Resolution 2020-31328 RESOLUTION NO. 2020-31328
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE
FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE,AT ITSJUNE 16,2020
MEETING, TO ALLOCATE UP TO $700,000 IN GENERAL RESERVE FUNDS
FOR POTENTIAL USE TO ADDRESS THE PRESSING NEED OF RENT,
MORTGAGE, AND UTILITIES ASSISTANCE DURING THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC,AND AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF$330,000 OUT OF$700,000
FUNDS AT THIS TIME TO SUPPORT RENT, MORTGAGE AND UTILITIES
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR QUALIFIED CITY RESIDENTS DUE TO THE
ECONOMIC CRISIS; AND DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO
AWARD THESE FUNDS TO NON-PROFIT SUCH AS CITRUS HEALTH
NETWORK TO ENSURE ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE TO THE BROADEST
RANGE OF MIAMI BEACH RESIDENTS,INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE NOT
'ACHIEVED PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATUS.
WHEREAS, the City has been providing emergency rent assistance for eligible
residents who have been adversely impacted by the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19")
pandemic and unable to pay rent; and
WHEREAS, the City is using a variety of federal funds including Community
Development Block Grant ("CDBG-CV") and HOME Investment Partnership Program
("HOME")in order to provide emergency rent assistance to households adversely impacted
by COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, CDBG-CV and HOME funds have a variety of requirements including
income eligibility and residency status; and
WHEREAS, households assisted through these funds must be United States
citizens or permanent residents earning no more than 80%Area Median Income("AMI")for
CDBG programs, and 60% AMI for HOME programs; and
WHEREAS, the City established two tranches of rent and utility assistance as
follows: $311,829 for Tranche 1,funded with CDBG-CV(CARES Act), CDBG, Emergency
Food & Shelter Program, and HOME; and $336,000 for Tranche 2,funded with CDBG-CV
and HOME; and
WHEREAS, as of June 30, 2020, the City has funded 169 applications with
$346,451.30 in rent and utility assistance; and
WHEREAS, while the City allocated the maximum funds to direct service, doing so
meant that households with provisional immigration status could not be served with these
funds; and
WHEREAS, based on the initial tranche of applications processed through
appointments, as well as the online views, versus application for the second tranche of
funds, City staff estimated that four out of five households in the City in need of rent
assistance are ineligible to access federal funds; and
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WHEREAS,of the 502 appointments in Tranche 1, 159 appointments were funded after
all 502 appointments had been processed, and funds were exhausted on June 25th; and
WHEREAS, at its June 12, 2020 meeting, the Finance and Economic Resiliency
Committee ("FERC") discussed the demand for rent assistance services in Miami Beach
and acknowledged that the need was greater than what could be met with the funds
allocated in Tranches 1 and 2; and
WHEREAS, as such, the Committee recommended that the City allocates up to
$700,000 in General Reserve Funds for potential use to address the pressing need of rent
assistance; and
WHEREAS, the Committee further recommended to release only $330,000 of
$700,000 funds at this time— a number equivalent to the value allocated in the two prior
tranches of rent assistance; and
WHEREAS, the Committee emphasized the desire that, if possible,these funds be
reimbursed through other sources such as CARES funds from Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, in order to maximize the reach of these funds and ensure
reimbursement from potential federal sources, the City Administration recommends
awarding these funds to Citrus Health Network, the lead agency of the Housing Assistance
Network of Dade ("HAND") Program; and
WHEREAS, Citrus Health Network administered the COVID-19 rent assistance funds
on behalf of Miami-Dade County serving income eligible applicants regardless of residency
status; and
WHEREAS, HAND recently administered the online rent assistance lottery on behalf of
Miami-Dade County that received more than 29,000 applications—of these applications,
only 3,466 qualified for the COVID-19 rent assistance program; and
WHEREAS, at its June 16,2020 meeting, the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
("AHAC") also recommended that, if Miami-Dade County were to allocate additional
CARES funds to the City, that the City allocate a portion of these funds to Citrus Health
Network as a means of ensuring that those residents without permanent resident status
are served; and
WHEREAS,the City Administration recommends accepting the recommendation of the
FERC to appropriate and authorize an initial $330,000 and have the FERC reevaluate the
need for additional funds in the future, not to exceed $700,000, to support rent, mortgage
and utility assistance programs; and
WHEREAS,furthermore,the City Administration recommends awarding these funds to
a non-profit such as Citrus Health Network to ensure assistance is available to the broadest
range of Miami Beach residents including those who have not achieved permanent
residency status.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
Commission hereby accept the recommendation of the Finance and Economic Resiliency
Committee, at its June 16, 2020 meeting, to allocate up to $700,000 in General Reserve
Funds for potential use to address the pressing need of rent, mortgage, and utilities
assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and authorize the release of$330,000 out of
$700,000 funds at this time to support rent, mortgage and utilities assistance programs for
qualified city residents due to the economic crisis; and direct the City Administration to
award these funds to non-profit such as Citrus Health Network to ensure assistance is
available to the broadest range of Miami Beach residents, including those who have not
achieved permanent residency status.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 429 day of Jcify , 2020.
ATTEST:
14:2-7 /f
Dan Gelber, Mayor
y.c\i/
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk =� ;c1
'.IiiCORPD° TED,•'
APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
Ctty Attorney .m
Page 329 of 2461
Resolutions -C7 4
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: July 29, 2020
SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF
THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE, AT ITS JUNE
16, 2020 MEETING, TO ALLOCATE UP TO $700,000 IN GENERAL
RESERVE FUNDS FOR POTENTIAL USE TO ADDRESS THE PRESSING
NEED OF RENT, MORTGAGE, AND UTILITIES ASSISTANCE DURING
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC,AND AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF $330,000
OUT OF $700,000 FUNDS AT THIS TIME TO SUPPORT RENT, MORTGAGE
AND UTILITIES ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR QUALIFIED CITY
RESIDENTS DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS; AND DIRECTING THE
CITY ADMINISTRATION TO AWARD THESE FUNDS TO NON-PROFIT
SUCH AS CITRUS HEAL TH NETWORK TO ENSURE ASSISTANCE IS
AVAILABLE TO THE BROADEST RANGE OF MIAMI BEACH RESIDENTS,
INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE NOT ACHIEVED PERMANENT
RESIDENCY STATUS.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends approval of the Resolution.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
The City has been providing emergency rent assistance for eligible residents who have been
adversely impacted by COV1D-19 resulting in rent arrears. The City is using a variety of federal
funds including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) and HOME Investment
Partnership (HOME). The households assisted through these funds must be United States citizens
or permanent residents earning no more than 80 percent Area Median Income (AMI) for CDBG
programs and 60 percent AMI for HOME programs. As of June 30, 2020, the City has funded 169
applications with$346,451.30 in rent and utility assistance.
The City established two tranches of rent and utility assistance:
Funding Sources Amount Available
Tranche 1 CDBG-CV(CARES) $311,829
CDBG (Amual Formula Allocation)
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Emergency Food & Shelter Program(existing
award)
HOME(Annual Formula Allocation)
Tranche 2 CDBG-CV(CARES) $336,000
HOME(Annual Formula Allocation)
In addition to realigning unexpended CDBG and HOME funds from its annual allocations, the City
received $564,276 in CDBG-CV funds that were allocated for Small Business Assistance loans as
well as rent assistance. These funds have a variety of requirements including income eligibility and
residency status. While the City allocated the maximum funds to direct service, doing so meant that
households with provisional immigration status could not be served with these funds. Based on the
initial tranche of applications processed through appointments as well as the online views versus
application for the second tranche of funds, staff estimates that four of five households in the City
needing rent assistance are ineligible to access federal funds. More so, of the 502 appointments in
Tranche 1, 159 were funded after all 502 appointments had been processed and funds were
exhausted on June 25th
At its June 12, 2020 meeting, the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) discussed
the demand for rent assistance services in the community and acknowledged that the need was
greater than what could be met with the funds allocated in Trenches 1 and 2.As such, the Committee
recommended that up to $700,000 in General Reserve Funds be set aside for potential use to
address the pressing need of rent assistance. However,the Committee requested that only$330,000
of these funds be released at this time— a number equivalent to the value allocated in the two prior
tranches of rent assistance. This will provide flexibility should the economic conditions in our
community improve. Furthermore, the Committee emphasized the desire that, if possible, these funds
be reimbursed through other sources such as CARES funds from Miami-Dade County.
ANALYSIS
The Administration supports the effort to expand rent assistance funds to stabilize housing conditions
for the hundreds of resident households at risk of homelessness because their return to full-time
employment has been stymied by the pandemic. More so,the Committee's directive to ensure access
to as broad a resident base as possible reflects what has been encountered in those households
which were deemed ineligible for funds in Tranches 1 and 2. Finally, the goal should be to pursue
reimbursement for these funds in hopes of returning them to the City's reserves once the pandemic is
over.
In order to maximize the reach of these funds and ensure reimbursement from potential federal
sources, the Administration recommends awarding these funds to Citrus Health Network, the lead
agency of the Housing Assistance Network of Dade (HAND) Program. This is the agency that
administered the COVID-19 rent assistance funds on behalf of Miami-Dade County serving income
eligible applicants regardless of residency status. HAND recently administered the online rent
assistance lottery on behalf of Miami-Dade County that received more than 29,000 applications. Of
these applications, 3,466 qualified for the COVID-19 rent assistance program. At its June 16, 2020
meeting, the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) recommended that, if the County were
to allocate additional CARES funds to the City, that the City allocate a portion of these funds to
Citrus Health Network as a means of ensuring that those residents without permanent status are
served.
As a reminder, pandemic related funds required that households earn no more than 60 or 80 percent
Area Median Income ($45,780 and $73,100 for a family of four respectively) and demonstrate
adverse impact by COVID-19. HAND began serving the first 300 eligible households on June 8th
Page 325 of 2461
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The proposed funds would be drawn from the City's General Operating Reserves. The City
would explore available options to have these funds reimbursed through County, State or
Federal sources.
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends accepting the recommendation of the FERC to appropriate and
authorize an initial $330,000 and have the FERC reevaluate the need for additional funds in the
future, not to exceed$700,000,to support rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs.
Furthermore, the Administration recommends awarding these funds to a non-profit such as Citrus
Health Network to ensure assistance is available to the broadest range of Miami Beach residents
including those who have not achieved permanent residency status.
Applicable Area
Citywide
Is this a"Residents Right Does this item utilize G.O.
to Know" item, pursuant to Bond Funds?
City Code Section 2-14?
No No
Strategic Connection
Mobility-Address homelessness.
Legislative Tracking
Housing and Community Services
Sponsor
Commissioner David Richardson&Co-sponsored by Commissioner Gongora
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
❑ Resolution
J '
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