May 2010 In This Issue Listening Sessions Congratulations to Governor's Commendation Award Winners Commissioner Names New Assistant Commissioners 2010 State CDBG Competition Updated 2010 Economic Development Financing Packet Available Residential Green Building Code Update A Community of Opportunity - Burke County Service Delivery Strategy Tied to County Comp Plan Date The Congress for New Urbanism Conference is Coming to Georgia SmartCode Training You are Invited to Listening Sessions, coming soon! All of us at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) are totally committed to fulfilling Governor Sonny Perdue's goal that state government become faster, friendlier, and easier. In the past, Town Hall Meetings have been an effective way for DCA to hear from you on ways in which to improve upon our programs and services. This year we will conduct Listening Sessions, using video conferencing equipment, as a new means to hear from you on how we can assist you in serving your community. Just like you, we are continuously looking for ways to make the best use of limited dollars. Through the use of this new technology and with the help of the State's technical colleges and other partners, we will be able to see and hear one another at the various Listening Session locations, allowing for open communication on topics that are of greatest interest to you. This will not only save state funds by eliminating travel expenses, but will also enable us to hold simultaneous sessions at different locations within a region, and hopefully also make your participation more convenient. Although I won't be present "in person", I will be expecting to see you as we continue partnering with you to help create a climate of success for our Georgia families and businesses. We have much to discuss, and I need to hear from you as well. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Listening Sessions. Please click on the link below for the schedule of upcoming sessions, contact information, and directions. www.dca.ga.gov/main/news/ListeningSessions.asp Congratulations to Governor's Commendation Award Winners! Please join us in congratulating two of DCA's great teams for receiving this quarter's Governor's Commendation for Excellence in Customer Service, the Office of Planning and Quality Growth Team and the Office of Affordable Housing Stimulus Team. The teams were recognized during the DCA Board Meeting on April 7th and were recognized at a ceremony at the Capitol on April 22, 2010. This is a significant honor which speaks highly of the recipients' accomplishments for our agency. The Office of Planning and Quality Growth Team Cherie Bennett, Rebecca Born, Lydia Doyle, Jim Frederick, Annette Henson, Renetta GeorgiaHousingSea rch - A Ready Resource During Hurricane Season POPULAR RESOURCES American Recovery and Re-Investment Act DCA Home Exceeding Excellence Hobson, Elizabeth Smith, Jon West, and Annaka Woodruff. In an effort to improve customer service to local governments, the Office of Planning and Quality Growth (OPQG) began an aggressive campaign to update program policies and procedures. To date, OPQG has rolled-out seven different program upgrades. This internal evaluation process completely dissects and examines every aspect of a program, ensuring it is serving the customer at the highest level. One particular improvement is related to the Capital Improvements Element (CIE) program. There were no complaints about the CIE program, but the staff knew that they could improve on the model. The staff went to work restructuring the reporting process, writing and publishing new guidebooks, and creating new templates. These changes dramatically improved the process, decreasing the approval processing time from 46 days to 22 days. Now local governments can access crucial funds almost three weeks earlier, enabling local governments to build better communities all across Georgia. The Office of Affordable Housing's Stimulus Review Team With the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Office of Affordable Housing's Stimulus Review Team received the additional responsibility of administering over $200 million of stimulus funds under the Tax Credit Assistance Program and the Tax Credit Exchange Program. The team took on the additional responsibility of developing policy and procedures for two new complex programs in a constantly changing, challenging economic environment with stringent timeframes. Working with their partners and customer base, the team not only met the goal of quickly putting stimulus funds into Georgia's economy, but also incorporated procedures to ensure effective and efficient use of the financial resources, even incorporating "green" components into each project. This resulted in significant reduction in project development costs which allowed stimulus funds to be leveraged over more projects; thereby providing even more safe and affordable housing for Georgia's citizens. Did You Receive Excellent Service From A DCA Staffer? DCA's "Exceeding Excellence" Customer Service Recognition Program Allows You To Recognize A Job Very Well Done. Please consider nominating a DCA staffer that's gone above and beyond! DCA's "Exceeding Excellence" recognition program affords DCA team members and our external customers the opportunity to recognize DCA Congratulations to all of you and thank you for your commitment to the citizens of Georgia. Commissioner Names New Assistant Commissioners Commissioner Beatty named two new Assistant Commissioners on April 30th, promoting two senior managers from within the organization. Effective May 1st, Dennis Williams is Assistant Commissioner for the Rental Assistance Division. Saralyn Stafford will become the Director of External Affairs upon Jim Finch's retirement in June, and will take over as Assistant Commissioner for Local Government Assistance in December, when Mike Gleaton retires. Dennis has served as the Information Technology Office Director, and most recently as Assistant Director of Internal Affairs. "Dennis will bring his considerable people skills, technology expertise and work ethic to the position, and I look forward to working with him in his new role", said Commissioner Beatty in announcing the position change. He continued, "Saralyn's knowledge of local government issues in the state along with her expertise in leadership training and economic development will serve her well in her new roles." Saralyn has served as the Assistant Director of External Affairs, and as the Executive Director for the Georgia team members for providing excellent customer service. Information is available from the DCA website front page www.dca.ga.gov, Click on the "Customer Feedback" link and complete the information. Academy for Economic Development. Commissioner Beatty concluded, "Please join me in congratulating both Dennis and Saralyn. I'm very pleased that the great talent pool we have at DCA allows us to promote from within when senior leadership opportunities arise." COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCE 2010 State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Competition The FFY 2010 State CDBG competition is underway. Subsequent to the April 1st regular round deadline, the Community Development and Finance Division (CDFD) reports receiving 159 applications requesting $74,459,378 in assistance. Of the 159 applications, there were 109 from cities, 49 from counties and 1 joint city/county application. As required by the federal CDBG statute, the 159 applications propose to assist 54,540 persons of whom 92% or 50,163 persons are low to moderate-income. The proposed activities range from public facilities to assist the developmentally disabled, to alleviation of neighborhood blight, to the replacement of failed sewer infrastructure impacting poor neighborhoods. Statistics on the number and type of applications submitted along with a report listing individual applications can be viewed at dca.ga.gov/communities/CDBG/index.asp under the header "2010 CDBG Application Cycle". The target date for announcement of the competition's results is early September. Neighborhood blight targeted in 2010 CDBG The State CDBG Program is funded through annual assistance received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for implementation of the federal government's "non-entitlement" CDBG program for smaller, more rural local governments. HUD manages the "entitlement" CDBG program for larger metro local governments directly. Questions regarding the State CDBG program should be directed to Steed Robinson at (404) 679-3167 or Brian Williamson at (404) 679-1587. Updated 2010 Economic Development Financing Packet Available DCA's Community Development and Financing Division is proud to publish the 2010 version of Georgia's definitive guide to economic development financing resources. The resource guide is available at no charge from the Department's website on the link listed below. As experienced community and economic developers know, the private sector often needs assistance from local governments in order to move new or expansion projects forward. Whether it's a need for basic public infrastructure enhancement or a more direct involvement with project financing through public authorities, the 2010 Economic Development Financing Packet (EDFP) lists available state and federal resources and contacts. By combining a community's local assets with available state and federal resources, local governments can stretch limited budgets and often assist job creation initiatives to move forward sooner rather than later. The publication can be downloaded from www.dca.ga.gov/economic/TaxCredits/programs/downloads/EDFD.pdf. For questions regarding the packet and programs, please feel free to contact Coleen Gelot at 404-679-3110 or Ross Avina at 404-679-1593. Coleen and Ross can be reached via email at coleen.gelot@dca.ga.gov or ross.avina@dca.ga.gov. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE Residential Green Building Code Update The Residential Green Building Code Task Force held their fifth meeting on March 16th, 2010 at the Department of Community Affairs. This residential green building standard will be based on the ICC-700, National Green Building Standard, developed by the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Association of Home Builders. The Green Building Standard will be for One-and -Two Family Dwellings including Townhomes. The Administration, Energy & Efficiency, and the Materials & Resource Work Groups made their final reports at this meeting. The final meeting of the Task Force is set for June 15th, 2010. This final meeting will confirm all of the proposed amendments that will be presented at the July 29, 2010 State Codes Advisory Committee meeting. A Community of Opportunity: Burke County Burke Community Partnership (BCP) is a non-profit organization located in Waynesboro, Georgia whose mission is "To champion the collaboration of resources to improve results for children, families, and the community." BCP is high on making sure that each child has a healthy start so that they have the potential for a healthy future. According to the Kids Count Data Center, Burke County has been above the Georgia average of teen pregnancies, ages 15-17 (Rate per 1,000) since 1994. These results along with the current increase in teen pregnancies have brought BCP to the table to work with a local private practice to address the problem. A video depicting raw data and the need for community awareness and involvement is being developed. The purpose of this video is to shine a light on this subject and identify the core root to develop the strategies that will allow for the problem to be addressed and not just the symptoms. Some of the key points that will be shared will be the number of teen births below the age of 15, the number of births without prenatal care, low birth weight, death in infancy, and the number of teen parents who dropped out of school. There will be several town hall meetings in the upcoming months in order to complete the video process. For more information on the Burke Community Partnership, please contact Executive Director DeAndre L. Davis at (706) 554-7213. Georgia's Service Delivery Strategy Act The Community Planning Institute is headed to Unicoi State Park near Helen, July 13-14, 2010. Register now for the popular Community Planning Institute! We limit class size to allow each participant a full opportunity to learn in small groups and take part in class discussions. The Community Planning Institute provides training for citizens, staff and elected officials involved in planning and land development in their communities. We emphasize the importance of a community vision in planning for the future, the role of the planning commissioner in helping define that vision and how to work with your community's citizens and governing body to make that vision a reality. For more information: http://dca.ga.gov/development/PlanningQualityGrowth/DOCUMENTS/Publications/CPI/2010C alendar.pdf. To register, contact Annette Henson at Annette.henson@dca.ga.gov or by phone at 404-679-5279. We look forward to seeing you there! The Congress for New Urbanism Conference is Coming to Georgia From 19-22 May 2010 New Urbanist leaders from across the country will be in Atlanta to lead discussions, workshops and field trips to share groundbreaking ideas in land use planning. The conference will cover topics such as: health and land use, local ordinances, transportation alternatives, environmentally friendly land use, new trends in the retail industry, retrofitting old shopping centers and rethinking stalled developments. For more information please visit: www.cnu.org/cnu18. SmartCode Special - $49 Have you heard the term "form-based code" but don't really know what it is? Has your community held visioning sessions and imagined wonderful walkable downtowns, only to discover that your existing zoning code won't allow your ideas to grow? Don't worry communities across the nation are running into the same challenges. And on May 19, some of the most renowned form-based code leaders in the United States will be in Atlanta to spend a day with local officials and staff to work through some of the tough issues that surround changing a zoning code to get the development patterns a community envisions. The $49 registration fee gets you a full day of education and a box-lunch. One of the best deals in the state! Register online at www.smartcodeworkshop.com. If you can't make it in person, a webinar option is available. SAFE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING GeorgiaHousingSearch.org - A READY RESOURCE DURING HURRICANE SEASON! As hurricane season approaches don't forget DCA's GeorgiaHousingSearch.org is available should you need help. GeorgiaHousingSearch.org is an online listing and locator service for affordable rental housing. It is a user-friendly site that offers over 150,000 housing units right at your fingertips. Over the last few years, GeorgiaHousingSearch.org has played a critical role in providing vital housing information to displaced families and individuals affected during a natural disaster. Frequently asked questions and answers are provided on the web site for disaster housing along with links to Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), community resources, and special needs housing. Since its introduction in the fall of 2005 as a response to the influx of families fleeing Hurricane Katrina, GeorgiaHousingSearch.org has become a favorite of both tenants and property providers. Accessible from any computer or telephone, this FREE, easy-to-use service has connected thousands of Georgians with information on rental housing. On the site, citizens can search for rental properties statewide while landlords can post for free and reach a countless number of potential renters. The website is bilingual (English and Spanish) and has a toll-free number (1.877.428.8844) available to assist potential renters and property providers. In addition, the site's unique Special Needs Housing Search feature has assisted Georgia caseworkers in locating housing for hundreds of traditionally hard-to-place families and individuals. DON'T HESITATE, VISIT WWW.GEORGIAHOUSINGSEARCH.ORG TODAY! This email is prepared and emailed by the Georgia Department of Communtiy Affairs. If you wish to be removed from the email list, please be sure to click on the SafeUnsubscribe button below. Forward email Georgia Department of Community Affairs | 60 Executive Park S., NE | Atlanta | GA | 30329