Minutes 11-15-2022 Business Meeting

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26 Corey Root said Carrboro has $500,000 to dedicate. Chapel Hill is not providing any additional funding, but Hillsborough has $300,000 left in their CDBG-CV grant, as well. Commissioner Richards asked what housing stability means. She asked if it is when someone is about to be evicted but the funds prevent that. She said if she understands, there is not a limitation on how much of their income is going to housing. Corey Root said not for this program currently. Commissioner Richards asked for the difference between Option 2 and 3. Corey Root said Option 2 would add anyone with 30% AMI. Commissioner Richards said so with option 3, no matter the income, if you are headed to eviction, you would qualify. Corey Root said that's correct. Commissioner Richards asked if the 30% is just option 2. Corey Root said that was correct. She said the number of applications per month is almost double for people at 30% AMI and below. She said that is the bulk of the program. Commissioner Richards asked if it also includes people higher than 30%. Corey Root said yes if they are experiencing eviction proceedings or homelessness. Commissioner Greene said she is trying to get her head around where the money comes from. She said the bulk comes from the county and asked how much has come from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. Bonnie Hammersley said there has not seemed to be an interest from Chapel Hill to use ARPA funds for this. She said this is a county-administered program that benefits the full county. She said there has been no indication from Chapel Hill that they would consider this. Commissioner Fowler asked if the funds from Carrboro will lessen the county's burden or if those are already factored in. Corey Root said that is not factored here and apologized for the oversight. Commissioner Fowler asked if they would contribute and lessen the burden. Corey Root said yes and that it could only be for Carrboro residents. Commissioner Fowler said there used to be programs for all jurisdictions, but now it is consolidated, but Chapel Hill is not contributed financially. Bonnie Hammersley said they have not indicated they will contribute any of their ARPA money. Commissioner Fowler said these funds are available due to COVID. Bonnie Hammersley said there were many federal programs during COVID that are no longer available. She said there are jobs, but are not high paying, so even though people are employed, it does not mean they are getting enough money to pay for housing. Commissioner Hamilton thanked Corey Root for the report and said she appreciates the clear overall presentation of data. She said when making decisions on how to use funds and hearing what other jurisdictions are doing or not doing, she hopes that they would think about all the needs in the county and what is sustainable. She said she is concerned about sustainability of the program. She said she isn't getting a clear picture of who is asking for this money. She said the general statistics were helpful, but said the demographics of who is utilizing the program would help her understand more. Commissioner McKee asked if there were any formal discussions with Chapel Hill regarding their participation in this program or if it is a general sense. Bonnie Hammersley said Chapel Hill is aware of the cost of the program. She said they have done a different approach with their ARPA money based on public input and this item has not come up. The Town Manager shared their plan for the remaining ARPA money and this was not one of the items. Corey Root said she also asked the town housing directors. Commissioner McKee said the county's ARPA money could go to this for a couple years and then there would need to be other funding.