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12 <br /> d. Approval of Budget Amendment#7-A for the Transfer of Funds from the Orange <br /> County Local Rent Supplement Program to the Risk Mitigation and Housing <br /> Displacement Fund <br /> The Board considered voting to approve Budget Amendment #7-A for the transfer of <br /> funds from the Orange County Local Rent Supplement Program (Local Vouchers) to the Risk <br /> Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund to provide flexible, much-needed financial <br /> assistance to low-income renters experiencing housing instability and also provide additional <br /> resources for Orange County's emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. <br /> Travis Myren presented the following item: <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> In June 2018, the Board of Commissioners approved an initial appropriation for a new local <br /> voucher program —the Orange County Local Rent Supplement Program (OCLRSP). <br /> Guidelines for this program were presented to the Board in November 2018 (Attachment 1) and <br /> approved in December 2018. <br /> Although the OC-LRSP was envisioned as a flexible program to help provide financial <br /> assistance to low-income renters in need of stable housing, the guidelines as initially proposed <br /> mirror the federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, and as such, do not have the <br /> necessary flexibility to meet the needs of renters unable to be served by the HCV program. <br /> Furthermore, the OC-LRSP was proposed to have ongoing funding from federal HOME funds, <br /> but the federal restrictions on these funds make them incompatible with the program and were <br /> not able to be leveraged. Of the 15 people anticipated to be served by the 2018 appropriation, <br /> only one person has actually been issued a voucher. This person is currently homeless <br /> (sheltered), as the individual has not been able to find a unit. <br /> Furthermore, Orange County is now seeing an increase in the number of residents experiencing <br /> housing instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a need for increased funding for <br /> housing assistance as part of the emergency response. <br /> As such, Orange County Housing and Community Development (OCHCD) proposes to <br /> effectively dissolve the OC-LRSP and transfer the balance of funds in that program to the Risk <br /> Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund (Attachment 2). This will provide the flexibility <br /> needed to meet the housing needs of low-income renters, as the Risk Mitigation and Housing <br /> Displacement Fund can provide various types of assistance including security deposits, utility <br /> connections, first month's rent, and emergency housing costs. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: There will be no financial impact to the County if the BOCC approves the <br /> amendment. These funds have already been appropriated, and this budget amendment <br /> provides for the transfer of$100,000 from the Local Voucher Program, currently budgeted in the <br /> General Fund, to the Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Program within the Housing <br /> and Community Development Fund to allow these funds to be disbursed to help low-income <br /> households in need. <br /> Travis Myren made the following PowerPoint presentation: <br /> Transfer of Funds from Local Rent Supplement to Housing Stabilization Program <br /> Board of Orange County Commissioners <br />