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Des Moines ION program: city describes eligibility, repayment and recent outcomes
Summary
Property Improvement Administrator Dan Grauerholtz outlined the ION owner‑occupied rehab program (income limits, loan forgiveness schedules and maximums), partnership with Rebuilding Together and recent results including repairs and recoupment practices.
Dan Grauerholtz, property improvement administrator, briefed council on the city’s ION (owner‑occupied repair) program, its eligibility rules and how the city structures liens and forgiveness.
Grauerholtz said ION targets low‑ and moderate‑income owner‑occupants. He told council the income eligibility threshold is 80% of area median income (AMI) and noted HUD’s annually updated AMI figures are used for verification. He described program limits and repayment terms: standard ION awards are capped at $40,000 per property, Grauerholtz said; a portion of assistance may be forgivable over five years depending on the household’s income (for lower AMI households); the program can scale up to $100,000 in special lease‑group projects with different forgiveness/recoupment terms and a 10‑year forgiveness schedule if applicable.
Grauerholtz said the city has used ION and partner contributions to complete dozens of repairs and that year‑to‑date figures (reported in September) showed roughly $900,000 in repairs completed with about $116,000 in partner contributions from federal funds and nonprofits. He said over a recent three‑year period the program accounted for about $9.2 million in total investment in housing repairs, with approximately $7.8 million from city sources and $1.4 million from partner organizations.
He described how the city records liens to secure repayment where required and how portions of loans are forgiven over five or 10 years depending on the program rules and the household’s tenure in the home. For example, Grauerholtz said a forgivable portion may be structured so that if a homeowner remains in place for five years the forgiven portion is not repaid.
Grauerholtz also described the city’s memorandum of understanding with Rebuilding Together, which provides additional interior work without placing a lien on the homeowner. He said the city will again accept voluntary ION applications in the next fiscal cycle and will preserve some capacity for enforcement‑driven cases.
Ending: The administrator asked council to consider continuing support and potential additional resources for ION to expand capacity and help more owner‑occupied households remain in place.
