19- 498 C.M.R. ch. 34, § 1

Current through 2025-03, January 15, 2025

Section 498-34-1 - PROGRAM OVERVIEW

A. CDBG OBJECTIVES

All CDBG funded activities must meet one of three National Objectives of the program. These objectives are:

Benefit to low and moderate income persons; Prevention and elimination of slum and blight conditions; and Meeting community development needs having a particular urgency.

The Maine CDBG Program serves as a catalyst for local governments to implement programs which meet one of the three National Objectives, and:

Are part of a long-range community strategy; Improve deteriorated residential and business districts and local economic conditions; Provide the conditions and incentives for further public and private investments; Foster partnerships between groups of municipalities, state and federal entities, mutli-jurisdictional organizations, and the private sector to address common community and economic development problems; and Minimize development sprawl consistent with the State of Maine Growth Management Act and support the revitalization of downtown areas.

B. METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION

DECD, through the Office of Community Development (OCD), offers programs to assist municipalities to achieve their community and economic development objectives. The 2006 Program Statement provides a description of the selection criteria that OCD will use to allocate CDBG funds among communities. Programs are grouped under the four broad categories listed below.

1. Community Development

a. Housing Assistance Grants

b. Home Repair Network

c. Public Facilities Grants

d. Public Infrastructure Grants

e. Public Service Grants

f. Downtown Revitalization Grants

g. Community Enterprise Grants

h. Urgent Need Grants

2. Economic Development

a. Business Assistance Grants

b. Development Fund Loans

c. Non-Profit Development Grants

d. Pine Tree Development Zone Set Aside

e. Interim Financing Program Loans

f. Section 108 L oan Program (Contingent upon HUD approval)

3. Planning

a. Community Planning Grants

b. Project Development Phase Planning Grants

4. Special Projects

a. Special Projects Matching Fund

b. Technical Assistance

C. STATE ADMINISTRATION

1. General Administration Allocation: Pursuant to Section 106(d) (3) (A) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended (the Act), the DECD will utilize $100,000 plus up to 2% of its allotment from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer Maine's CDBG Program in accordance with Federal and State requirements.

2. Technical Assistance Administration Allocation: Pursuant to Section 106(d) (5) of the Act, DECD will utilize 1% of its allotment from HUD to provide technical assistance with Federal and State requirements.

D. EXCLUSION OF ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITIES

The entitlement communities of Auburn, Bangor, Biddeford, Lewiston, Portland and South Portland are not eligible to receive State CDBG program funds.

E. NOTICE - GRANT ADMINISTRATION REQUIREMENT

Communities must employ a certified CDBG Grant Administrator and in the case of Housing Rehabilitation a certified Rehabilitation Technician (as employees or consultants). The Director, Office of Community Development must approve waivers of this requirement in writing. All planning activities, Community Planning Grants and Project Development Planning activities are exempt from this requirement.

F. PROGRAM TIMEFRAME

Application deadlines - 4:00PM EST on the dates listed:

Public Facilities and Public Infrastructure

Letter of Intent and Verification of CDBG National Objective

..........................on or before December 2, 2005

Applications............................January 13, 2006

Downtown Revitalization.....................February 10, 2006

Community Enterprise....................February 10, 2006

Non-Profit Development Grants..................February 10, 2006

Economic Development Program...................February 10, 2006

...................May 12, 2006

...................August 11, 2006

(May 12 and August 11 application deadlines are based upon availability of funds)

Housing Assistance...........................March 3, 2006

Public Service...........................March 31, 2006

Community Planning.......................April 21, 2006

........................August 4, 2006

Urgent Need ................1^st come basis beginning March 3, 2006

Interim Financing Program..........................Open

Project Development Phase Planning Grants.................Open

G. PROGRAM BUDGET

FY 2006 CDBG Budget $14,466,214

Administration 389,324

Technical Assistance Administration 144,622

Regional Council Technical Assistance 100,000

Special Projects Matching Fund 202,228

1. Housing Assistance Grants 1,800,000

2. Home Repair Network Program 1,050,000

3. Public Infrastructure Grants 3,000,000

4. Public Facilities Grants 1,500,000

5. Public Service Grants 200,000

6. Downtown Revitalization Grants 800,000

7. Community Enterprise Grants 750,000

8. Urgent Need Grants 80,000

9. Economic Development Program

Business Assistance Grant Category 2,000,000

Development Fund Loan Category *

Pine Tree Development Zones Set Aside 2,000,000

10. Non-Profit Development Grants 250,000

11. Interim Financing Program **

12. Section 108 L oan Program ***

13. Community Planning Round 1 - April 21, 2006 80,000

Round 2 - August 4, 2006 80,000

14. Project Development Phase Planning Grants 40,000

* The Development Fund Program will utilize only repayments from prior DF loans to fund future DF Program applications.

** The Interim Financing Program is available on an as needed basis. Funds are loaned against unexpended CDBG program funds at any given point with a 100% guarantee of repayment for a period of not more than 6 months.

*** If the DECD application to HUD for the Section 108 L oan Program is approved, the 2006 Final Program Statement will be amended to include a description of the method for distribution and use of loan repayments to DECD.

H. THRESHOLD CRITERIA AND REGULATIONS FOR THE CDBG PROGRAM

The following state and federal regulations APPLY TO ALL PROGRAMS

1. Federal and State Certification for Local Governments:

All communities applying for CDBG funds must certify that they will:

Minimize displacement and adhere to a locally adopted displacement policy in compliance with section 104(d) of the Act; Take action to affirmatively further fair housing and comply with the provisions of Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968; Not attempt to recover certain capital costs of improvements funded in whole or in part with CDBG funds; Establish a community development plan; Meet all required State and Federal public participation requirements; Comply with the Federal requirements of Section 319 of Public Law 101-122 regarding government-wide restriction on lobbying; With the exception of administrative or personnel costs, verify that no person who is an employee, agent, consultant, officer, elected officer, or appointed official of State or local government or of any designated public agenicies, or subrecipients which are receiving CDBG funding may obtain a financial interest or benefit, have an interest in or benefit from the activity, or have an interest in any contract, subcontract, or agreement with respect to CDBG activities; Any person or firm associated with the administration of the CDBG program award is not on the U.S. Department of Labor's Debarred and Suspended Contractor's List; and Review the project proposed in the application to ensure it complies with the community's comprehensive plan and/or applicable state and local land use requirements.

2. General Requirements:

(a) Prohibition on Multiple Grants: Except for the Economic Development Program (EDP), eligible applicants may not apply for, or benefit from, more than one grant per program category in any grant year. Communities participating in multi-jurisdictional applications may submit their own applications for the same program as long as they demonstrate that there will not be a duplication of program activity/benefit.

(i) Community Enterprise Program Prohibition - Communities applying for a Community Enterprise Program (CE) grant may not apply for, receive, or benefit from a Downtown Revitalization (DR) grant in the same program year.

(ii) Downtown Revitalization Program Prohibition - Communities applying for a Downtown Revitalization (DR) grant may not apply for, receive, or benefit from a Community Enterprise Program (CE) grant in the same program year.

(iii) Eligible applicants applying on behalf of a Maine Indian Tribe are permitted to apply in the same 2006 CDBG funding category as long as the eligible applicant will not directly benefit from the tribal CDBG project.

(b) Prohibition on Subsequent Year Award: Except for the Economic Development Program (EDP) and designated Public Infrastructure Grant Program (PI) activities, units of general local government and Unorganized Territory that benefited from a 2005 award may not apply again in that specific program until the 2007 program. PI grantees in Activity Group Number 1, as listed in Section 2. D. 3. (a) (1) on Page 21 of this Statement may apply for grants in consecutive years to complete the same project.

(c) Special Prohibition for Housing Assistance (HA) Grantees: Beginning with the 2006 CDBG program communities may not submit a HA application if they have received or benefited from two (2) HA awards (rehabilitation, innovative or a combination) within the five (5) year period prior to the CDBG program year for which applications are being accepted.

(d) Special Prohibition for Downtown Revitalization (DR) Grantees: Beginning with the 2006 CDBG program communities may not submit a DR application if they have received or benefited from two (2) DR awards within the five (5) year period prior to the CDBG program year for which applications are being accepted.

(e) Restriction of Grant Awards: OCD may deny or restrict the award of grants to communities with outstanding audit(s), monitoring findings, or a record of administrative misconduct.

(f) Past Performance: In order to be eligible to apply for a 2006 Community Development Block Grant program, communities that received CDBG grants in or prior to 2002 must have finally closed out their grants prior to application due date. Communities that received CDBG grants in 2003 must have conditionally closed their grants prior to application due date. Communities that received CDBG grants in 2004 must have expended 50% of their benefit activity funds prior to application due date. Communities that received 2005 CDBG grants must be under contract with DECD. All Past Performance Criteria will be strictly enforced.

(g) Grant Termination: OCD will terminate a community's grant if progress on the project is not apparent within 6 months from the date of contract signing. The Director of Office of Community Development may grant waivers for cause.

(h) Eligible Activities: Applications will be reviewed to determine that the activities proposed are eligible under Section 105(a) of the Act. Ineligible activities will not be considered.

(i) Project Benefit: Applications, and in the case of the Public Facilities and Public Infrastructure Grant programs, the Letter of Intent and Verification of CDBG National Objective will be reviewed to verify that the proposed activities meet at least one of the CDBG Program national objectives pursuant to section 104(b) 3 of the Act. If the activity does not meet a national objective the application will not be considered for funding and returned to the applicant.

(j) Repayment of Grant Funds: Recipients must repay on demand to the State of Maine all funds expended if CDBG program benefits are not achieved as specified in their contract with the DECD.

(k) Changes in Title 30-A, Subsection 4349-A as amended by PL 776 : Significant changes were made to the "Growth Management Act" by the 119^th Legislature that affect the award of CDBG grants after January 1, 2001. OCD will provide information separate from the Program Statement outlining these changes and their impact on the award of CDBG grants for "growth related capital investments" as defined in the statute.

(l) Preference for Communities: In accordance with MRSA Title 30-A subsection 4349-A(3), OCD is required to give preference in the award of grants to capital investments defined as "growth related" in subsection 4301(5-B) to communities with certified growth management programs or that have adopted a comprehensive plan and implementation strategy consistent with the goals and guidelines of the subchapter. A municipality that does not obtain a certificate or finding of consistency within 4 years after receipt of the first installment of a financial assistance grant or rejection of an offer of financial assistance will receive a low priority.

3. Eligible Applicants:

All units of general local government in Maine, including plantations, except for the entitlement communities of Auburn, Bangor, Biddeford, Lewiston, Portland and South Portland are eligible to apply for and receive State CDBG program funds. County governments may apply on behalf of the Unorganized Territory. Groups of local governments may apply for multi-jurisdictional or joint projects. Multi-jurisdictional applications require designation of one local government as the lead applicant and consent for that designation by each participating local government. Counties may apply for the Economic Development or Public Service programs on behalf of a collaboration of communities. Eligible applicants as defined above may apply for CDBG assistance on behalf of the five Maine Indian Tribes.Maine Indian Tribes are not themselves eligible applicants.

4. Application Threshold Requirements:

Incomplete and/or non-conforming applications which do not meet the specifications set forth in the 2006 Program Statement and 2006 CDBG Application Packages will be removed from the scoring process during the threshold review.

5. Financial Commitments as a Threshold Requirement:

Applications for projects not demonstrating a firm financial commitment as required in the application materials will be removed from the scoring process during the threshold review.

6. Scoring of Applications:

Applicants will be placed in rank order from highest to lowest according to the final scores determined by the OCD Review Team. All program applications with the exception of the Economic Development Program, Special Project Matching Fund, Urgent Need Grants and Non-Profit Development Grants will be scored on a 100-point maximum scoring basis with allowance for bonus points whereapplicable. Dropping the lowest scores assigned by members of the 4-person OCD Review Team, averaging the remaining three scores and adding any applicable community evaluation factors or housing evaluation factors and bonus points will determine final scores. Starting at the top of the scoring list, applicants will be invited to proceed to the Project Development Phase as funds allow. An invitation into the Project Development Phase is not a guarantee of funding or permission to obligate funds. Successful communities will receive an amount determined by the OCD for their project.

7. Minimum Score for CDBG Applications to be Considered for Funding:

Except for the Economic Development Program (EDP) and Non-Profit Development Grant Program (NPDG) there is no minimum score for CDBG applications to be considered for funding.

8. Project Development Phase:

(a) Project Planning: Details of the project including pre-engineering, inspections, cost analysis, feasibility, and/or market studies.

(b) Management Plan: Details of the structure and methods established by the community for program management.

(c) Regulations: Project Development Phase applications will be reviewed for compliance with State and Federal regulations.

(d) Project Eligibility: Verification that proposed activities are eligible under The Act.

(e) Project Benefit: Verification that proposed activities meet one of the CDBG Program National Objectives.

(f) Environmental Review: Review of project for compliance with State and Federal Environmental Regulations.

9. Project Development Phase Timeframe for Completion and OCD Assistance:

The goal of the Project Development Phase is a grant contract for CDBG funds. An OCD Development Program Manager will be assigned to work closely with each community to finalize their project. OCD will rescind the CDBG program award offer if the community is not under contract within six months of the date of the award offer and invitation into the project development phase process. The Director of the Office of Community Development may grant waivers for just cause.

19- 498 C.M.R. ch. 34, § 1