Item Coversheet

Board Action Request
21-0051

Item Description:
Allocate $25,032,174 Emergency Rental Assistance from U.S. Department of Treasury; neg agmts to administer emergency rental assistance, 02/16/21-03/31/21, total combined NTE $15,032,174; supp app of $15,032,174 to 2021 HED budget and $10,000,000 to 2021 HSPHD budget
Resolution:

BE IT RESOLVED, that the County Administrator be authorized to negotiate agreements with community-based vendors, to be identified through an RFP, to administer emergency rental housing assistance programs for tenant applicants to help low-income Hennepin County residents maintain their housing due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the period February 16, 2021 through March 31, 2022, with a total combined not to exceed amount of $5,000,000; that following review and approval by the County Attorney's Office, the Chair be authorized to sign the agreements on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to disburse funds as directed; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Administrator be authorized to negotiate agreement(s) with one or more vendor(s), to be identified through an RFP, to administer emergency rental housing assistance program for property owners applying on behalf of tenants to help low-income Hennepin County residents maintain their housing due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the period February 16, 2021 through March 31, 2022, with a total combined not to exceed amount of $10,032,174; that following review and approval by the County Attorney's Office, the Chair be authorized to sign the agreements on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to disburse funds as directed; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Administrator be authorized to negotiate a cooperative agreement with the City of Minneapolis for collaborative allocation of Emergency Rental Assistance commensurate to need; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Administrator be authorized to negotiate a cooperative agreement with the City of Minneapolis, City of St. Paul, Ramsey County, Anoka County, and Dakota County, for joint implementation of the emergency rental housing assistance program for property owners applying on behalf of tenants; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a supplemental appropriation to the 2021 Housing and Economic Development department operating budget in the amount of $15,032,174, be approved; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a supplemental appropriation to the 2021 Human Services and Public Health departmental operating budget in the amount of $10,000,000, be approved.

Background:

History: Section 501(a) of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-260 (Dec. 27, 2020) established the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance program, and appropriated the $25 billion fund. The program authorized the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to make payments to eligible recipients (states, tribes, territories, the District of Columbia and units of local government with populations exceeding 200,000; the definition of locality is “a county, municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government below the State level”) to be used to provide emergency rental assistance.

 

Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Emergency Rental Assistance program is to be used to provide eligible emergency rent assistance to low-income renters. Not less than 90 percent of awarded funds must be used for direct financial assistance, including current and prospective rent, rental arrears, current and prospective utilities and home energy costs, utilities and home energy costs arrears, and other expenses related to housing.  Remaining funds are available for housing stability services, including case management and other services intended to keep households stably housed, and administrative costs.  Funds generally expire on December 31, 2021.

 

Eligible households are renter households that qualify for unemployment or have experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19; demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and have a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median. Eligible households that have been unemployed for the 90 days prior to application for assistance and households with income at or below 50 percent of the area median are to be prioritized for assistance.

 

Resolution 20-0122 (adopted March 26, 2020) authorized special delegation to the County Administrator to accept COVID-19 pandemic related grant and other funding awards in any amount and to provide details of accepting funding awards to the board in a timely manner. Hennepin County requested a population-based allocation on January 11, 2021, and received $25,032,174 from the Treasury on January 21, 2021.

 

In addition to Hennepin County’s allocation of more than $25 million, the City of Minneapolis received more than $12 million. Since the distribution of funds between the city and the county were based solely on total population, staff recommends entering into a cooperative agreement with the City of Minneapolis to coordinate spending based on need. Need was defined as the share of renters with incomes below 50 percent of the area median income, which finds 56 percent of need in the City of Minneapolis. Based on this share of need, the city will spend its full allocation on city residents, and the county will spend approximately $8.3 million of its allocation on city residents. In addition, the city and county will utilize shared program guidelines and implementation strategies.

 

Staff recommends programming under three approaches in order to meet two goals: 1) reach the maximum number of eligible tenants, and 2) spend all funds as quickly and efficiently as possible. The three approaches are:

  • $10,000,000 county-direct emergency rental housing assistance program for tenant applicants utilizing county staff (HSPHD)
  • $5,000,000 emergency rental housing assistance program for tenant applicants utilizing contracted providers (HED)
  • $10,032,174 emergency rental housing assistance program for property owners applying on behalf of tenants (HED), administered jointly with other metro-area entitlement jurisdictions

 

This tactic builds off of lessons learned with CARES Act Emergency Housing Assistance in 2020, and leverages existing broad partnerships and resources. Integrating this program with the existing network would complement and expedite system change work already underway to better coordinated access to emergency assistance programs after the COVID-19 epidemic. Community-based providers will be selected based on an emergency request for proposals (RFP) process initiated by Hennepin County.

 

In addition, the State of Minnesota (Minnesota Housing) received more than $289 million to cover the full state. Staff will be working to coordinate county efforts with Minnesota Housing, while prioritizing getting funds out quickly.

 

Impact/Outcomes: Approval of these agreements will assist more than 10,000 low-income Hennepin County residents to maintain stable housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval