I appreciate Gregory Luce reference to the Teamworks study. This is just the sort of thing I was looking for after reading Pauline Thomas' editorial. You can see it for yourself in parts or in whole here:
http://www.nrp.org/R2/Resources/Reports/Teamworks/Teamworks.html This 192 page tome is nice bedtime reading for anyone interested in keeping up with this thread. The beneficiary analysis is found starting on document page 68. A noteworthy snippet from below: "Neighborhood organizations were encouraged not to duplicate the types of loans already provided by MCDA through MHFA and CDBG but rather to supplement these programs." Sounds to me like the NRP housing funds were intended mainly for middle income households right from the start. Conor Donnelly WaitePark Neighborhood Revitalization Program 1990.1999 Page 73 TEAMWORKS: Evaluation Report Background The City of Minneapolis has a long tradition of aggressiveness in operating financing programs for purposes that include keeping residential properties in a good state of repair. Historically, for homeowners, the city.s commitment was supported primarily through two programs, federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies and state Minnesota Housing Finance Administration (MHFA) funding, both of which are administered by the Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDA). The CDBG funds are used for deferred loans that need not be paid back for substantial periods, if at all. To be eligible, homeowners must have incomes below $18,000. MHFA has a deferred loan program as well, with income eligibility capped at $10,000. But it also has a program of loans that are amortized (repaid by the owners over time from the start), which has a much higher eligibility cap ($73,140 in certain targeted areas and $51,000 otherwise). Since MCDA intended to continue to administer the CDBG and MHFA programs even after the creation of NRP, the agency took an active role in working with neighborhoods to develop complementary strategies. As neighborhoods began to assemble their NRP plans, MCDA staff met with each NRP steering committee to discuss housing-related options. Once a neighborhood decided to devote funding to housing improvement, MCDA provided the neighborhood with a description of possible types of loan and grant programs. Neighborhood organizations were encouraged not to duplicate the types of loans already provided by MCDA through MHFA and CDBG but rather to supplement these programs. One option in that direction was to create programs with amortizing loans and higher income eligibility limits where deferred loans (or no program) operated before, and MCDA reports that this option was selected with some frequency. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
