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Select Board approves $128,000 tenant stabilization contract with Brookline CDC
Summary
The Select Board authorized a FY25 contract to fund emergency rental assistance administered by Brookline Community Development Corporation with MetroWest Collaborative Development as implementing partner; the board altered the scope to avoid conflicts of interest and required reporting safeguards.
The Select Board voted to authorize a $128,000 contract with the Brookline Community Development Corporation (Brookline CDC) to operate a tenant stabilization program funded from the town’s Housing Trust Fund.
Giovanni Valencia, Executive Director of the Brookline CDC, told the board the program offers counseling and rental assistance to households facing housing instability. "Since its inception in 2023, the emergency rental assistance program successfully stabilized the housing situation of approximately 50 Brookline households," Valencia said.
Scope and safeguards: The contract was revised after Select Board questions in December about possible conflicts because Brookline CDC also owns rental properties. Ijuana Windu Smith, Housing and Community Planning Director, explained staff changed the scope of services to ensure Brookline CDC would not directly distribute funds to its own tenants and that implementation decisions would be made by MetroWest Collaborative Development, the program operator. The board also required Brookline CDC to provide department staff with data for monitoring and auditing.
Program details and dollars: The total contract amount is $128,000. DPW/Housing staff noted $102,400 is earmarked for direct rent payments to landlords under the program; $15,451 is budgeted to MetroWest for application processing and program implementation; $10,149 is allocated to Brookline CDC for counseling services. The funds come from the town’s Housing Trust Fund and other local sources, including a Community Preservation Act allocation and a grant from the Brookline Community Foundation, presenters said.
Board discussion: Select Board members praised the program as a local safety net and asked staff to seek recurring outside funding from state and philanthropic sources so the program can serve more households over time. The board also confirmed the revised contract language addressing conflicts and data reporting was included in the packet.
Vote: The board voted unanimously to authorize the chair to execute the FY25 contract with Brookline CDC for $128,000, operated in partnership with MetroWest Collaborative Development.
