Expenditure Outlook
O FFICE OF H OUSING AND C OMMUNITY D EVELOPMENT
Mission: To develop comprehensive strategies and programs for creating viable urban neighborhoods through the
coordination of programs for housing assistance and affordable housing development, economic development and site improvements, including vacant land management and community planning.
Budget Trends: The General Funds made available by
the City constitute a small portion (approximately 1%) of the Office of Housing and Community Development’s (OHCD) overall annual budget, which is comprised mainly of federal and state grant funding in the form of Community Development Block Grants. OHCD’s General Fund budget was cut in FY09 and FY10. The FY16 Proposed General Fund allocation for OHCD is slightly lower than the FY15 Current Projection due to a onetime transfer from the
Department of Parks & Recreation to OHCD in the amount of $50,000 for vacant land management.. In FY13, the City had a $25.1 million dollar reduction in federal funding for FY13 compared to FY12, $14.5 million of which was a reduction in Community Development Block Grant funding and $6 million of which was a drop in HOME Investment Partnerships Program. In FY14 the City had a $15 million reduction which was a result of the completion of the federal stimulus program.
Fund Class FY08 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Current Projection FY16 Proposed Budget FY16-FY15 Change
FY16-FY15 Percent Change General 200 5,200,000 4,009,500 2,570,000 2,520,000 (50,000) -1.9% 800 0 50,959 0 0 0 0.0% Total 5,200,000 4,060,459 2,570,000 2,520,000 (50,000) -1.9% Positions 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Other* 100 4,532,696 3,719,573 5,728,764 5,882,873 154,109 2.7% 200 144,361,421 105,833,856 157,215,438 205,993,411 48,777,973 31.0% 300/400 327,276 130,692 281,000 281,000 0 0.0% 800 23,119 19,909 30,000 30,000 0 0.0% Total 149,244,512 109,704,029 163,255,202 212,187,284 48,932,082 30.0% Positions 79 56 58 58 0 0.0% All 100 4,532,696 3,719,573 5,728,764 5,882,873 154,109 2.7% 200 149,561,421 109,843,356 159,785,438 208,513,411 48,727,973 30.5% 300/400 327,276 130,692 281,000 281,000 0 0.0% 800 23,119 70,868 30,000 30,000 0 0.0% Total 154,444,512 113,764,488 165,825,202 214,707,284 48,882,082 29.5% Positions 79 56 58 58 0 0.0%
* Other Funds includes: County Liquid Fuels Tax Fund, Special Gasoline Tax Fund, Healthchoices Behavioral Health Fund, Hotel Room Rental Tax Fund, Grants Revenue Fund, Community Development Fund, Car Rental Tax Fund, Housing Trust Fund, Water Fund, Water Residual Fund, Aviation Fund, and Acute Care Hospital Assessment Fund.
Description of Major Services: The Office of Housing and Community Development administers the federally funded
Community Development Block Grant, HOME61, the Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids programs, and the
City’s Housing Trust Fund earnings. In addition, OHCD provides a range of affordable housing related services to assist low income residents and neighborhood building programs to strengthen low income communities.
61 The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) provides formula grants to States and localities that communities use - often in partnership with local nonprofit groups - to fund a wide range of activities including building, buying, and/or rehabilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership or providing direct rental assistance to low-income people. HOME is the largest Federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households.
FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL AND STRATEGIC PLAN FY16-FY20 OHCD
Performance Trends: During FY14, OHCD prevented
1,232 mortgage foreclosures, a decrease of 29.8% from FY13, largely due to fewer foreclosure filings in FY14 than in prior years. The goal for FY15 is to divert 1,200 mortgage foreclosures, and in FY16, OCHD hopes to maintain this level of foreclosure diversions. The number of owner-occupied homes repaired during FY14 was 5,689, an increase of 5.2% from FY13. As of the first half of FY15, 2,811 homes have been repaired with a goal of repairing 4,700 homes by the end of the fiscal year and in FY16; the goals are driven
by available funding. The number of vacant city lots cleaned and greened in FY14 was 8,766, a decrease of 5.6% from the same time period in FY13. The goal is to clean and green 8,500 lots in FY15 and FY16. The number of clients who received counseling in FY14 was 12,398, a decrease of 0.5% from FY13. The goal is to reach 11,350 clients in FY15 and FY16. OHCD’s performance measures are driven by available program funding which has drastically declined over the past few years.
Performance Measure FY08 FY13 FY14 FY14-FY13 Change FY14 Q1-Q2 Q1-Q2 FY15 FY15- FY14 Q1-Q2 Change FY15
Goal FY16 Goal
Mortgage foreclosures diverted 0 1,754 1,232 -29.8% 597 544 -8.9% 1,200 1,200
Owner-occupied homes repaired (BSRP,
Weatherization & Heater Hotline) 8,232 5,409 5,689 5.2% 2,619 2,811 7.3% 4,700 4,700
Unique City lots greened & cleaned* 7,130 9,238 8,766 -5.1% 8,776 8,278 -5.6% 8,500 8,500
Clients receiving counseling 11,591 12,463 12,398 -0.5% 5,265 5,724 8.7% 11,350 11,350
*This measure is calculated at a point in time at the end of the quarter. For example, Q1 data is as of September 30th.
Accomplishments & Initiatives
The Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Program:
Initiated in April 2008, the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program (“Foreclosure Diversion Program”) was one of the first programs of its type to offer an innovative approach to foreclosure prevention by postponing Sheriff Sales for owner- occupied properties to allow homeowners an opportunity to meet with a housing counselor and with a representative of their mortgage lender in order to negotiate alternatives to foreclosure. OHCD continues to manage this program, which includes:
• The SaveYourHomePhilly Hotline, which serves as the central scheduling agent that connects eligible homeowners to housing counseling resources; • A door-to-door outreach campaign to increase
awareness of the program and homeowner participation;
• OHCD funded housing counseling at community based organizations; and
• Technical assistance for counselors which includes counselor training and help from either a City-
funded attorney or pro bono attorneys to assist in the negotiations.
Approximately 19,157 households have participated in this program with over 9,578 homes saved from mortgage foreclosure via diversion or pre-foreclosure counseling action through December 2014.
Affordable Housing Development: OHCD supports
affordable homeownership, rental and housing for special needs populations, including veterans, senior, the formerly homeless, children and people with disabilities, in communities throughout Philadelphia. Since January 2008, 3,900 units of affordable housing have been created or preserved, which leveraged over $650 million in investment. This includes the recent completion of Paseo Verde, a $48 million mixed-use, mixed-income transit-oriented development at 9th and
Berks Street near the Temple Regional Rail station in North Philadelphia. Paseo Verde, the nation’s first LEED Neighborhood Development to receive a Platinum rating, and advances Mayor Nutter’s
sustainability, housing and transportation goals (more information on these initiatives can be found in the Goal 4 chapter).
Vacant Land Program: One challenge of revitalizing
communities is to combat the blighting influence of vacant lots. A study found that blighted vacant lots reduce the value of nearby homes by 20%, and that the home values near stabilized lots increased by 17%.62 Another recent study found that greening vacant lots was linked to reduced gun crime rates, increased resident exercise and reduced resident stress. Approximately 40,000 lots are vacant citywide.63
To address the negative influence of uncared for vacant lots on the neighborhoods around them, OHCD entered into a partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) in 2003 and developed the LandCare Program which serves to clean vacant lots, plant grass and trees, erect a fence and perform ongoing maintenance. The ongoing maintenance of the lots not only supports property values and development, but also creates economic and employment opportunities. Key economic impacts of the LandCare Program include:
• Contractors receiving lot maintenance contracts each year: 15-20
• Percentage of contractors either minority-owned or community-based: 60% - 80%
• Green jobs created each maintenance season: 100+
• Square feet of land mowed & cleaned each April- October: over 8 million
• Number of community organizations in the Community LandCare Program: 13
• Square feet of land cleaned by Community LandCare April-October: 2 million
Additionally, approximately 8,700 public and privately owned parcels and trees are cleaned, greened,
62 Watcher, S., Gillen, K., "Public investment strategies: How
they matter for neighborhoods in Philadelphia." The Wharton
School, University of Pennsylvania. (2006)
63 Branas, C., et al. “A difference-in-differences analysis of
health, safety, and greening vacant urban space.” American
Journal of Epidemiology 174.11 (2011)
planted and maintained annually. Vacant lots filled with debris have a negative impact on neighborhoods, the LandCare lots have a transformative effect on communities.
The Basic Systems Repair & Weatherization
Programs: The Basic Systems Repair Program (BSRP)
provides repairs to electrical and plumbing systems; heater replacements; roofs which are leaking severely; and walls or dangerous structural problems. The program provides funds up to $18,000 per property. The Weatherization Program provides free weatherization and energy-efficiency improvements to owner-occupied and rental units. Services include air-sealing measures; window and door repair or replacement; wrapping of hot water heaters; heating pipes and ducts; sealing of basement openings, crawlspaces and chase ways; insulating and air sealing of room area; repair and efficiency modifications to central heating systems. These programs in FY14 and FY15 to-date made repairs to 1,061 and 337 properties respectively, as well as weatherized 634 and 160 units respectively. Reviews of these programs have indicated that a current average investment of $10,000 per repair to “save” a property potentially prevents $22,000 in City demolition costs for that unit and another $225,000 in the cost to the City to rebuild that unit. This projected return is $35 for every $1 of current repair money spent.
Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant for
North Central Philadelphia: On June 30, 2014, the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Philadelphia had been awarded a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods grant. The grant will support the implementation of the Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan, a comprehensive affordable housing and economic development strategy to transform North Central Philadelphia from a struggling community to a vibrant, sustainable neighborhood. Philadelphia’s Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant funding will create 297 new units of housing, including 147 new and refurbished units at the Norris Apartments site, 600 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs. Additionally, the City
FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL AND STRATEGIC PLAN FY16-FY20 OHCD will leverage the grant funding to generate $125
million in federal, state, other public and private funds over the next five years. The Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan focuses on three core areas:
• Housing: Replace existing distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality, mixed-income, energy-efficient housing;
• People: Increase access to or create new services and supports delivered directly to youth and their families to improve education outcomes and intergenerational mobility within the community; and
• Neighborhood: Support the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in North Central, including safety, good schools and commercial activity.
To obtain the grant, the City, led by the Office of Housing and Community Development, worked with more than forty partners, including the Mayor’s Office of Grants, the School District of Philadelphia, Temple University, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Philadelphia Police Department, local leaders and community stakeholders, to create the resident-driven North Central Philadelphia transformation plan.