9B-43.0041. Application Process and Administrative Requirements (Transferred)

(1) Funding Cycles and Subgrant Agreement Ceilings. Unless otherwise directed by budgetary or administrative constraints, the Florida Department of Community Affairs shall annually initiate a funding cycle for the receipt and review of applications for Community Development Block Grant assistance from eligible units of local government.

(a) An annual application cycle will be announced for each federal award. The Department shall publish a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) which establishes a deadline date and time for submission of applications. The NOFA shall be published in the Florida Administrative Weekly at least 45 days in advance of the deadline.

(b) Subgrant ceilings establish limits on the amount of funds that may be requested in an application based on the most recently available U.S. Census of Population data. In the case of county government applicants, the population shall include only the unincorporated areas of the county.

(c) The local governments’ LMI population determines the maximum amount of funds for which they can apply. Population groupings are based on HUD modified census figures summarizing low and moderate income population as the following chart shows:

LMI Population Subgrant Ceiling

1 – 499 $600,000

500 – 1,249 $650,000

1,250 – 3,999 $700,000

4,000 – 10,549 $750,000

10,550 – and above $750,000

(d) Planning and Design Specifications subgrants shall not exceed $70,000.

(2) Eligible Applicants.

(a) Eligible local governments include those counties and municipalities in Florida that do not receive CDBG entitlement assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In the Small Cities CDBG Program, eligible local governments shall be referred to as “non-entitlement” local governments.

(b) Eligible local governments that have an open Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, Commercial Revitalization, or Planning and Design Specifications subgrant shall not be eligible to apply for another Housing, Neighborhood, Commercial Revitalization, or Planning and Design Specifications subgrant until administrative closeout of their existing subgrant.

(c) Eligible local governments with an open Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, Commercial Revitalization, or Planning and Design subgrant whose activities and expenditures are on schedule and on time may apply for an Economic Development subgrant.

(d) Eligible local governments with an open Economic Development subgrant whose activities and expenditures are on schedule and on time as of the opening of the funding cycle can apply for a Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, Commercial Revitalization, or Planning and Design subgrant.

(e) Eligible local governments with an open Economic Development subgrant whose activities and expenditures are on schedule and on time may receive no more than one additional Economic Development subgrant in each funding cycle.

(f) To be eligible to apply for a Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, or Commercial Revitalization subgrant, a local government with an open but completed Housing, Neighborhood, Commercial Revitalization, or Planning and Design subgrant shall submit an administrative closeout which must be received by the Department no later than 5:00 p.m. (EST), on the day prior to the advertised opening of the application cycle. The Department will acknowledge a local government’s closeout request by mailing an administrative closeout notification or a Notice of Outstanding Closeout Issues (NOCISS) letter.

1. The NOCISS letter shall identify issues that the local government must resolve before the Department’s review of the closeout can be completed.

2. A local government’s response to an NOCISS letter must be received by the Department at least ten days before the application deadline for the local government to retain eligibility for the funding cycle. For a NOCISS response received at least ten days prior to application deadline, eligibility will be retained if the response satisfies the deficiencies set forth in the NOCISS letter, regardless of whether the Department’s closeout notification has been mailed before the application deadline date.

(3) Citizen Participation Requirements.

(a) The applicant shall demonstrate that the citizen participation requirements required by this rule, Sections 104(a)(1) and (2) and 106(d)(5)(C) of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and Section 290.046(5), F.S., with public notice provided in accordance with subsection 9B-43.0031(35), F.A.C., have been satisfied. Each applicant shall certify that it is following a Citizen Participation Plan pursuant to Section 104(a)(3) of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The local government must inform and involve its citizens in the project planning and selection, and decision-making process regarding all CDBG-funded projects. These requirements are:

1. Public information is made available for various activities and the range of activities that may be undertaken;

2. At least one public hearing is held to obtain citizens’ views regarding community development needs. This shall be known as the first public hearing. The public hearing must be advertised at least 5 days and no more than 20 days before the meeting;

3. At least one public hearing is held to obtain citizen views regarding the proposed project to be submitted for funding. A summary of the proposed application shall be published at least 5 days prior to and no more than 20 days before the hearing. The summary must provide citizens with an opportunity to examine the application and submit their comments on the final application prior to its submission to the department. The summary shall include, at a minimum, the proposed project description and anticipated location of the activities, what activities will be undertaken, and a specific CDBG amount for each activity. This shall be known as the second public hearing.

4. The applicant considers all comments and views expressed by citizens on the proposed application and, if appropriate, modifies the proposed application;

5. Both public hearings shall be given proper public notice as defined in subsection 9B-43.0031(35), F.A.C. The advertisement for the second public hearing on the application shall not occur until after the date of the first public hearing; and

6. All public hearings required to meet these citizen participation requirements must be conducted by a member of the governing body of the applying local government or by a duly authorized employee of that local government.

(b) The local government shall establish a Citizens Advisory Task Force (CATF) comprised of at least three residents of the jurisdiction, none of which shall be elected officials and no more than one employee of the local government. The purpose of the CATF shall be to provide input on all phases of the project process. The local government must obtain consent from the Department of Community Affairs for any other type of citizen participation plan upon showing that its plan is better suited to secure citizen participation for that locality.

1. The Citizens Advisory Task Force shall conduct at least one public meeting to discuss the proposed application before the second public hearing notice is published.

2. The CATF shall provide recommendations to the local government for all aspects of the local CDBG program.

(4) Application Preparation and Submission.

(a) Application Preparation: During each funding cycle, eligible applicants can submit applications in the following categories:

1. Either Housing or Neighborhood Revitalization, but not both. If both are received from an applicant, only the first application logged in by the Department will be scored. The second application will be returned unscored;

2. Commercial Revitalization; and

3. Economic Development;

(b) An applicant cannot receive more than one subgrant in any funding cycle from any of the following categories: Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, or Commercial Revitalization, or Planning and Design.

(c) Application Forms. Application forms are in the application manuals, CDBG-A-1 Application for Funding, effective as of 6-6-10, hereby incorporated into this rule by reference, and which is available from the Department of Community Affairs at the address specified in the NOFA. CDBG-A-1 includes the individual applications for the different program categories of CDBG funding:

1. CDBG-H, Housing Application Manual;

2. CDBG-N, Neighborhood Revitalization Application Manual;

3. CDBG-C, Commercial Revitalization Application Manual; and

4. CDBG-E, Economic Development Application Manual;

(d) Administrative Costs.

1. Percentage Limitations. Applicants under the Housing category shall utilize no more than 15 percent of the total eligible subgrant amount for administrative costs. Applicants under the Economic Development, Neighborhood Revitalization and Commercial Revitalization categories shall utilize no more than 8 percent of the total eligible subgrant amount for administrative costs.

2. If administrative cost percentages set forth in Section 290.047, F.S., are exceeded in the application, the administrative costs shall be reduced prior to the offering of an award to bring the percentages into compliance based on the total eligible subgrant costs.

(e) Architectural and Engineering Costs. The maximum percentage of CDBG funds that may be spent on design architectural and engineering costs, excluding additional engineering services, shall be based on the total initial construction budget for eligible subgrant activities which require architecture and engineering and shall not exceed the Rural Development (RD) Rural Utility Service (RUS) fee schedule in Florida, incorporated herein by reference, RUS Bulletin 1780-9 (rev. 10/2009), hereby incorporated into this rule by reference. Engineering services during construction shall not exceed the Rural Development (RD) Rural Utility Service (RUS) fee schedule in Florida, incorporated by reference, RUS Bulletin 1780-9 (rev. 6/2007), hereby incorporated into this rule by reference.

1. If more than one design professional is needed for an activity or activities (i.e., a landscape architect in addition to an engineer for sidewalk construction in a commercial revitalization project), the local government shall not exceed the appropriate RD/RUS fee curve for each activity covered by each design professional negotiated separately.

2. For projects involving both Table I and II activities, engineering costs shall be pro-rated appropriately.

3. For each additional engineering service as defined in subsection 9B-43.0031(3), F.A.C., and for preliminary engineering, the local government shall negotiate a reasonable fee for the service following procurement procedures in 24 C.F.R. 85.36, incorporated herein by reference, as effective on 6-6-10.

4. Preliminary engineering costs not to exceed one-half of one percent of the estimated construction cost may be paid with CDBG funds over and above the amounts included the RD/RUS fee schedule.

5. If “readiness to proceed” points are part of the final application score, then CDBG subgrant funds for engineering costs shall not include preliminary engineering and shall not exceed $10,000 plus the percentage in the fee schedule for Table IA, Table IIA, or a prorated amount of both tables for projects involving activities included in both tables. Also, CDBG funds shall not be used to fund any additional design or redesign costs, even if the “readiness to proceed” points are subsequently removed from the application after a subgrant award.

(f) Consistency with Local Comprehensive Plan.

1. The application shall include affirmations from all jurisdictions in which activities will take place that the proposed activities are not inconsistent with the applicable elements of the adopted local comprehensive plan.

2. If the Department determines that an application is inconsistent with the adopted local comprehensive plan, the applicant shall be advised of that determination in the completeness review letter. If after review of the applicant’s response the Department reaffirms its determination of inconsistency, the application shall be rejected.

(g) Application Submission. Applications shall be received by the Department in Tallahassee by 5:00 p.m. (EST), on the date specified in the NOFA. Applications not received by the specified deadline shall not be considered. Applicants must also meet intergovernmental coordination and review requirements as follows:

1. By the application deadline, 12 copies of the following information for Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, Commercial Revitalization and Planning and Design Specifications applications shall be mailed to the Department of Environmental Protection, Florida State Clearing House, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Mail Station 47, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000:

a. Application Profile and Narrative;

b. Sources and Uses of Non-CDBG Funds Information;

c. CDBG Funds and Activity Goal Score Spreadsheet;

d. All Maps; and

e. If applicable, Historic Preservation Documents.

2. A transmittal letter, requesting that documents relating to the Clearing House review be sent to the local government and the CDBG Program, shall accompany the materials sent to the State Clearing House.

3. By the application deadline, one copy of the above materials shall be sent to the Regional Planning Council that serves the local government.

(h) Application Submission and Fund Reservation for Economic Development Projects.

1. Economic Development applications may be submitted when the annual funding cycle opens. Economic Development applications received by the application deadline will be scored, ranked and, if successful, awarded until all available funds are committed. Should initial application requests not exceed available funds, applications received after the application deadline will be reviewed and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are committed.

2. These funds shall include the annual Economic Development allocation and may include any funds unawarded from previous cycles and deobligated funds from previous Economic Development subgrants, in accordance with the Annual Action Plan under the State of Florida Consolidated Plan submitted by the Department to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as amended.

3. A local government may apply up to three times in an annual funding cycle.

4. A local government cannot submit an additional Economic Development application in an annual funding cycle until any previously submitted Economic Development application for that annual funding cycle has been rejected by the Department, has lost its funding reservation, or is withdrawn in writing by the Chief Elected Official or his or her designee.

5. Economic Development applications will be date stamped upon receipt by the Community Development Block Grant Section. The date stamp and time received by the Community Development Block Grant Section shall establish the date and time for fund reservation purposes. Date stamps from any other section of the Department shall not establish a funding reservation. Funds will be reserved in the order received by date and time.

6. Once the application is received, the local government will not be allowed to provide new documentation from a Participating Party to meet the initial Participating Party requirements in the application.

7. If sufficient funds are available to fully fund an application, that amount is reserved for the applicant upon receipt of the application. The application continues to have those funds reserved until a subgrant is executed or until there is a loss of fund reservation.

8. Should insufficient funds be available to fund or partially fund applications with a funding reservation, those applications shall retain a position in the funding reservation line and may be funded if additional funds are made available by additional allocations or by a loss of funding reservation by another applicant.

9. If partial funding is available, the Department will offer to partially fund an eligible application and will continue with the application review and scoring for partial funding. If the application remains eligible after review and scoring considering the partial funding available, the Department will offer to partially fund it. There is no guarantee of full funding in such an offer, but a partially funded subgrant will be considered first if additional funds become available. The local government has the option of declining a partially funded offer.

10. The review and offer of funding will then be made to the next eligible pending application. If there are no other applications pending or if the amount of the funds available is too small for reasonable consideration, the partial funds can be held until additional funds are available.

(5) National Objective and Public Benefit Documentation.

(a) Achievement of national objectives. An applicant shall demonstrate that each of the activities proposed in its application meets at least one of the following three national objectives and that at least 70 percent of the funds requested shall benefit low and moderate-income persons:

1. An activity shall be considered to benefit low and moderate income persons when it benefits low and moderate income persons as specified in 24 C.F.R. s. 570.483(b), as effective on 6-6-10; or

2. Aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight as determined pursuant to 24 C.F.R. s. 570.483(c), as effective on 6-6-10; or

3. Meet urgent community development needs where there is a serious and immediate threat to the health and welfare of the community, which are of recent origin or recently became urgent and where other financial resources are not available as determined pursuant to 24 C.F.R. s. 570.483(d), as effective on 6-6-10.

4. Applications must demonstrate they meet the criteria specified in 24 C.F.R. s. 570.483 for complying with a national objective and meeting public benefit standards and that they address community need as outlined in Sections 290.046(3)(a)-(d), F.S. Each annual action plan will identify which national objective(s) will be considered for funding.

5. An applicant for a Neighborhood Revitalization or Commercial Revitalization subgrant shall meet a national objective by demonstrating that its activities will be carried out in distinct service areas characterized by the existence of slums or blighted conditions, or by the concentration of persons of low or moderate income.

(b) Public Benefit Achievement. Determination of benefit to persons of low to moderate income is established through the following methods:

1. HUD Census Data – LMI benefit can be documented by using HUD-provided Census Data where the service area geographically corresponds with block groups, census tracts, or local government geographical limits. A jurisdiction-wide activity using census data rather than a survey to establish the national objective of benefit primarily to low and moderate income persons can score VLI points by calculating a percentage of VLI benefit using census data. VLI beneficiaries are calculated by totaling, for each block group in each census tract, the numbers shown in the PVLOW. The total of VLI beneficiaries is divided by the total beneficiaries (LOWMODUNIV) to establish the VLI percentage for scoring the appropriate VLI beneficiary points.

2. Random Sample Survey Methodology – A sample-based survey of the beneficiaries must use the “Household Income Verification Form,” included in the Application Manual, which must correspond with the random sampling requirements established by HUD in Notice CPD-05-06, issued on July 26, 2005, and incorporated herein by reference.

a. The survey process must verify eligibility of any proposed direct benefit activities, certify the number of projected very low, low and moderate income households and beneficiaries, and the total number of beneficiaries.

b. When the sample-based survey results appear to substantially overstate the proportion of persons with low or moderate income in a service area when compared to census data, the Department will require the local government to provide supporting evidence substantiating the survey data. If the survey results are found to be inaccurate, the application shall be rejected.

3. Small Service Area Survey Methodology. For surveys of service areas under 50 households, all households must be surveyed. Any non-responding household must be assumed to be above low and moderate income.

4. The number of household members for non-responding households shall be based on the average household size for all responding households.

5. A survey approved by the Department for a funded CDBG application remains valid for the same geographic service area for up to five years from the date the survey was completed.

6. Only the methods of LMI benefit determination provided for in this rule shall be used.

(6) Beneficiaries of Public Improvements.

(a) For activities where hookups or connections are required for beneficiary access to the CDBG-funded improvement, low and moderate income benefit shall be determined by the number of low and moderate income persons in households connected to and able to use the water, sewer or other infrastructure at the time of administrative closeout. The percentage of low and moderate income benefit shall be calculated by dividing the number of LMI persons connected to the CDBG-funded infrastructure by the total number of persons who could be connected to it.

(b) CDBG funded activities may not extend beyond the location of the last LMI beneficiary except where it is required for sound engineering, operation, or design reasons as certified by a licensed engineer.

(c) For activities where hookups or connections are required as a condition for beneficiary access to a CDBG funded public improvement, hookup or connection fees shall not be charged to very-low, low or moderate-income beneficiaries.  Further, none of the project construction costs shall be charged to very-low, low or moderate income beneficiaries. All very low, low and moderate income beneficiaries in a Neighborhood Revitalization project service area with hookups as an activity shall be hooked up unless they, or the property owner in the case of rental property, provide written notice that they do not desire a hookup. If such written notice cannot be obtained, the household income survey form shall note such refusal to provide written notice.

(d) Where non-LMI beneficiaries will have to pay a one-time fee (i.e., assessment, impact fee, etc.) to connect to or access the CDBG funded public improvement, and where a periodic service fee (i.e., water bill, sewer bill, etc.) will be charged, the proposed non-LMI beneficiaries will be advised of the estimated cost of the one-time fee and all beneficiaries will be advised of the estimated amount of any periodic service fee. The application narrative and budget must outline the estimated costs to be paid by non-LMI beneficiaries.

(e) Surveyed beneficiaries shall be advised of both fees in writing with signature acknowledgement of receipt and understanding prior to application submission. If census data is used, a random sample representing ten percent of the beneficiaries must be advised in writing with signature acknowledgement of receipt and understanding prior to application submission. If a household refuses to provide signature acknowledgement, the refusal shall be noted on the form.

(f) An applicant for an Economic Development project must meet a national objective through the creation or retention of jobs, of which fifty-one perceent must be jobs for persons from low to moderate-income households and must provide a public benefit by creating or retaining a number of full time equivalent jobs that divided into the subgrant amount results in a cost per job of under $35,000.

(7) Interlocal Agreements for Applicants with Activities Outside Their Jurisdiction.

(a) Prior to application submission, a written interlocal agreement shall be executed by all local governments in whose jurisdictions the CDBG activities will be undertaken. The interlocal agreement must authorize the applying local government to undertake the activities outside its jurisdiction, giving the concurrence of the other local government(s) with the activity and committing resources by one or both local governments, or some other entity which has provided written assurance, to maintain the activity. Such an interlocal agreement must be submitted with the application for funding.

(b) Each local government signing an interlocal agreement shall affirm that all activities, project areas, service areas, and job creation locations are not inconsistent with its comprehensive plan.

(c) The application shall contain excerpts of the comprehensive plans of all local governments in whose jurisdiction activities will take place. The excerpts must document that the activities, project areas, service areas, and job creation locations are not inconsistent with the local government’s comprehensive land use plan.

(d) An eligible applicant’s activities can extend beyond its jurisdiction, provided the areas outside its jurisdiction are eligible. The applicant must have legal authority to provide such services or undertake such activities and be supported by a signed interlocal agreement executed by both eligible local governments. Except for Economic Development projects, no more than 25 percent of the service area beneficiaries may reside outside the applicant’s jurisdiction unless all CDBG funded work is taking place within the applicant’s jurisdiction or on property owned by the applicant. When all work will take place within the applicant’s jurisdiction or on property owned by the applicant, up to 50 percent of the beneficiaries may reside outside the applicant’s jurisdiction.

(e) Pursuant to 24 C.F.R. s. 570.486(b), as effective on 6-6-10, an eligible individual applicant may apply to undertake a portion of an eligible Neighborhood Revitalization activity in an otherwise eligible location outside its jurisdiction or service area, if it can provide written documentation that the activity is required by an engineer or by a state or federal agency having regulatory authority over the activities. Any benefit to persons outside the jurisdiction or service area must not be a Direct Benefit and may only be incidental to the like activity undertaken within the jurisdiction or service area. Indirect benefit to persons outside the jurisdiction or service area shall not be used to establish activity eligibility for scoring purposes. All service area residents shall reside within the jurisdiction of the local government submitting the individual application.

(f) An eligible individual applicant can apply to undertake Economic Development infrastructure activity outside its jurisdiction, if it can provide written documentation that the infrastructure activities outside its jurisdiction are necessary to meet the needs of a job-creating Participating Party, pursuant to Section 290.046(2)(b), F.S.

1. The job creation location shall either be within the jurisdiction of the applying local government connecting to infrastructure outside its jurisdiction owned and operated by another public or private entity, or

2. The job creation location shall be outside the jurisdiction of the applying local government if that local government owns the necessary infrastructure (treatment, production, or storage) to be connected to the job creation location on behalf of the Participating Party.

3. In either case, liability for CDBG performance and compliance with all applicable rules and regulations rests with the applying local government.

(8) Application Reviews.

(a) The Department will complete a threshold review to determine that the local government, the application, and all proposed activities are eligible.

(b) The Department will undertake a completeness review to determine that the application is mathematically correct and contains all required documentation. This review will generate a list of issues to be addressed at site visit.

(c) Except for the Community-Wide Needs Score, any scoring item left blank will be scored as zero. This zero score cannot be changed as a result of site visit or because of information elsewhere in the application.

(9) Application Site Visits and Completeness Letters.

(a) Site visits shall be conducted by the Department prior to publication of the application rankings in the fundable range. For Economic Development projects, any Participating Party must be available during the site visit(s), or the Participating Party must come to Tallahassee to meet with Department staff within 30 days after the site visit(s). Should a Participating Party fail to meet one of the two conditions, the application must be withdrawn by the local government or the application will lose its funding reservation.

(b) The Department shall notify the Chief Elected Official in writing of the date and approximate time the site visit will take place.

(c) The Department shall examine all documents that have been certified to in the application.

(d) Except as otherwise provided for in Economic Development applications, after the site visit, the Department shall request in writing all documentation found to be unavailable or inadequate. Applicants shall have 21 days from the date that the request is received to provide the requested information to the Department. Responses to completeness letters must be transmitted by the applicant and received by the deadline established by the Department.

(e) Additional Completeness Review Items for Neighborhood Revitalization Applications. During the completeness review period, the Department shall review applications that propose land assembly or site preparation for new housing construction for low and moderate income persons to determine whether documentation is provided to show:

1. Firm commitments for construction from the developer,

2. Documentation of ownership, or

3. An option on the land to control the sale to or ensure use by low and moderate income persons, and

4. Documentation that the proposed site is properly zoned.

(f) If the requested material is not received by 5:00 p.m. (EST), on the 21st day in the Community Development Block Grant Section at the address specified in the application manual, or if at the end of the completeness period, material is found to be incomplete or not in compliance, the following points shall be deducted from the applicant’s total score:

1. Required Maps with information specified in the completeness letter – 250 points.

2. Interlocal Agreement, if applicable – 250 points.

3. In the Housing category, selection criteria for beneficiaries or a complete list of beneficiaries selected – 250 points.

4. Any scoring points associated with issues in the completeness letter for which additional documentation was requested.

(g) Completeness Review Items for Economic Development Applications. Completeness Issues found during application review, that require a response, are included in the Notice of Upcoming Site Visit letter. Following the site visit, the Department will mail to the local government an award and offer to contract letter and a subgrant agreement, including any necessary special conditions, for execution by the local government.

1. If additional issues are generated during the site visit, a list of additional questions or requests for information will be included with the award and offer to contract letter and the subgrant agreement if they have not been resolved prior to that time.

2. Within 60 calendar days of the local government’s receipt of the award and offer to contract letter (the 60 day period), the Department must receive from the applying local government the information required in the Award and Offer to Contract Documentation section of the Application, any additional required documentation referenced in the award and offer to contract letter, and a signed subgrant agreement ready for the Department’s execution.

3. The signed subgrant and all required documentation in subparagraph (9)(g)2. above must be received by the Department on or before 5:00 p.m. (EST), of the 60th day. The day the award and offer to contract letter is received by the local government shall not be included in the sixty-day completeness period. Facsimile or electronic submissions are acceptable to meet the requirements of the 60 day period.

4. If all program requirements have been met, the Department will execute the subgrant and return a signed copy of it to the local government.

5. If CDBG Economic Development funds are unavailable, the eligible applications will be held in the order of their funding reservation as established in this section should additional funds become available.

(10) Application Scoring. Once an application is submitted to the Department, no aspect of the application may be revised to improve the score or broaden the scope of the project.

(a) The maximum score possible in each category is 1,000 points. These points shall be divided among three program factors as specified below.

Community-wide needs:                                                                      250 points

Program Impact:                                                                      650 points

Outstanding performance in equal opportunity employment and fair housing:                            100 points

Total points:                                                                      1,000 points

(b) Community-wide Need Scores (CWNS) for All Categories. The Department shall calculate the community-wide needs score from the most recent and uniformly available Federal and State data for all jurisdictions eligible to apply. Current decennial U.S. Census data shall be used unless otherwise noted. Data shall be further defined as:

1. For municipal government applicants, the data relevant for the entire incorporated area shall be used;

2. For county government applicants, the data relevant for only the unincorporated areas within the county shall be used;

3. For municipalities incorporated since the most recent census, the block group or census tract data for the area that was incorporated shall be used where available; otherwise a proportion of the county’s census data shall be used to calculate the community-wide needs score.

4. Factors. Three factors shall be used to determine the community-wide needs score with the following maximum points available for each:

a. Number of persons below poverty – 125 points

b. Number of year-round housing units with 1.01 or more persons per room – 62.5 points; and

c. Number of persons in the low and moderate income population according to the latest HUD census – 62.5 points.

5. Method of Calculation.

a. Prior to calculating actual CWN scores, the Department prepares a spreadsheet that reflects the above information (numbers of persons below poverty, 1.01+ housing units and LMI population) for each eligible applicant. Eligible local governments are then compared by the three factors identified above.

Eligible applicants are compared by these factors with all other applicants in their population group:

LMI Population:

1 – 499

500 – 1,249

1, 250 – 3,999

4,000 – 10,549

10,550 and above

Population groupings are based on HUD modified census figures summarizing low and moderate income population.

Calculating each applicant’s score includes the following steps:

The highest statistic in each population group for each factor is the basis for relative comparison of all other eligible local governments in the population group. For each eligible local government, the percentage calculated is then multiplied by the maximum number of points available for that particular factor. The score for factors are summed for each eligible local government to determine the community-wide needs score.

b. For each eligible local government, the percentage calculated shall then be multiplied by the maximum number of points available for that particular factor.

percent x maximum points available = score for eligible local government on factor.

c. The Community-Wide Needs Score factors shall be summed for each eligible local government for the overall Community-Wide Needs Score. Pursuant to Section 290.046(3)(b), F.S., each local government awarded subgrant funds shall have its community-wide needs score reduced by 5 points for every $100,000, or fraction thereof, of contracted funding. If $100,000 or more in funding is deobligated at the time the administrative closeout is approved by the Department, the score will be adjusted and the CWNS increased accordingly. This adjustment shall not be made during the first application cycle in which the most recent census data is used. All adjustments for subgrant funds received shall be based on subgrants received in all application cycles after the most recent census data was first used. This calculation shall be based on all funds contracted as of the end of the month prior to the opening date of the application cycle. The adjusted community-wide needs score cannot be less than zero. No deduction to CWNS shall be made for Emergency Set-Aside subgrants.

(c) Further point breakdowns for Program Impact, Equal Opportunity and Fair Housing are found in the rule section pertaining to individual program categories or in the application manual for each category.

(d) Applications with scores in the fundable range following appeals and that meet all other requirements contained herein shall be awarded funds for eligible activities.

(e) In the event that two or more applications receive an equal final score, the application addressing the highest State priority goal as reflected by the goal points for application activities shall receive first consideration. If a tie still exists, then the applicant with the highest community-wide needs score shall receive first consideration.

(f) The Department shall offer an applicant scoring within the fundable range an amount less than that requested in the application when insufficient funds are available to fund the total subgrant request or if ineligible activities are proposed in the application.

(g) Leverage. For leverage scoring purposes, only leveraged funds expended after the date of site visit and prior to the date of submission of the administrative closeout shall be counted.

(h) Penalty Points for Past Performance. A penalty shall be assessed against future subgrant applications based on prior contractual performance on subgrant agreements, including those subgrants which have submitted an administrative closeout prior to application deadline. This penalty will apply regardless of whether the subgrant has been amended to permit the reduction in accomplishments. If the subgrant is terminated with no expenditures or is terminated with expenditures for administration and/or engineering only, no penalty shall be assessed. This penalty expires two years from the date of administrative closeout. The Department will waive these penalties if the local government is unable to meet subgrant requirements due solely to a state or federally declared natural disaster or emergency. Penalties will include:

1. A penalty of five points per housing unit up to a maximum of 50 points for failure to rehabilitate or address the original number of housing units scored in the original application in the Housing category.

2. A penalty of five points per low and moderate income household not served or business facade not addressed as geographically displayed on the original application maps (as modified, if necessary, during the completeness process) in the Neighborhood Revitalization or the Commercial Revitalization categories up to a maximum of 50 points. All direct benefit proposed in the application (i.e., water hookups) must be completed to avoid this penalty per house or facade. No penalty shall be assessed for failure to provide a water or sewer hookup if the hookup is not possible because the home is vacant or became damaged or destroyed after application submission, the homeowner refused the hookup or became non-LMI after the survey, and there are no other homes in the service area identified in the application as unmet need which can qualify for a hookup to replace any home not hooked up.

(11) Application Rejection and Loss of Funding Reservation Criteria. Applications that do not meet the following minimum requirements as outlined in Section 290.0475, F.S. shall be rejected without scoring:

(a) The application is not received by the Department by the application deadline.

(b) The proposed project does not meet one of three national objectives as contained in federal or state legislation;

(c) The application is not consistent with the local government’s comprehensive plan adopted pursuant to Section 163.3184(7), F.S.;

(d) The proposed project is not an eligible activity as contained in the federal legislation;

(e) The applicant has an open Community Development Block Grant, except as provided in Section 290.046(2)(c), F.S.

(f) The local government is not in compliance with the citizen participation requirements required by s. 104(a)(1) and (2) and 106(d)(5)(c) of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1984 and department rule.

(g) Misrepresentation. The eligibility and scoring of the application is subject to the truth and accuracy of all information, representations, and materials submitted or provided by the applicant in the application, in any subsequent submission or in any response to fulfill the application requirements. The lack of accuracy thereof or any material changes which would materially change the scoring of the application or the subgrantee’s eligibility shall cause the application to be rejected for eligibility or scoring.

(h) The survey results are inaccurate or cannot be substantiated.

(i) Loss of Fund Reservation for Economic Development Applications: An Economic Development application shall lose its fund reservation if:

1. An applicant is not eligible.

2. An activity is found to be ineligible. If an activity is found to be ineligible, the funding reservation will be reduced by the budgeted amount for that activity and any related engineering and administration.

3. The application is missing an initially required item that is specified in the Documentation Requirements section of the application.

4. The local government withdraws the application in a letter signed by the Chief Elected Official.

5. Prior to the end of the site visit, the local government fails to provide documentation requested in the Notice of Pending Site Visit letter.

6. The Department does not receive the required documentation and the subgrant signed by the Chief Elected Official or his or her designee within 60 days of the applying local government’s receipt of the award and offer to contract letter. If the local government submits the required documentation and signed subgrant after the 60-day period has expired and unreserved funds are available, the date that the subgrant and all required documents are received by the Department becomes the new fund reservation date. If the documentation is adequate and unreserved funds are available to fund the application, a subgrant will be executed by the Department.

7. A Participating Party withdraws prior to the execution of the subgrant by the Department, unless the subgrant remains within the fundable range with the remaining Participating Parties. Increasing the job creation numbers or leverage of the remaining Participating Parties beyond that referenced in the application shall not be allowed. Replacement of Participating Parties shall not be allowed without withdrawal and resubmission of the application.

Rulemaking Authority 290.048 FS. Law Implemented 290.044, 290.046, 290.047, 290.0475 FS. History–New 5-23-06, Amended 2-26-07, 6-6-10.