(C0268-20; C0494-20)
(a)
Establishment
and Purpose.
There is hereby established an affordable
housing trust fund to:
(1)
Support
developers and government entities in the acquisition, construction,
rehabilitation and modification of affordable and accessible housing
for low-income and moderate-income households; and
(2)
Finance
support services that assist low-and moderate-income households in
obtaining and maintaining affordable housing.
(b)
Administration.
The Everett affordable housing trust fund shall be administered
by a board of trustees.
(1)
Responsibilities.
It shall be the responsibility of
the board of trustees to:
a.
Develop
and implement appropriate rules, procedures, guidelines and regulations
for the proper operation of the affordable housing trust fund;
b.
Review
requests for funding from the affordable housing trust fund and make
funding determinations;
c.
Establish
criteria and procedures for reviewing requests for funding from the
housing trust fund and for allocating such funds; and
d.
Prepare
and submit an annual report to the city council concerning the administration
and activities of the affordable housing trust fund.
(3)
Appointments.
a.
The
mayor shall appoint trustees annually in January, subject to confirmation
by the city council.
b.
The
trustees first appointed shall have staggered terms, with 2 of the
appointed trustees initially serving a 1-year term, and the remaining
2 serving a 2-year term. Thereafter, all appointments and reappointments,
with the exception of the mayor’s term, shall be for a period
of 2 years.
c.
If
a vacancy shall occur among the trustees, it shall be filled in the
same manner as the original appointment for the unexpired term.
(4)
Compensation.
The trustees shall serve without compensation.
(5)
Duties of the Board of Trustees Pertaining to the Housing Fund.
The specific authority and responsibilities of the trustees,
all of which shall be carried on in furtherance of the purposes set
forth in MGL c.44, §55C, and in this article, are as follows:
a.
To
accept and receive property, whether real or personal, by gift, grant,
devise, or transfer from any person, firm, corporation or other public
or private entity, including without limitation grants or funds or
other property tendered to the trust in connection with provisions
of any zoning ordinance or bylaw or any other ordinance or bylaw;
b.
To
purchase and retain real or personal property, including without restriction
investments that yield a high rate of income or no income;
c.
To
sell, lease, exchange, transfer or convey any personal, mixed, or
real property at public auction or by private contract for such consideration
and on such terms as to credit or otherwise, and to make such contracts
and enter into such undertaking relative to trust property as the
board deems advisable, notwithstanding the length of any such lease
or contract;
d.
To
execute, acknowledge and deliver deeds, assignments, transfers, pledges,
leases, covenants, contracts, promissory notes, releases and other
instruments sealed or unsealed, necessary, proper or incident to any
transaction in which the board engages for the accomplishment of the
purposes of the trust;
e.
To
employ advisors and agents, such as accountants, appraisers and lawyers
as the board deems necessary;
f.
To
fund grant positions for municipal employees through specified grants
established by the trust, whose positions are in furtherance of the
purposes set forth in MGL c.44, §55C, and in this article;
g.
To
pay reasonable compensation and expenses to all advisors and agents
and to apportion such compensation between income and principal as
the board deems advisable;
h.
To
apportion receipts and charges between incomes and principal as the
board deems advisable, to amortize premiums and establish sinking
funds for such purpose, and to create reserves for depreciation depletion
or otherwise;
i.
To
participate in any reorganization, recapitalization, merger or similar
transactions; and to give proxies or powers of attorney with or without
power of substitution to vote any securities or certificates of interest;
and to consent to any contract, lease, mortgage, purchase or sale
of property, by or between any corporation and any other corporation
or person;
j.
To
deposit any security with any protective reorganization committee,
and to delegate to such committee such powers and authority with relation
thereto as the board may deem proper and to pay, out of trust property,
such portion of expenses and compensation of such committee as the
board may deem necessary and appropriate;
k.
To
carry property for accounting purposes other than acquisition date
values;
l.
To
borrow money on such terms and conditions and from such sources as
the board deems advisable, to mortgage and pledge trust assets as
collateral;
m.
To
make distributions or divisions of principal in kind;
n.
To
comprise, attribute, defend, enforce, release, settle or otherwise
adjust claims in favor of or against the trust, including claims for
taxes, and to accept any property, either in total or partial satisfaction
of any indebtedness or other obligation, and subject to the provisions
of this article, to continue to hold the same for such period of time
as the board may deem appropriate;
o.
To
manage or improve real property; and to abandon any property which
the board determined not to be worth retaining;
p.
To
hold all or part of the trust property uninvested for such purposes
and for such time as the board may deem appropriate;
q.
To
extend the time for payment of any obligation to the trust; and
r.
To
create guidelines and principles for the trustees as to strategies
for the investment and expenditure of trust funds.
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The powers and duties enumerated above are intended to encompass
all powers and duties of the trustees. Any action, power or duty not
enumerated above shall require prior approval of the city council.
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(6)
Limitations.
a.
The
conveyance of any real property in subsection (b)(5)(a), (b)(5)(b)
or (b)(5)(c) of this section shall require the approval of the mayor
and the city council.
b.
Any
debt incurred by the trust shall not constitute a pledge of the full
faith and credit of the city, and all documents related to any debt
shall contain a statement that the holder of any such debt shall have
no recourse against the city, with an acknowledgement of said statement
by the holder.
c.
Any
loan, grant or other disbursement that is tendered without a requirement
of repayment, or forgiven in whole or in part after the fact, shall
require approval by a majority vote of the entire city council.
(C0268-20; C0494-20)
(a)
Notwithstanding
any general or special law to the contrary, all moneys paid to the
trust in accordance with any zoning ordinance or bylaw or private
contributions shall be paid directly into the trust and need not be
appropriated or accepted and approved into the trust.
(b)
General
revenues appropriated into the trust become trust property, and to
be expended, these funds need not be further appropriated.
(c)
All
moneys remaining in the trust at the end of any fiscal year, whether
or not expended by the board within 1 year of the date they were appropriated
into the trust, remain trust property.
(d)
Sources
of funding may include, but are not limited to:
(1)
Private
cash donations from individuals and corporations designated for the
affordable housing trust fund;
(2)
Payments
in lieu of participation in current or future affordable housing programs;
(3)
Matching
funds from a federal or state affordable housing trust fund; or a
state program designated to fund an affordable housing trust fund;
(4)
Principal
and interest from affordable housing trust fund loan repayments and
all other income from trust fund activities;
(5)
The
sale of real and personal property;
(6)
Local
government appropriations, development fees and other funds as designated
from time to time by the city council; and
(7)
Tax
increment finance (TIF) pooled funds.
(C0268-20; C0494-20)
The city may use funds from the affordable housing trust fund
to assist proposed projects or programs to develop or preserve affordable
housing including but not limited to:
(a)
Making
loans at interest rates below or at market rates in order to strengthen
the financial feasibility of proposed projects;
(b)
Guaranteeing
of loans;
(c)
Providing
gap financing for affordable housing developments;
(d)
Financing
the acquisition, demolition, and disposition of property for affordable
housing projects;
(e)
Financing
construction of public improvements and utilities to aid proposed
affordable residential developments;
(f)
Financing
the rehabilitation, remodeling, or new construction of affordable
housing;
(g)
Tenant
and homeowner project-based rental and mortgage assistance;
(h)
Funding
for acquisition and rehab in conjunction with or related to housing
trust fund projects;
(i)
Funding
to facilitate affordable homeownership opportunities including down
payment assistance, second mortgages, closing costs, etc.;
(j)
Administrative
costs associated with affordable housing programs;
(k)
Interim
financing of public costs for affordable housing projects in anticipation
of a permanent financing source (i.e., construction financing, bond
sale, etc.); and
(l)
Other
uses as permitted by law.
(C0268-20; C0494-20)
(a)
Reporting.
(1)
The
trustees shall keep a record of their doings and make a report thereof
to the city annually.
(2)
The
report shall include a description and source of funds received and
expended and the type of affordable housing programs or properties
assisted with the funding.
(3)
Such
report shall be sent to the mayor not later than January 15 in each
year, and a copy thereof shall be filed with the department of planning
and community development.
(b)
Auditing.
(1)
The
books and records of the trust shall also be audited annually by an
independent auditor in accordance with accepted accounting practices.
(2)
The
audit of the affordable housing trust fund shall report annually to
the city council on the use of the affordable housing trust fund account
including:
(3)
The
city shall post the report on its website.
