Affordable Housing Advisory Board recommends 2025 HOME funding package to city commission

The Affordable Housing Advisory Board on April 10 recommended the city commission approve staff’s proposed allocation approach for the city’s anticipated 2025 HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Brad Carr, the city’s community development analyst for housing initiatives, told the board the city expects a federal HOME grant similar to last year’s award (about $430,000) but that the precise HUD entitlement figure had not yet been released. Carr said the city estimates $388,639 will be available for awards after subtracting a 10% administrative set-aside and adding roughly $1,600 in program income. "We're estimating that we'll get $388,639 to allocate to these applications that we've received," Carr said.

The recommendation followed a staff presentation of three applications: a tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) request submitted by the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority (LDCHA) and two applications from Tenants to Homeowners, the city’s HUD-qualified community housing development organization (CHDO). Carr explained HUD rules that require a minimum 15% of the jurisdiction’s HOME allocation be set aside for CHDOs and permit up to 5% for CHDO operating funds. Using the staff estimate, Carr said the CHDO minimum would be about $64,500 and the CHDO…