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• Applicant household income could be up to 80 per cent of HUD published median income limits • Applicants can not have any preexisting overdue County loans or loans in default to the County • Applicants must not be outstanding in their County property taxes • Applicantllandlords must sign an agreement restricting rental rate increases • Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, and Non-Discrimination statementslprovisions are applied Advantages: - The County has prior experience in the promotion and implementation of this type assistance program. - HUD income guidelines are a nationally recognized and generally acceptable index for determining eligibility based on need. - Simplified accounting with the direct and immediate elimination of the particular assessment/liability. Disadvantages: - This policy - as with the Rogers Road Waterline Connection Program -would place additional responsibilities upon County staff (Housing and Community Development and Engineering} to conduct outreach and educational sessions and handle the administrative tasks for program accuracy and accountability. - Local general funds are the only known public finances available to cover relief assistance grants. Option # 3: County establishes a aercentage of the entire utility extension proiect cost plus a cap per lot that it will pay to reduce the final assessment amount for each impacted residentlproperty owner Process Description: This option is modeled on the policy adopted by the Town of Chapel Hill in September 1988 for sewer extensions for existing neighborhoods within the Town limits. The Town's assistance level is 20°lo with a cap of $4,500 per lat. OWASA does not assess far costs covered by the Town. After a project is complete, the OWASA Board of Directors would determine the amount of assessments and the list of properties that are assessed. Pre lot assessments are calculated as actual costs of the completed project, less the OWASA and Town support as noted, divided by the number of benefiting lots. (Note: Under OWASA Board adopted policies, OWASA does not assess for engineering expenses up to 15 per cent of project costs or far legal expenses up to 5 per cent of project cost.)