[Adopted 4-11-2023 by Doc. 39]
The Haverhill Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (the "Trust")
is hereby created pursuant to the provisions of MGL c. 44, § 55C.
The purpose of the Trust shall be to provide for the preservation
and creation of affordable housing in the City of Haverhill for the
benefit of low and moderate income households and for the funding
of community housing, as such is defined in MGL c. 44B.
A.
A Board of Trustees ("Board") shall have the administration and management
responsibilities, as provided herein, for the Trust. The Board shall
consist of nine Trustees appointed by the Mayor, and who shall serve
without compensation. The Mayor shall ensure, to the extent feasible,
that the composition of the Board reflects the geographic and ethnic
mix that exists in the City. All Board members should have some working
interest in the City. Members shall be appointed as follows:
(1)
The Mayor, or a designee, who shall serve as chairperson;
(2)
Additional requirements.
(a)
There shall be at all times appointed to the Board at least
one individual with financial/lending experience.
(c)
At least two individuals referred to the Mayor by a community
organization conducting supportive housing or other anti-poverty work
in the City.
(d)
At least two individuals who are tenants in the City. One member
must live in an affordable housing property, and the other must live
in a market-rate unit.
(e)
One Board membership shall be reserved for a member of the City
Council.
(3)
A minimum of five of the nine trustees shall be residents of the
City.
(4)
Trustees shall be appointed for a two-year term.
The Trustees shall elect officers, other than a Chairperson,
annually, which shall consist of a Vice Chairperson and Clerk. The
Trustees may establish subcommittees or ad hoc related committees
to carry out the purpose of the Trust. A majority of Trustees then
serving may exercise any or all of the powers of the Trustees hereunder
and may execute on behalf of the Trustees any and all instruments
with the same effect as though executed by all the Trustees. No Trustee
shall be required to give bond. No license of court shall be required
to confirm the validity of any transaction entered into by the Trustees
with respect to the Trust Estate. No Trustee shall be liable for the
acts, negligence, or defaults of any other Trustee or any employee,
agent, or representative of the Trustees selected with reasonable
care, not for errors in judgment, nor mistakes of law or facts made
in good faith, nor in reliance in good faith on advice of counsel,
nor any other acts or omissions in good faith. Neither the Trustees
nor any agent or officer of the Trust shall have the authority to
bind the City of Haverhill.
The Board of Trustees shall meet at least quarterly at such
time and at such place as the Trustees shall determine. The Clerk
shall prepare minutes of meetings of the Trust and shall maintain
records thereof. A quorum at any meeting shall be a simple majority
of the Trustees then serving.
The Trustees shall keep a record of its doings and at the close
of every fiscal year make a report thereof to the City Council. 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. In accordance with MGL c. 44, § 55C,
the books and records of the Trust shall be audited annually by an
independent auditor in accordance with accepted accounting practices
for municipalities. Upon receipt of the audit by the Board, a copy
shall be provided forthwith to the City Council.
A.
The powers of the Board, all of which shall be carried out in furtherance
of the purposes set forth herein, shall include the following powers,
except that the Board shall require prior approval of the City Council:
to borrow money; to mortgage or pledge trust assets; or to purchase,
accept, sell, lease, exchange, transfer, abandon, or convey any interest
in real, personal, or mixed property.
(1)
To accept and receive real property, personal property or money,
by gift, grant, contribution, devise or transfer from any person,
firm, corporation or other public or private entity, including without
limitation grants of funds or other property tendered to the trust
in connection with provisions of any zoning ordinance or bylaw or
any other ordinance or bylaw;
(2)
To purchase and retain real or personal property, including without
restriction investments that yield a high rate of income or no income;
(3)
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;
(4)
To execute, acknowledge and deliver deeds, assignments, transfers,
pledges, leases, covenants, contracts, promissory notes, releases,
grant agreements 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;
(5)
To employ advisors and agents, such as accountants, appraisers and
lawyers as the Board deems necessary;
(6)
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;
(7)
To apportion receipts and charges between income 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;
(8)
To participate in any reorganization, recapitalization, merger or
similar transaction; 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;
(9)
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;
(10)
To carry property for accounting purposes other than acquisition
date values;
(11)
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, but any mortgage or pledge of assets as collateral
greater than the extent of the Trust's assets requires approval
by a 2/3 vote of the City Council;
(12)
To make distributions or divisions of principal in kind;
(13)
To compromise, attribute, defend, enforce, release, settle or
otherwise adjust claims in favor 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 Trust, to continue to hold the same for
such period of time as the Board may deem appropriate;
(14)
To manage or improve real property; and to abandon any property
which the Board determined not to be worth retaining;
(15)
To hold all or part of the Trust property uninvested for such
purposes and for such time as the Board may deem appropriate;
(16)
To extend the time for payment of any obligation to the Trust;
(17)
To make recommendations on proposals to the City Council when
such proposals create or support affordable housing for low- and moderate-income
households;
(18)
To develop policy goals and statements, consistent with the
City's adopted housing goals, and subject to approval by the
City Council, to serve as guidelines for the Trust;
(19)
To exercise such additional powers consistent with the provisions
of this ordinance and Massachusetts General Laws c. 44, § 55C,
as may be amended from time to time;
(20)
To compensate City employees for services provided to the Trust
in connection with the Trust's activities, including but not
limited to dedicated staff to Trustees, engineering support for project-specific
activities, and other City services, as requested by the Trustees
to the Mayor and authorized by the Mayor;
(21)
To establish criteria and qualifications for recipients and
expenditures in accordance with Trust's stated purposes;
(22)
To serve as a lottery and monitoring agent for affordable housing,
and to accept compensation for providing such services into the Trust.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all moneys
paid to the Trust in accordance with any City ordinance or regulation,
or private contribution shall be paid directly into the Trust and
need not be appropriated or accepted and approved into the Trust.
General revenues appropriated into the Trust become Trust property
and to be expended these funds need not be further appropriated. All
moneys remaining in the Trust at the end of any fiscal year, whether
or not expended by the Board within one year of the date they were
appropriated into the trust, remain Trust property.
(23)
To provide funds for the benefit of low and moderate income
households to assist in the acquisition, creation, preservation, rehabilitation
and support of affordable housing options for such families;
(24)
To provide grants or loans to assist low and moderate income
homeowners and/or homebuyers to purchase or rehabilitate a dwelling
unit in the City of Haverhill.
There is hereby created, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 44, § 55C,
an affordable housing trust fund. The City Treasurer shall be the
custodian of such fund. The fund shall be utilized to provide for
the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Haverhill for
the benefit of low- and moderate-income households and for the funding
of community housing. Any income or proceeds received from the investment
of funds shall be credited to and become part of the Trust. The Trust's
approved annual budget, and any approved budget revisions, shall be
submitted to the City Council. As custodian, the Treasurer shall issue
checks as directed by the Trustees.
The Trustees are hereby authorized to record a declaration of
trust and a certificate of trustees for the Trust with the Essex South
District Registry of Deeds and the Registered Land Division of the
Land Court Registration Office. The declaration of trust may be amended
from time to time except as to those provisions specifically required
under MGL c. 44, § 55C, by an instrument in writing signed
by all of the Trustees then serving and approved at a meeting called
for that purpose, and approved by the Mayor and City Council provided
that in each case, a certificate of amendment shall be recorded with
said Registry and, if necessary, the Land Court.
The Trust shall continue so long as authorized by law or until
it is terminated by the Mayor and City Council. Upon termination of
the Trust, subject to the payment of or making provisions for the
payment of all obligations and liabilities of the Trust and the Trustees,
the net assets of the Trust shall be transferred to the City and held
for affordable housing purposes. In making any such distribution,
the Trustees may, subject to the approval of the Mayor and City Council,
sell all or any portion of the Trust property and distribute the net
proceeds thereof or they may distribute any of the Trust's assets
in kind. The powers of the Trustees shall continue until the affairs
of the Trust are concluded.
