19- 498 C.M.R. ch. 37, § 1

Current through 2024-50, December 11, 2024

Section 498-37-1 - 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 2009 Proposed 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. Critical Access Ramp Program

d. Public Infrastructure Grants

e. Public Facilities Grants

f. Public Service Grants

g. Downtown Revitalization Grants

h. Maine Downtown Center Assistance

i. Urgent Need Grants

2. Economic Development

a. Grants to Municipalities for Direct Business Support

b. Development Fund Loans

c. Community Enterprise Grants

d. SBDC Technical Assistance

e. Non-Profit Development Grants

f. Interim Financing Program Loans

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

3. Planning

a. Community 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 AND COUNTIES

The entitlement communities of Auburn, Bangor, Biddeford, Lewiston, Portland and all of Cumberland County with the exception of Brunswick, Casco, Frye Island and Westbrook 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 including Community Planning Grants are exempt from this requirement.

F. PROGRAM TIMEFRAME

Application deadlines - All applications and Letters of Intent must be received at the physical location of the Office of Community Development by 4:00PM EST on the dates listed below:

Program	Letter of Intent Due Date(All dates are "on or before")	Application Due Date
Public Facilities	December 5, 2008	January 23, 2009
Public Infrastructure	December 5, 2008	January 23, 2009
Economic Development (Rd 1)	January 9, 2009	March 6, 2009
Economic Development (Rd 2)	April 3, 2009*	June 5, 2009
Economic Development (Rd 3)	June 12, 2009*	August 14, 2009
Development Fund Loan	N/A	First Friday of each month**
Downtown Revitalization	January 9, 2009	February 20, 2009
Community Enterprise	January 9, 2009	February 20, 2009
Housing Assistance	January 23, 2009	March 3, 2009
Public Service	February 6, 2009	April 3, 2009
Non-Profit Development	N/A	February 20, 2009***
Community Planning	N/A	April 21, 2009
Urgent Need	N/A	Beginning on March 13, 2009
Interim Financing	N/A	Open - by invitation only
Special Projects Matching Fund	N/A	Open - by invitation only

* April 3, 2009 and June 12, 2009 Economic Development Program Letter of Intent dates are subject to funding availability.

** If the first Friday of the month falls on a holiday the DF application will be due by 4:00Pm on the next business day.

*** Non-Profit Development application date of February 20, 2009 will be contingent on final 2009 CDBG allocation from HUD.

G. PROGRAM BUDGET

FY 2009 Proposed CDBG Budget	$9,898,878
Administration	297,976
Technical Assistance Administration	98,988
Regional Council Technical Assistance	140,000
Special Projects Matching Fund	48,914
1. Housing Assistance Grants	1,000,000
2. Home Repair Network Program	1,051,500
3. Critical Access Ramp Program	251,500
4. Public Infrastructure Grants	2,200,000
5. Public Facilities Grants	1,100,000
6. Public Service Grants	160,000
7. Downtown Revitalization Grants	500,000
8. Maine Downtown Center	150,000
9. Urgent Need Grants	80,000
10. Economic Development Program
Business Assistance Grants	1,800,000
Development Fund Loans *
Community Enterprise Grants	750,000
SBDC Technical Assistance	200,000
Non-Profit Development Grants **
Interim Financing Program ***
Section 108 L oan Program ****
11. Community Planning	70,000

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

** Funding for the 2009 Non-Profit Development Grant Program is subject to the final 2009 HUD CDBG allocation.

*** 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 a DECD application to HUD for the Section 108 L oan Program is approved, the 2009 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 agencies, 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 Prohibition Communities applying for a Community Enterprise (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 (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 2009 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 2008 award may not apply again in that specific program until the 2010 program. PI grantees in Activity Group Number 1, as listed in Section 2. E. 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: 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: 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. Applications for multi-jurisdictional Downtown Revitalization projects will only be eligible if the downtowns are contiguous and each meets the definition of a downtown as defined in PL 776.

(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 2009 Community Development Block Grant program, communities that received CDBG grants in or prior to 2005 must have finally closed out their grants prior to application due date. Communities that received CDBG grants in 2006 must have conditionally closed their grants prior to application due date. Communities that received CDBG grants in 2007 must have expended 50% of their benefit activity funds prior to application due date. Communities that received 2008 CDBG grants must be under contract with DECD. All Past Performance Criteria will be strictly enforced; however these criteria may be waived for just cause by the Director, OCD in the case of applicants having existing Economic Development program awards where job creation benefit has not been met.

(i) Special Housing Assistance Grant Program (HA) Past Performance Requirement - Communities are not eligible to apply for a HA grant unless all prior HA grants are 100% expended and conditionally closed out. 100% expended also requires that no HA funds exist in the housing escrow account.

(g) Grant Termination: OCD will terminate a community's grant if progress on the project is not apparent within 6 months, or 3 months in the case of Community Planning Grants, 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: Letters of Intent and required documentation for all programs with the exception of Non-Profit Development Program, Urgent Need Grant Program, Special Project Matching Fund, Critical Access Ramp Program, SBDC Technical Assistance and Community Planning Grant Program 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 all of Cumberland County with the exception of Baldwin, Brunswick, Casco, Frye Island and Westbrook 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 communitiesEligible 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 2009 Program Statement and 2009 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 Special Project Matching Fund, Urgent Need Grants, SBDC Technical Assistance, Home Repair Network, Critical Access Ramp Program and Non-Profit Development Grant program will be scored on a 100-point maximum scoring basis with allowance for bonus points whereapplicable. Final scores will be determined by averaging the scores assigned by members of the 4-person OCD Review Team and adding any applicable community evaluation factors and bonus point totals. Starting at the top of the scoring list, applicants will be invited to proceed to the Project Development Phase as funds allow. In the event of a tie in any CDBG program scoring process, first consideration will be given to the community that is listed by the Maine State Planning Office as a Service Center; if both applicants meet this definition, the tie will be broken based on the highest Community Evaluation Factor. 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.

(a) Community Evaluation Factor: A pre-determined community evaluation factor with a maximum point total of 20 will be added to the average review team score for each application for the Housing Assistance, Public Infrastructure and Public Facilities grant programs to determine the final score. The Community Evaluation Factor will be based on pre-determined criteria established by an independent authority for each community in Maine and be published in the 2009 Program Statement.

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

Except for the 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.

(g) Project Development Phase Requirement: All communities receiving a CDBG program grant award must complete the project development phase materials as outlined in the Maine CDBG Program materials and handbooks.

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. For the Community Planning Grant program OCD will rescind the CDBG program award offer if the community is not under contract within three 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. 37, § 1