that each city has identified. Pooling or
swapping infrastructure funds by mutual agreement of cities: The cities understand that “swapping” of funds introduces a level of complexity the County cannot monitor. The cities will
develop their own agreements separate from the CDBG process. The cities want to reiterate that these funds are one of the primary sources for funding infrastructure projects in several
of our communities. Many infrastructure projects are large and cost much more than $100,000. Furthermore, the cities believe that pooling funds will reduce the number of projects submitted
to the County as well as the administration, reporting, and monitoring of projects. Housing Rehabilitation Program: Most of the participating cities are willing to consider consolidation
of rehabilitation funds and loans in an effort to reduce administrative costs of the program. Campbell wishes to maintain a separate Housing Rehabilitation Program and will work with
the County to reduce overhead costs and the size of grants to $70,000. Sincerely, Dan Rich, City Manager, City of Campbell Doug Schmitz, City Manager, City of Los Altos Carl Cahill,
City Manager, Town of Los Altos Hills Greg Larson, City Manager, Town of Los Gatos Brian Loventhal, City Manager, City of Monte Sereno Ed Tewes, City Manager, City of Morgan Hill Dave
Anderson, City Manager, City of Saratoga