City staff recommends joining Metro Home Improvement program plus a Clive 'add-on'; council requests more review

Amanda, a city staff member leading housing work, presented three options for expanding housing assistance: rejoining a Polk County Metro Home Improvement Program (MHIP), establishing a locally funded Clive add-on (Clive Plus) to extend eligibility and loan amounts, and exploring emergency home-repair insurance partnerships for utility-service-line coverage. Amanda said Clive does not have an acute housing crisis but staff wants to preserve home condition and workforce housing. "We don't have an acute problem with housing in Clive," she said, noting staff used AMI metrics to set eligibility parameters.

Staff outlined that MHIP operates as a five-year forgivable loan (20% forgiven annually) with an 80% AMI income cap (about $93,000 for a family of four) and a roughly $300,000 assessed-value cap for Polk County participants. The Clive add-on would be a five-year pilot with a recommended $390,000 assessed-value limit, a 120% AMI cap (about $140,000 for a family of four) and a $25,000 maximum loan; funds could be stacked with MHIP for households needing more than MHIP's $14,500 typical cap. Council members expressed concerns about targeting limited funds to households with greatest need, the visibility of MHIP versus Neighborhood Finance Corp (NFC), and the administrative approach (first-come/first-served vs needs-based prioritization). Several council members asked staff to bring additional materials to a strategic planning session for further direction.