Explanation
BACKGROUND: The City of Columbus Department of Finance and Management, Grants Management Section administers U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which carry a requirement from the Fair Housing Act to affirmatively further fair housing. The purpose of this ordinance is to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus (LASC) in the amount of $200,000.00 for the 2023 Fair Housing Services Grant to affirmatively further fair housing for the residents of the City of Columbus.
The Grants Management Section advertised a grant application for fair housing services on the City’s Bonfire web-based procurement portal from 10/21/2022-11/18/2022. Grants Management hosted a pre-application workshop on November 1, 2022. Ten proposals were received and scored by the evaluation committee. Based on their technical expertise and depth of services proposed, the Legal Aid Society of Columbus was selected as the City’s preferred subrecipient for this 2023 Fair Housing Services Grant.
The Legal Aid Society of Columbus will conduct activities to affirmatively further fair housing and reduce and eliminate barriers to housing opportunities, investigate all valid housing discrimination complaints and seek redress, implement testing procedures to determine the extent of discrimination, and promote awareness of Federal, State and local Fair Housing laws. All of the 2023 Fair Housing Services Grant activities will be in accordance with the program goals and objectives set forth and approved in the 2020-2024 HUD Consolidated Plan and Draft FY 2023 Annual Action Plan.
This ordinance authorizes the appropriation of that $200,000 of the CDBG fund (2248) and authorizes the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with LASC to administer 2023 Fair Housing Services Grant.
FISCAL IMPACT: This legislation will authorize the appropriation and expenditure of $200,000.00 from the 2023 Community Development Block Grant Fund (2248). ($200,000.00)
Title
To authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus to carry out the 2023 CDBG Fair Housing Services Grant; to authorize the appropriation of $200,000.00 from the CDBG fund (2248); and to authorize the expenditure of $200,000.00 from the CDBG fund (2248); ($200,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, the Department of Finance and Management receives annual entitlement grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Community Development Block Grant programs; and
WHEREAS, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, known as the Fair Housing Act, requires recipients of federal funds from HUD to affirmatively further fair housing in an effort to combat discrimination, overcome historic patterns of segregation, and reduce barriers to housing choice and opportunity based on protected characteristics; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code and Columbus City Code 2331 establish anti-discrimination laws naming additional protected classes at the state and local levels, respectively, and City Ordinance 494-2021 establishes further protection from discrimination based on source of income; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Finance and Management, Grants Management Section, has budgeted $200,000.00 of CDBG funding in the Draft FY 2023 Annual Action Plan for the purpose of providing fair housing services; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Finance and Management, Grants Management Section held a competitive grant application process inviting organizations to propose for fair housing services, and received ten proposals representing requests totaling more than $770,000; and
WHEREAS, under 24 CFR §570.500(c), the City of Columbus may select organizations as subrecipients to undertake eligible Community Development Block Grant activities; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Finance and Management desires to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement in the amount of $200,000 with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus for the 2023 Fair Housing Services Grant with the purpose of affirmatively furthering fair housing; and
WHEREAS, the Subrecipient Agreement with LASC will provide services to affirmatively further fair housing for all federal, state and local protected classes; and
WHEREAS, City Council has approved ordinance 3353-2022 to adopt the Draft FY 2023 Annual Action Plan; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to authorize the appropriation of $200,000.00 from the CDBG Fund 2248 for the Subrecipient Agreement as described above; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to authorize the expenditure of $200,000.00 from the CDBG Fund 2248 for the Subrecipient Agreement as described above; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus to administer the 2023 Fair Housing Services Grant; Now, Therefore
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That from the unappropriated monies and from all monies estimated to come into said fund from any and all sources and unappropriated for any other purpose during the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, the sum of $200,000.00 is appropriated in Fund 2248 Community Development Block Grant Fund per the account codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 2. That the Director of the Department of Finance and Management is hereby authorized and directed to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with Legal Aid Society of Columbus for the administration of the 2023 Fair Housing Services Grant as described in the Draft FY 2023 Annual Action Plan.
SECTION 3. That the Director of the Department of Finance and Management may be required to transfer funding from one subfund to another within the Fund 2248, Community Development Block Grant Fund due to the availability of funding based on federal requirements of grants based accounting and account coding will be provided to the City Auditor.
SECTION 4. That the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated and authorized for expenditure, and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
SECTION 5. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modification associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 6. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.