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City staff explain HARBOR home‑repair grants, emergency repairs and tax-help referrals
Summary
Building and Inspections manager Helen Hill described the HARBOR grant program for building-order remediation (up to $30,000), eligibility rules and related emergency repair and tax assistance options, and City Council members encouraged broader outreach.
Helen Hill, manager of the City of Cincinnati Building and Inspections Department, described the Homeowner Assistance, Building Repair and Building Order Remission program (HARBOR), saying the program exists "to eliminate blight and and ensure building safety" by helping homeowners bring properties into compliance and then maintain them.
HARBOR is a grant program, Hill said; it is not a loan. "It's a grant fund. It's a grant program," she said. The program requires a city-issued building order and owner-occupancy; staff review 12 months of household income using HUD metro AMI guidelines and check that the home is not in foreclosure and property taxes are current. Hill said the program has a per-project limit of $30,000 and is intended for repairs that remit cited code violations.
Hill explained the intake process: a building order triggers an internal referral to Housing Repair Services in Building and Inspections, an intake meeting is scheduled (sometimes at the homeowner's home) and staff and the assigned contractor work together throughout the project. When work is completed and the department issues a notice of compliance, the city processes payment to the contractor.
Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Lemon Kearney and Council Member Scottie Johnson used the presentation to urge wider public outreach so eligible homeowners know about HARBOR and related assistance. Johnson said city officials should "stick our chest out as a city and tell people what we're doing" to raise awareness.
Speakers also described an emergency repair program administered by People Working Cooperatively (PWC). Hill said PWC runs immediate and critical emergency repairs for people who do not have to have a building order to qualify; PWC's income eligibility is set at 50% AMI under the current arrangement. Kearney and Hill provided a contact number for Building and Inspections intake: (513) 352-1911.
The presentation noted related resources: HomeSafe (a program for delinquent property taxes) and county-run or nonprofit loan products. Valerie Daley of LISC mentioned a low-interest loan product (Revive & Thrive) that will operate in Hamilton County and later within the city; the loan uses a credit minimum of about a 560 FICO-style score and an income cap of 80% AMI (single-person threshold cited in the presentation at about $62,000). Daley said the Lead Safe (lead-remediation) grant program had been fully subscribed but highlighted the scale of housing stock needs.
Ending: City staff asked neighborhood groups to help identify and assist residents who may qualify for HARBOR and other funds; staff provided a telephone number for intake and said they will follow up with community outreach.
