[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Paulsboro as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-6-2008 by Ord. No. 05.08]
The purpose of this article is to create the
administrative mechanisms needed for the execution of the Borough
of Paulsboro's responsibility to assist in the provision of affordable
housing pursuant to the Fair Housing Act of 1985.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The entity responsible for administering the affordability
controls of some or all units in the affordable housing program for
the Borough of Paulsboro to ensure that the restricted units under
administration are affirmatively marketed and sold or rented, as applicable,
only to low- and moderate-income households.
The employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility
for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
for the Borough of Paulsboro.
A.
Establishment of position of RCA Administrator. There
is hereby established the position of RCA Administrator for the Borough
of Paulsboro.
B.
Subject to the approval of the Council on Affordable
Housing (COAH), the RCA Administrator shall be appointed by the governing
body and may be a full- or part-time employee.
C.
The RCA Administrator shall be responsible for oversight
and administration of the RCA and the RCA affordable housing program
for the Borough of Paulsboro, including the following responsibilities
which may not be contracted out:
(1)
Serving as the Borough of Paulsboro's primary point
of contact for all RCA inquiries from the state, affordable housing
providers, administrative agents, and interested households;
(2)
Establishing an escrow account for the RCA funds and
submitting to COAH a signed escrow agreement between the Borough of
Paulsboro, the bank and COAH for each RCA;
(3)
Monitoring the status of all restricted units in the
Borough of Paulsboro's project plan;
(4)
Compiling, verifying, and submitting semiannual reports
as required by COAH;
(5)
Coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers
and administrative agents, as applicable;
(6)
Attending continuing education opportunities as offered
or approved by COAH;
D.
Subject to approval by COAH, the Borough of Paulsboro may contract with or authorize a consultant, authority, government or any agency charged by the governing body, which entity shall have the responsibility of administering the affordable housing program of the Borough of Paulsboro, except for those responsibilities which may not be contracted out pursuant to Subsection C above. If the Borough of Paulsboro contracts with another entity to administer all or any part of the affordable housing program, including the affordability controls and affirmative marketing plan, the RCA Administrator shall supervise the contracting administrative agent.
E.
Compensation, if any, shall be fixed by the governing
body at the time of the appointment of the RCA Administrator.
F.
Administrative powers and duties assigned to the RCA
Administrator.
(1)
Affirmative marketing:
(a)
Conducting an outreach process to insure affirmative
marketing of affordable housing units in accordance with the affirmative
marketing plan of the Borough of Paulsboro and the provisions of N.J.A.C.
5:80-26.15; and
(b)
Providing counseling or contracting to provide
counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects
such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease
requirements, and landlord/tenant law.
(2)
Household certification:
(a)
Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following
up on interviews with interested households;
(b)
Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient
documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination
of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;
(c)
Providing written notification to each applicant
as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;
(d)
Requiring that all certified applicants for
restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form,
as applicable, of either the ownership or rental certificates set
forth in Appendices J and K of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq.;
(e)
Creating and maintaining a referral list of
eligible applicant households living in the housing region and eligible
applicant households with members working in the housing region where
the units are located; and
(f)
Employing the random selection process as provided
in the affirmative marketing plan of the Borough of Paulsboro when
referring households for certification to affordable units.
(3)
Affordability controls:
(a)
Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms
of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance
of title of each restricted unit;
(b)
Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted
unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions,
recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;
(c)
Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions
and cancellation of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly
filed with the appropriate county's register of deeds or county clerk's
office after the termination of the affordability controls for each
restricted unit;
(d)
Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures;
and
(e)
Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates
of occupancy or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.
(4)
Resale and rental:
(a)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information between owners and the administrative
agent regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or
rental; and
(b)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information to low- and moderate-income households
regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or re-rental.
(5)
Processing request from unit owners:
(a)
Reviewing and approving requests from owners
of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance
during the term of their ownership.
(b)
Reviewing and approving requests to increase
sales prices from owners of restricted units who wish to make capital
improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such
authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional
bedrooms or bathrooms and the cost of central air-conditioning systems;
and
(c)
Processing requests and making determinations
on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.
(6)
Enforcement:
(a)
Securing annually lists of all affordable housing
units for which tax bills are mailed to absentee owners and notifying
all such owners that they must either move back to their unit or sell
it;
(b)
Securing from all developers and sponsors of
restricted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing
of the project or development, written acknowledgement of the requirement
that no restricted unit can be offered, or in any other way committed,
to any person, other than a household duly certified to the unit by
the administrative agent;
(c)
The posting annually in all rental properties,
including two-family homes, of a notice as to the maximum permitted
rent together with the telephone number of the administrative agent
where complaints of excess rent can be made;
(d)
Sending annual mailings to all owners of affordable
dwelling units, reminding them of the notices and requirements outlined
in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;
(e)
Establishing a program for diverting unlawful
rent payments to the municipality's affordable housing trust fund
or other appropriate municipal fund approved by the DCA;
(f)
Creating and publishing a written operating
manual, as approved by COAH, setting forth procedures for administering
such affordability controls; and
(g)
Providing reports to COAH as required.
(7)
The administrative agent shall have authority to take
all actions necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities
hereunder:
(a)
Providing case management services for the income-qualified
household selected to participate in the program. These case management
services include:
[1]
Preparing the work write-up for each rehabilitated
unit;
[2]
Preparing the bid package for the rehabilitation
work;
[3]
Coordinating the advertising process and receiving
the bids for the work;
[4]
Reviewing the bid responses;
[5]
Recommending the award to the lowest responsible
bidder;
[6]
Preparing the rehabilitation contract and ensuring
the document is executed by both the homeowner and contractor;
[7]
Issuing the notice to proceed;
[8]
Inspecting and approving the work of the selected
contractor;
[9]
Ensuring the file contains all required documents
related to the rehabilitation, which includes, but is not limited
to:
[a]
Certification that the unit is substandard/in
need of rehabilitation;
[b]
Bid announcement;
[c]
Bid responses;
[d]
Bid spreadsheet;
[e]
Project work write-up;
[f]
Household's approval of work write-up;
[g]
Household's approval of selected contractor;
[h]
Contract of selected rehabilitation contractor(s);
[i]
Order to proceed;
[j]
Inspection reports;
[k]
Requisitions for payment;
[l]
Release of liens;
[12]
Reviewing the household's file to ensure that
it is complete and contains all the required information to ensure
that the household is income eligible;
[13]
Answering questions of the participating household;
[14]
Following up with the contractor and inspector
as necessary;
[15]
Assisting the household in receiving the required
final approvals to release final payment to the contractor; and
(b)
Providing post case management services to households
that have completed the rehabilitation process, which includes:
[1]
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information to low- and moderate-income households
regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or re-rental;
[2]
Reviewing and approving requests from households
of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance
during the term of their occupancy;
[3]
Processing requests and making determinations
on requests by households of restricted units for hardship waivers;
[4]
Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures;
[5]
Notifying the municipality of a household's
intent to sell a restricted unit; and
[6]
Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions
and cancellation of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly
filed with the appropriate county's register of deeds or county clerk's
office after the termination of the affordability controls in this
article for each restricted unit.
(c)
Additional duties include the following:
[1]
Conducting an outreach process to insure affirmative
marketing of affordable housing units in accordance with the provisions
of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15;
[2]
Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following
up on interviews with interested households;
[3]
Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient
documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination
of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;
[4]
Providing written notification to each applicant
as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;
[5]
Creating and maintaining a referral list of
eligible applicant households living in the COAH region and eligible
applicant households with members working in the COAH region where
the units are located (for rental units only);
[6]
Employing a random selection process when referring
households for certification to affordable units (for rental units
only);
[7]
Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms
of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance
of title of each restricted unit;
[8]
Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted
unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions,
recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate; and
[9]
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information between households and the administrative
agent regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or
rental.
[Added 5-5-2015 by Ord.
No. 03.15]
The position of Treasurer shall and is hereby abolished.
The Borough of Paulsboro Salary Ordinance shall be amended to
reflect this change and include the salary paid for Treasurer from
January 1 through the date in which said position is abolished.
