2010-2014 Consolidated Plan - City of Champaign

The City held three public hearings in preparation of this plan. Two were held during NeighborhoodServices Advisory Board meetings and the final one during a City Council meeting. Notification of the 30-day comment period for the draft plan was posted in all City government facilities, the libraries, as well asthe newspaper of general circulation, City website, and cable access channel. All public meetingsinvolving the Consolidated Plan are held in facilities accessible to the physically disabled. If special ornon-routine accommodations or translation services are required for a disabled or non-English speakingperson who wishes to attend, the City will do its best to provide those services with 48-hour prior notice.The City’s website was recently expanded to allow more program information to be shared with computerusers. The City of Champaign will review the demographics of the community upon the completion ofCensus 2010 to determine what languages should be made available for City information.Comments received during the preparation of the plan and the 30-day public comment period areincluded in Appendix G. Suggestions made by individuals have now been incorporated into thisdocument.MONITORINGThe Champaign Neighborhood Services Department has responsibility for the preparation of theConsolidated Plan and all annual updates. The department oversees programs implemented with CDBGand HOME funding and, as such, is subject to all regulations pertaining to the grant sources.Properties rehabilitated through the City’s housing programs are subject to federal, state, and localbuilding codes and encourages the use of Energy Star components. The City’s Building Safety Divisionenforces compliance with these codes. A rehabilitation staff member trained and certified in riskassessment techniques also assesses each property for potential lead-based paint hazards. Any hazardsare then corrected to meet HUD guidelines using state licensed lead supervisors.All properties receiving HOME funding undergo a complete code inspection conducted by rehab staff andbuilding safety staff. Once rehab projects are underway, rehab staff conducts periodic inspections. Nopayments are issued to contractors until the rehab staff has approved the quality of the work, received allsubcontractor lien waivers (if applicable), and received verification that all applicable permits andinspections have been completed and approved by Building Safety personnel. The rehabilitation staffmember will complete dust wipe clearance sampling prior to allowing the contractor to request his/herfinal payment. When a final pay request has been applied for, the rehabilitation staff will meet with thecontractor and homeowner to make sure all work has been completed satisfactorily and according to thewritten specifications.HUD staff conducted a monitoring visit in May 2007 to primarily review the City’s emergencyrehabilitation program. The HUD staff made several suggestions on improving the overall rehab process,including writing the requested repair on the signed application and handling of lien waivers/checks.These changes are now incorporated into the City’s rehab system and provide a thorough overview of theneeded services while also documenting all contractor liens are on file prior to releasing payment.The Neighborhood Services Department is also responsible for the monitoring of all CDBG subrecipients.These include both local governmental partners and non-profit public service providers. A thoroughconsultation is conducted with the subrecipient prior to the execution of any contract documents. Allcontracts are prepared in compliance with HUD requirements. The City’s Legal Department also reviewsdocuments prior to execution. Once the program is underway, periodic monitoring visits are conductedto ensure compliance with all HUD and local requirements. All agencies receiving grant funding from theCity are required to provide written quarterly reports outlining activities undertaken during the quarter.4 Managing the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan Processes