COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON FINANCE Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, June 10, 2010 9:50 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO, CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL CLARKE COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN WILLIAM K. GREENLEE COUNCILMAN JAMES KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN BILL 100357 - An ordinance authorizing the Director of Housing, on behalf of the City, to file applications with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)... - - - 2
Good morning. This is the reconvened meeting of the Finance Committee that was held yesterday, June the 9th. The Chair recognizes Ms. Deborah McColloch. Are you prepared to present your testimony? (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning. MS. McCOLLOCH: Good morning. My name is Deborah McColloch. I'm the Director of Housing. I'm here today --
All right. Go ahead, please. MS. McCOLLOCH: I'm here today to provide some additional information as requested by Councilmembers at yesterday's hearing. I believe everyone has copies of the letters that have been 3 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357 distributed. The one I just wanted to review with you, which was requested of me to provide the information, were the acquisition timelines for moving forward with NTI-funded properties. There is a letter with three timelines attached to it of how we're going to move the properties forward. I wanted to just bring to Council's attention that there had been particular concern expressed that properties be acquired in time to submit applications to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for Low Income Housing Tax Credits. There was a belief expressed to me yesterday that the tax credit application was going to be in early October, and there was a concern about how we would get properties through the system in order to meet that application deadline. Staff members of mine spoke with representatives of PHFA yesterday, and while they have not set an exact date of when the Low Income Housing Tax Credit 4 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357 applications will be due, they believe that the earliest that it would be would be the last week of October and the latest that it would be would be the second week of December, that most likely the applications will be due either the week before Thanksgiving or the second week of December. So the timelines that are presented here would meet that requirement if that's when PHFA sets its application date. I submitted for your review three timelines to break out the different sets of properties. The first timeline is those properties that have been previously submitted for NTI acquisitions that we will review with City Councilmembers. Councilmembers will give their priorities. There may be properties on those lists that Councilmembers are no longer interested in pursuing or that are still priorities. So that's the first timeline. The second timeline presented 5 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357 is that for properties that are required for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit applications, that it shows that we can acquire those prior to the applications being submitted to PHFA. And the third timeline is for new property requests that are not related to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. That has a little bit lower priority, because we want to acquire those properties that are needed for the tax credit applications in order to meet the deadline of PHFA. So that's the first letter that was presented to you. I was also asked to revise the letter that was submitted yesterday in which the Mayor committed that the contracts between the Office of Housing and Community Development and the Redevelopment Authority and the Office of Housing and Community Development and PHDC would include language indicating that any property that was acquired 6 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357 through financial assistance provided by the City under any of the programs in the Consolidated Plan would obtain written approval from the Councilmember, from the District Councilmember, prior to disposition through the Redevelopment Authority. That letter has been revised in accordance with the request of Council. I also have a letter here that is from me that Councilwoman Blackwell requested in which I committed that we will provide written responses to the issues that were raised at the hearing of the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless last week. That hearing was continued until June 16th. There were seven or eight outstanding questions that were raised at that hearing that we couldn't answer at the hearing, and we're committing to bring back the answers to those questions at the hearing on June 16th.
And, finally, there's a letter 7 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357 from the Mayor urging City Council to pass the Consolidated Plan by June 17th in order to meet the federal requirement that the application be submitted to HUD no later than August 16th. And the letter details the citation indicating the -- citation from the federal regulations indicating that failure to receive the Plan by August 16th will automatically result in the loss of CDBG funds to which the jurisdiction would otherwise be entitled. So the Mayor wanted Councilmembers to have that cite from the regulations and to express his concern that the Consolidated Plan be approved by City Council before it recesses for the summer.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions? (No response.)
Anyone else here to testify on this bill? (No response.) 8 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357
Thank you, Madam Chair. One quick question. While we have been focusing on possible submission for PHFA, there is another timeline that we do want to put on the record, which is the March timeline as it relates to the bonds. And I know we have some limitations on the number of properties that we could put in play for PHFA tax credit submission, but shortly thereafter, we need to be in the process of moving forward, if there's any money left, which I, frankly speaking, don't think there will be, to have those dollars allocated so we don't run into the March deadline problem. MS. McCOLLOCH: Absolutely, Councilman, and that's why the third timeline here for what I described as new properties also indicates that that can 9 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357 happen before that deadline.
Thank you. There being no further questions, I call on Councilwoman Blackwell to report Bill 100357 out of Committee.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill 13 100357 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and also a recommendation for suspension of the rules so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you, Councilwoman. It has been moved and seconded that Bill 100357 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and a recommendation that the rules of Council be suspended so that this bill 10 6/10/10 - FINANCE - BILL 100357 can be heard at Council's next session. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
There being none, the motion is carried. There being no further business, this Committee is adjourned. Thank you. (Committee on Finance concluded at 10:00 a.m.) - - - 11 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on June 10, 2010, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. -------------------- MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)