CONSOLIDATED PLAN & STRATEGY 5-YEAR ... - City of Lakeland

authority for LHA Board of Commissioners. The Mayor appoints the LHA Board of
Commissioners and the City Commission approves the appointments for four year
terms. The City limits the LHA Board of Commissioners to two four year terms. LHA
hires its own employees and contracts for procurement independent for the City’s
purchasing department. LHA owns and manages 453 units of public housing in five
developments (four family and one elderly only) located throughout the City of
Lakeland and outlying areas. The City of Lakeland provides services to the LHA
residents by offering LHA down payment and closing costs assistance for the HOPE
VI revitalization project. LHA includes the City Commissioners, Director of
Community Development, and Neighborhood Services Division staff in the
development and review of various grant applications such as yearly State Housing
Credit applications. Each project is reviewed for consistency with the Consolidated
Plan and Comprehensive Plan.
Affordable and subsidized rental units are available locally through various federal
and state grant programs. Local general funds in the form of reimbursement for
water/wastewater impact fees are leveraged with state housing credit programs to
produce new mixed income rental projects. In Lakeland there are two components of
the housing delivery system, the private sector and local government. In Lakeland
the planning and administration of the affordable housing programs is shared
through a cooperative relationship with the Lakeland Housing Authority, and various
other public and private entities
Monitoring (91.230)
1. Describe the standards and procedures the jurisdiction will use to monitor its
housing and community development projects and ensure long-term compliance
with program requirements and comprehensive planning requirements.
3-5 Year Strategic Plan Monitoring response:
The Neighborhood Services Division has established a comprehensive set of
standards and procedures to evaluate its own performance in meeting the goals and
objectives outlined in the Consolidated Plan.
The Staff will monitor activities on an on-going basis to ensure federal and state
regulations and statutory requirements are met. The Staff, along with the City’s
Finance Department, has standards and procedures for monitoring grant funds. The
City is also monitored by HUD, Florida Housing Finance Corporation and a private
external auditing firm.
Services for the CDBG and HOME programs are provided by internal staff. For the
rehabilitation program, each housing project is brought up to local housing code
standards; the rehab specialist performs on-site visits to the job in various stages
and final inspections are done by the City’s Building Inspection Division. A
community-based non-profit organization provides homebuyer education, prequalifying,
counseling, application in-take, and processing in conjunction with the
direct provision of home purchase assistance. All home purchase files are reviewed
by internal staff for program compliance and income eligibility.
3-5 Year Strategic Plan 17