Agenda - 04-07-20; 6-d - Approval of Budget Amendment #7-A for the Transfer of Funds from the Orange County Local Rent Supplement Program to the Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund

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18 19 1 Sherrill Hampton said no utility assistance or security funds for an undocumented person 2 can be paid out of HOME funds, but the local risk mitigation money could be used for this. 3 Chair Dorosin asked if staff could explain how this program will intersect with the 4 housing choice voucher program. He said there are 771 people on the housing choice waiting 5 list, and asked if these people can sign up for one of these local vouchers. 6 Sherrill Hampton said yes. 7 Chair Dorosin asked if it is possible for a person in the middle of the federal program 8 waiting list to move to the top of the list for a local voucher. 9 Sherrill Hampton said yes a person could move higher up on the local list if one meets 10 the preferences. 11 Javon Holley said the two cannot be mixed, but one can be on both lists and accept or 12 deny whichever becomes available first. 13 Chair Dorosin said there are 771 people on the housing choice voucher waiting list, and 14 asked if there are people who have these vouchers but cannot find housing, and thus lose the 15 voucher. 16 Sherrill Hampton said there is a 120-time period to secure housing, and yes, vouchers 17 can be lost. She said staff tries to check in at the 60-day mark to see how the search is going. 18 She said the HUD program allows for one 60-day extension, and the local program will allow for 19 two. 20 Chair Dorosin said one step of this process is creating more vouchers, and asked if a 21 targeted recruitment of landlords would be helpful through the towns or service partners. 22 Commissioner Jacobs said this program is great, but he had originally looked at going at 23 this differently by finding housing and subsidizing the apartment owner to reserve those units for 24 those who would then receive vouchers. 25 Sherrill Hampton referred to page one, and the type of help that will be available: tenant 26 based voucher, project based voucher, and sponsored based vouchers. She said more 27 vouchers are needed to make more happen, and staff has started with 15 vouchers to start, and 28 then go on to project and sponsored based. She said current funding is limited and staff 29 needed to start with tenant based, with the hopes of moving onto project/sponsor based. 30 Commissioner Jacobs said it would be easier to look for housing if one knows where to 31 look. He said staff may not be able to steer, but consistent partners make the search much 32 easier. 33 Sherrill Hampton said not everyone will want to live in Chapel Hill or Carrboro, and staff 34 wants to ensure choice. She said 270 landlords have been invited to the landlord meeting on 35 November 28tn 36 Chair Dorosin referred to the $50 minimum rent, and asked if this can be waived. 37 Sherrill Hampton said yes. 38 Javon Holley said if one has no income, the $50 is typically waived. 39 Chair Dorosin referred to Attachment C (2019 fair market rents), and said the voucher 40 may not cover the amount of the rent. He asked if the voucher can be adjusted. 41 Sherrill Hampton said staff plans to do this by zip code, and some areas of the County 42 will exceed these amounts. She said vouchers can be adjusted to pay more, but that will 43 reduce the overall amount of available vouchers. 44 Commissioner Marcoplos said this program sounds very promising, and is glad to see it 45 moving forward. He clarified that staff mentioned a shortage of one-bedroom housing inventory. 46 Sherrill Hampton said yes and thus residents who have one bedroom vouchers end up 47 with a two-bedroom unit. She said this especially true in urban areas, and developers do not 48 build one-bedroom units. 49 Commissioner Marcoplos said he wanted to highlight this need for a later discussion. 50 Javon Holley said this is a problem all over the country, and no one is building affordable 51 one-bedroom units, especially in urban areas.