SR 06:095 - Laserfiche WebLink

not been able to use all of the funding that has been allocated to the program, there is currently an excess of over $200,000 in funds that have been carried over from prior years including unexpended funds that have been allocated for FY 2005 (and not including any additional program income that might be received in the coming year). [The County has accurately pointed out that the annual contract did not give them automatic access to carry-over funds until two years ago; however, staff believes that this was not responsible for the fact that significant amounts of funding were not used.] The County has applied for an additional $154,450 for FY 2006. Based on past performance, as outlined in the preceding table, staff is concerned that the County does not have the capacity to expend these funds (in addition to the existing $200,000 surplus) within the coming year. Neighborhood Solutions (NS) has also submitted an application for CDBG funding to provide housing rehabilitation services to low-income Pleasanton residents in FY 2006. The agency has provided housing rehabilitation services for the City of San Leandro for several years and previously applied for Pleasanton CDBG funds in FY 2004 but was not approved for funding. Since that time, the City of Livermore has also begun to contract with NS for its housing rehabilitation program. Staff has met with representatives from both cIties and has received excellent feedback regarding the program and services provided by NS. In particular, NS has been praised for the high rate of accomplishments (in terms of rehab jobs completed), the aggressive outreach, and the responsiveness of NS administrative and rehab specialists. Staff has supported the on-going contract with Alameda County for housing rehabilitation program services for many years. There are no major or specific complaints, although there is a general perception that the program could be much more active and dynamic than it currently is. The City does not have sufficient staff to run its own housing rehabilitation program; therefore, we depend upon the contracting agency to promote the program and make it as useful and beneficial to Pleasanton residents as possible. Based on the information and feedback received from cities that currently contract with NS, the agency appears to be able and willing to begin providing the same high level of service in Pleasanton. Although NS has requested more funding ($200,000) than is currently available, the majority of unused funds ($200,000+) that have been allocated in the past for the Housing Rehabilitation program could be reallocated to this program. In the past (with the exception of 2004), the City has not received competing applications for the contract to provide housing rehabilitation services. As noted above, staff has been evaluating this situation for the past several years and now we now feel comfortable recommending a change. As part of the due diligence process, staff held individual meetings with representatives from both agencies prior to developing this recommendation. Although this type of transition is usually awkward, we believe that it will be in the best interests of the City and the Housing SR:06:095 Page 8