Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the Director of Development to enter into a non-profit service agreement with the IMPACT Community Action Agency (IMPACT) in an amount up to $10,000,000.00 of federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds to provide continued support for the Hope Fund, providing for expenses starting March 1, 2020.
Ordinance 0284-2021 authorized the City of Columbus to accept and appropriated $26,822,803.20 of federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program funds, as passed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Of this amount, $10,000,000.00 will be used for a non-profit service agreement with IMPACT to provide rental and utility assistance (as defined by U. S. Treasury) to qualifying residents of the local community for up to 12 months plus an additional three months, if necessary, to ensure housing stability.
In this contract, at least 60% of the funding will support households with an AMI at 50% or below and/or have a member of the household who has been unemployed for 90 days; up to 40% of the funding can be used for households with an AMI at 80% or below; and 10% of the funding will be utilized for Administrative costs.
IMPACT will manage a program to provide rental and utility assistance to residents in the local area who qualify for the assistance as provided in the laws regulations and other current guidance provided by the U. S. Department of Treasury. It is expected that the guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury will be modified while this contract is in effect and it is requested that the Director of Development be given the authority to modify the scope of services of the agreement without seeking additional Council Approval in order to align with the most current version of the laws, regulations, and guidance.
IMPACT has successfully deployed $10.8 million in Columbus CARES Act funding to our community providing rental, mortgage, and utility assistance to our residents through the HOPE Fund. T...
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