§ 102-33. Housing assistance trust fund.

(a)

There is hereby created and established a separate trust fund to be known as the county housing assistance trust fund. All monies received from the state pursuant to the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Act (F.S. § 420.907 et seq.) or the United States government and any other local or private monies received or budgeted for the purposes established by the county housing assistance program shall be deposited into this trust fund. Administration of the trust fund shall comply with rule 91-37.007, Florida Administrative Code. The assets in the trust fund may be deposited or invested as provided by law. No expenditure, other than for the administration and implementation of the county housing assistance program, may be made from this trust fund. Until utilized for the purposes thereof, moneys in the county housing assistance trust fund shall be held in trust by the county solely for usage pursuant to the program. All program income, including investment earnings, shall be retained in the county housing assistance trust fund and used for the purposes thereof. The county agrees that the county housing assistance trust fund shall be separately stated as a special revenue fund in the county's audited financial statements. Copies of such audited financial statements shall be forwarded to the state housing finance agency each year as soon as such statements are available.

(b)

The community services department shall use the funds from the county housing assistance trust fund to:

(1)

Provide the local matching funds to obtain federal housing grants for the federal HOME program. The county council intends to use SHIP funds to support only those HOME activities approved by the county council and outlined in its HOME program description. All activities will also meet SHIP requirements. Eligible activities may include any or all of the following: acquisition of property; new construction; reconstruction; conversion; rehabilitation; relocation assistance for persons, families, businesses and organizations; site improvements; acquisition of vacant land; demolition; and predevelopment construction soft costs.

(2)

Provide the strategies that create or preserve affordable housing. The county strategy will include the construction, rehabilitation or repair of homes for very-low-income, low-income and moderate-income persons and persons who have special housing needs residing in jurisdictions that participate in the community development block grant program and the unincorporated areas of the county. The county will seek developers and contractors and other organizations willing to construct, rehabilitate and/or repair affordable housing, offering such incentives as the county adopts in its housing assistance plan. These incentives may include but are not limited to assistance in the construction of the infrastructure for eligible sponsors, impact fee credits or payments and/or the purchase of the land by the county upon which housing construction will occur. The county shall also seek lending institutions to work with the county and the eligible sponsor or person in providing low-cost loans, interest point buy-down programs and other cost-saving mechanisms in order to facilitate home ownership for very-low-income, low-income and moderate-income persons.

(3)

To supplement state housing finance agency programs with the moneys being used within the county.

(4)

To provide emergency repairs by existing service providers under the weatherization program.

The county hereby specifically finds the cost of administering this program will not exceed ten percent of the SHIP funding guaranteed from the state. The county housing assistance program shall include all other lawful objectives not previously listed if said objectives have been adopted into the county housing assistance plan in the manner provided by statute.

(Ord. No. 93-3, § IV, 1-7-93; Ord. No. 01-07, § 1, 3-15-01)

State law reference

Local housing distributions, F.S. § 420.9073.