Title
Report regarding a resolution approving the Second Amendment to the Cooperation Agreement of the San Mateo County HOME Consortium under the Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act. (Alvina Condon, Management Analyst II)
label
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Second Amendment to the Cooperation Agreement between the County of San Mateo and the City of South San Francisco, which allows the City to receive federal HOME Administrative funds via the San Mateo County HOME Consortium.
Body
BACKGROUND
The County of San Mateo receives HOME funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and distributes a portion of its HOME Administrative funds to members of the San Mateo County HOME Consortium. On June 21, 2005, a Cooperation Agreement between the County of San Mateo and the City of South San Francisco was executed allowing the City to join the San Mateo County HOME Consortium for purposes of receiving HOME funds under the Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act. The initial term of the Cooperation Agreement was for the Federal fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 2008, and renews automatically every three years for a new three-year period on the same terms and conditions unless the Consortium membership changes or a Consortium member expressly chooses not to participate.
The County of San Mateo and the City of San Mateo signed a First Amendment to the Cooperation Agreement on July 21, 2015, to add the City of San Mateo as a member of the San Mateo County HOME Consortium. That First Amendment also incorporated changes required by HUD regarding automatic renewal provisions of cooperation agreements as described in CPD Notice 13-002. Before the beginning of each three-year automatic renewal period, the County submits a statement to the HUD Field Office whether any amendments have been made to the Cooperation Agreement and if the Consortium’s membership has changed. The City of South San Francisco did not sign this First Amendment as the main terms did not change between the City and the County.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this Second Amendment to the Cooperation Agreement is to add the City of Redwood City as a member of the San Mateo County HOME Consortium, to update the program year so all Consortium members are on the same program year, and to update the annual funding allocation.
All Consortium members are required to be on the same program year for purposes of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME. The current term of the Cooperation Agreement between the County of San Mateo, the City of South San Francisco, and the City of San Mateo ends June 30, 2026. The City of Redwood City will be added to the Agreement with equal status to the other Cities that are Consortium members to the Agreement beginning July 1, 2026.
Beginning July 1, 2026, the County of San Mateo will allocate six and three tenths of one percent (0.063%) of the Consortium’s total annual allocation plus ten dollars ($10.00) for each HOME-assisted housing unit that the Consortium member will continue to manage and monitor, and to each Consortium member for general administration activities. Previously, the County allocated one percent (1%) of the Consortium’s total annual allocation to Consortium members for general administration activities.
For Program Year 2024-2025, the City of South San Francisco received $12,575.42 and used the full allocation of HOME Administration Funds received to fund fair housing activities. In recent years, HOME funds have been used to fund Project Sentinel, which provides comprehensive fair housing services of proactive community outreach and education to home seekers, in place residents and housing providers as well as reactive complaint investigations seeking remedies for victims of housing discrimination.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is minimal fiscal impact on the General Fund associated with adopting the associated Resolution. Taking this action will allow the City to receive its HOME Administrative Funds from the County each year. The City will continue to receive its allocation of 1% of the HOME entitlement administrative funds until June 30, 2026. For Fiscal Year 2025-2026 that will be approximately $12,600. The changes in the allocation from 1.000% to 0.063% will go into effect when the City of Redwood City joins the Consortium at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2026-2027, at which point the City will receive roughly $8,000 annually. The City uses these HOME Administrative fees to fund fair housing activities. Staff will work to identify an alternative source of funding to continue the level of service supported today beginning in Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
CONCLUSION
In summary, City Council is being asked to adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Second Amendment to Cooperation Agreement of the San Mateo County HOME Consortium.