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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 02-277 RESOLUTION NO. 02-277 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: THAT the City Council of the City of Beaumont hereby adopts the renewed Citizen Participation Plan attached as Exhibit"A"that will be amended to reflect a requirement for citizen participation and Council consideration when a change in the proposed use of funds is greater than 20% of the CDBG entitlement. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the 12th day of November, 2002. ayor Evelyn M. Lord - Citizen Participation Plan Participation I. Staff will encourage citizen participation, especially from extremely low to low income residents, by conducting informal/informative meetings in a centrally located facility or in conjunction with the regularly scheduled meetings of local neighborhood associations. Depending on the number of local neighborhood associations, staff will determine which process will yield the greater amount of participation in the time allotted, before submission of the final statement of objectives. As a part of the citizen participation process, neighborhood associations will be encouraged to meet with their constituents to prioritize the needs that are critical in their neighborhoods. 2. Staff will decide to conduct public meetings in a centrally located facility if the number of neighborhood associations exceeds a manageable number that could meet during their regularly scheduled meeting time within a 60-day period. 3. When the meetings(at least three)are held in the Civic Center, staff will contact(by letter)each neighborhood association and encourage participation. During the meetings, staff will discuss the nature of CDBG funds,performance report and the Final Statement of Objectives. Staff will also entertain comments,questions and proposals from interested citizens,organizations and neighborhood associations. 4. Staff could also decide to hold regional meetings in the Northeast and Southeast section of the Community Development Block Grant(CDBG)Strategy Area. Staff would encourage 3 or 4 neighborhood associations to participate in a meeting on a night and place that is mutually convenient. Each neighborhood association and interested citizens in the area would have 10 minutes to present their perspective proposals. 5. Citizens will also be encouraged,through public notices,to attend the Community Development Advisory(CDAC)meetings. The CDAC,which is responsible for submitting recommendations to Council,will review proposals received from citizens,neighborhood associations and staff. After the recommendations are received, Council will conduct a workshop to discuss all of the proposals that were submitted. During the subsequent meeting, City Council will resolve to fund various selected activities. Access To Meetings Staff will provide citizens with a 14-day notice prior to public hearings. Notices will be published in the local Sunday paper. Notices will also be forwarded to various churches, non-profit organizations, housing authority, residents,neighborhood vendors, schools and neighborhood associations. Access To Information Citizens, public agencies and other interested parties, including those most affected will be afforded the opportunity to receive information, review and submit comments on any proposed submission concerning the proposed activities including the estimated amount proposed to benefit low-very low and extremely low- income residents. Citizens and organizations will also have access to City plans to minimize displacement and assist those displaced as a result of these activities. Citizens and organizations will have five years to access records. Technical Assistance Upon request, staff will provide technical assistance to those citizens and organizations that need help in developing proposals. EXHIBIT "A" Public Hearings Staff will conduct at least three public hearings. The hearings will begin promptly at 6 p.m. with a video or slide presentation on the nature and accomplishments of the Community Development Program at City Hall. After the presentation,staff will explain the consolidated submission process, review staff recommendations for proposed funding in Final Statement of Objectives and obtain views/comments from interested citizens and organizations. A time frame for submission of proposals will also be addressed. Council members and CDAC members will be encouraged to attend. After the questions and answers,the meeting will adjourn. Publishing the Pian Staff will publish a summary of the consolidated Final Statement of Objectives on Sunday in the local newspaper. Copies of the summary will be available in the Community Development Office,Room 225 City,Hall, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m.,the Public Library-Main Branch, 800 Main,Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Friday from 9:00 a.m.to 6:00 p.m. Comments Citizens will have approximately 30 days to comment on consolidated plans prior to submission. The City will consider the views of citizens, public agencies and other interested parties when preparing the final consolidated submission. A summary of the comments including a written explanation of comments that were not accepted and reasons why, will be attached to the final consolidated plan. Timely Response Staff will provide timely, written answers to written complaints and grievance, within 15 days where practical. Amendments Prior to the submission of any substantial change(greater than 20%of entitlement)in the proposed use of funds, citizens will be given reasonable notice of,and an opportunity to comment on the proposed final statement of objectives. A public notice will be published in the Sunday edition of the local newspaper. Information concerning a substantial change will also be forwarded to HUD for review. Note: The City Council is the final decision-making authority for the Community Development Program. All Council meetings are open to public. Citizens who have complaints about the CDBG program should register their complaint directly to the City CDBG staff either during working hours or at neighborhood meetings and public hearings. Complaints should be in written form if at all possible. The City will make every reasonable effort to provide written responses to all complaints within fifteen(15)working days. If citizens do not feel that their complaint has been answered adequately or a satisfactory solution found,they may come before the City Council and present their case. Individual activities or programs under the CDBG program may require a separate and more specific complaint procedure than the process described here. This is particularly true of the Housing Rehabilitation Program where a complaint procedure is outlined in the Housing Rehabilitation Program Handbook. If other activities require a special complaint procedure,it will be described in a handbook made available to citizens. Otherwise,the procedure described above should be followed. Prepared by Planning/Community Development Staff,November 6,2002