MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor Edward “Bud” Caulfield

                                    And

                        Members of the Lowell City Council

FROM:            Bernard F. Lynch, City Manager

DATE:             February  15, 2008

SUBJECT:       MOTION OF 1/22/08 BY COUNCILOR JAMES MILINAZZO

                        REQUEST THE MANAGER REPORT ON THE STATUS OF

                        AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT IN SENATE

 According to the current language of the Act, funds may cover necessary expenses related to the impact of housing foreclosures, and other related economic and community development activities, as well as foreclosure-based rental assistance for individual renters in the form of relocation assistance.  The potential uses of funds varies but may include providing legal assistance to homeowners, short-term payments to prevent the loss of the home, or financial management and post-purchase counseling to homeowners.  

CDBG regulations currently require a 15% cap on the amount of funds allocated to public service related activities.  The proposed legislation would increase this cap to 25% to allow for additional use of funds to be used toward foreclosure assistance, while not jeopardizing the allocation of funds to existing activities already funded under the cap. 

 The latest major action on this legislation was taken on December 12th at which time it was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.  The Division of Planning and Development will continue to monitor the progress of this legislation as it proceeds through the Senate. 

Based on the above response, should the City Council still decide to hold a Housing Subcommittee meeting, staff from the Division of Planning and Development will provide whatever current information is available at that time. 

Please contact me with any questions regarding this information.  Thank you.