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The City of Pleasanton will coordinate CDBG, HOME, and City funding sources, such as Lower Income Housing Funds and General Funds, to provide housing programs, public service assistance, capital improvement assistance, and economic development opportunities to the community during the next five years. The City of Pleasanton's Human Services Commission meets monthly to coordinate the delivery of services (including housing) to lower income residents and special needs groups in the area in cooperation with "Interact," a body comprised of representatives of each of the social service agencies in the Tri Valley area. Approximately twice yearly, the Commission holds a special, joint meeting with the City of Livermore Human Services Commission. The purpose of these joint meetings is to coordinate the delivery of services in the greater Tri Valley area. The cities are currently collaborating on a comprehensive to the Tri- Valley Human Services Needs Assessment that was originally completed in 2003. The update will incorporate new data from the 2010 Census and is expected to provide an updated and more accurate picture of services gaps in the Tri - Valley. The Human Services Commission also collaborates yearly with the City's Housing Commission to conduct a joint review as part of the annual process of allocating CDBG funds. This collaborative effort, begun in 1996, has helped to improve the coordination of assistance to housing and services in the area and has helped to simplify the process of allocating funds to local non - profits, thereby improving service delivery. As discussed earlier, the City recently redesigned its grant programs into a single consolidated grant program called the Housing and Human Services Grant (HHSG). The HHSG program was developed in 2009 as a refinement and consolidation of four separate grant programs: 1. Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds 2. Federal HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Funds 3. City Lower Income Housing Funds for Housing 4. City General Funds for Human Services (formerly "City Grant ") The new HHSG program was introduced with the 2010 fiscal year. Based on the first year of implementation, the consolidation of these four funding sources into a single streamlined grant program has created greater efficiencies in the allocation of limited funding sources as well as the coordination and delivery of human services. While each source has specific priorities and requirements, there is an overarching priority for funding programs and services that benefit low income residents and for addressing gaps in housing and services. The second annual round of HHSG grants will be allocated in spring 2011. This year, the cities of Pleasanton and Livermore collaborated to introduce a new electronic application system called ZoomGrants. Agencies submitted applications online, and the applications were also reviewed online by members of city commissions. Staff developed a survey to solicit feedback from agencies that had applied for HHSG funds. Reaction to the new online submission and review system was Action Plan - FY 2011 City of Pleasanton Page 37