DCA programs & services directory / DCA

PROGRAMS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
G EOR GI A D EPARTMENT OF
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS June 2005

P ROGRAM S & S ERVICES DI RECTORY: 2005
Establishing part nerships between state go vernment, local gove rnments and the pri vate sector to create oppo rtunities to improve the quality of life in Georgia.
EXECUTIVE O FFICE
Th e Exec utive Office ca rries out Boa rd of Co mmunity Affa irs polic y directi ves. Th e Commiss ione r is selec ted by the Board and se rves as the Departme nt' s Chief Execut ive Officer. T he Co mmissioner also serves as the Exec utive Director of the Georgia Housing and Fina nce Authority. Th e Executive Office is respon sible for int ergovernm ent al and le gi s lati ve re la t io ns and pro vid e s po li cy g u id a nce a nd managem ent oversight to the vario us op erati ng division s.
EXECUTIVE O FFICE - EXTERNAL AFFA IRS
External Affairs assist the Co mmissione r' s offi ce with specia l projects and ac ts as the Dep artmen t' s liaison with local, regio nal and state partn ers. Ex terna l Affai rs co nsist of the Office of Re g iona l Serv ice s , Dire c tor of th e Geo rgia Aca de my for Ec onomic Devel opm ent and support staff. T he Office o f Re gi on al Se rv ice s (O RS ) pro vid es techni cal assistance to local gove rnme nts, de vel opm ent author ities and chambers of co mmerce. Region al staff are located in eac h o f the .state ' s twe lve Service Deli ver y Reg ion s. Staff support th e ac tiv itie s of Reg ion al Ad viso ry Co u nci ls and Th e Geor gi a Acade my for Eco nomic Development. They also provide leadership, community and eco nomic development technical assistance to clients in their res pec tive regions. ORS staff play a key role with the implementation of the Signature Co mmunity Program. Th e Director of the Geo rgia Acade my for Eco nomic Developm ent is attac hed to Ex ternal Affa irs. Th e Aca de my pro vid es region al economic and leader ship de velopm ent tra inin g throu gh out the state. Th e Direct or wor ks clo se ly wi th ORS sta ff to co ord inate logistics and program impl em ent ati on.
E XECUTIVE O FFICE - IN TERNAL A FFAIRS
Thi s d ivision provid es a variety of support functi on s to DCA. Th e di vision is co mpr ise d of thr ee units: Hum an Resource s, Ad ministra tive Services , and Information Sy stems.

The Office of Hum an Resources is respon sible for maint ain ing a nd ad mi nis teri ng personnel rec rui t me n t a nd selec tio n, co mpe ns atio n, perform an ce evaluatio n, e mployee re lat io ns, wo rke rs co m pe nsat io n, le adersh ip de vel opment , pol ic y development and position classificati on . The sec tio n also work s cl osel y w ith supe rv iso rs a nd man agers to de vel op training programs and to resol ve per sonnel pr oblems and iss ues . In addition, the sec tion prov ides employees with information and assistance reg ardin g the state benefit pack age .
Th e Offic e of Adm in istrati ve S er vic e s pro vid es fleet managem ent, telecommuni cation s, mail and supply services, printing and record s managem ent services. Th e Office is also respon sible for the co ndition, maintena nce and safe ty of the departm ent building and propert y, and serv es as the dep artment liaison for Field Office lease iss ues.
The Office of Inform ation System s pro vides co mputer desktop technical assistance, computer and software training, network and server support, programming and development, and maintains DCA's servers. The Office also manages the dep artment's intranet and is responsible for the development and maintenance of the department 's extema l web sites.
B u s INESS AND F INANCIAL A SSISTANCE D IVISION
Th is di vision ad ministe rs va rious co mmunity and eco no mic d e vel opment fi na nci ng pr o g ra ms a nd pro vid es fi na ncia l pa ckaging and techn ical assi st anc e to gove rn me nts and bu sinesses. Th e di vision is made up of four offi ces, the Office of Grant Administration, the Office of Economic Development, the Office of Fie ld Serv ices a nd th e Office of Downtown Development.
Th e Offic e o f Grant Adm ini strati on o verse e s th e s ta teadminis tered Community De velopm ent Block Grant (CDBG) Pr o gram a nd th e Community HOME In vestment Pr ogram (CHIP). The se progr ams assis t local govern men ts in financi ng a wide range of eligible activ ities, includ ing, housing improv ement projects, publi c infrastructure, public buildings and eco nomic de vel opment a nd job creation pr oj ect s. All proj ects mu st substantia lly ben efit low and moderate-income person s.
Th e Office of Econ omic Development administers a wide variety of state and federal economic de velopment finan cin g progr ams for ne w and existin g businesses. Programs include:
Infrastru cture gra nts and direct bu sine ss loans up to $500,000 are availa ble throu gh the Empl oyment Incent ive Program (a set-as ide of the state 's CDBG fund s) for the reten tion and ex pansio n of job opportunities for low and moderate- income persons. Loans are used to capitalize local revolving loan fund s for reIend ing to other businesses.

PROGRAMS & S ERVICES DIR ECTORY: 2005
The Appa lac hian Regional Comm ission provide s grants up to $300,000 and loans up to $20 0,000 for eco nomic developm ent (and other purposes) to 37 counties in north Georgia.
Th e Redevelopm ent Fund provides up to $500,000 in gra nts o r lo an s to lo cal gove rn me nts a nd bu sinesses for th e revitali zati on of di stressed are as suc h as brownfi eld s, gre yfi e lds, and abandoned co m me rci a l corridors or the redevelopment of dilapidated or contaminated buildings that will be put to economic use.
Incent ive finan cin g for proje cts ide ntified by the Georgia Dep artment of Econom ic Developm ent are available throu gh the Regional Econom ic Business Assis tance Program (REBA) and the EDGE progr am (ad mi nis tered o n be half of th e OneGeo rgia Auth ority).
C ap a cit y bu ild in g pr oj e ct s s uc h as land ac q uisi tio n, infrastructure dev elopment and spec building s, along with touri sm and other innovativ e economic development strategies can receive up to $500,000 in grants, loans, and gra nt/loan through the Equity Fund program (administered on behalf o f the OneGe org ia Auth ority) to assis t rural counties in prom otin g the eco no mic sec urity and creation and retention of eco nomic opportunities in the rural areas of the state.
OED admi nis ters the Job Tax Credit port ion of the Busin ess Expa nsio n and Supp ort Ac t (the BEST legi slat ion ) whic h provides income tax cred its to bu sinesses creating j ob s. Th e amount of tax credit per job is determined by the Tier status of the co unty or the " less devel oped" nature of the census tract (ranked by DCA in accordance with the criteria outlined in law).
The Office of Field Services coordinates field service ope rati on s with other BFAD offices and provide s techn ical ass istance to local gove rnments, authorities and businesses see king to access funding programs. OFS also mon itors funded projects for co mpliance with ap plicable laws and reg ulatio ns.
Th e Office of Downtown Developm ent coo rdinates the Georgia Main Street and Bett er Hometown Program s. Th ese pro grams ass ist Georgi a cities, nei ghborhoods and small towns in the dev el opment/redevelopment of the ir core commercial areas. Assistance provided by the Office of Downtow n Development emphasizes community-ba sed , self-help efforts grounded in the prin cipl es of professional, comprehensive management of core co mmercial d istrict within the context of historic preservat ion and the National Main Str eet Center's Fo ur-po int App roach to Downt own Revitalizationl " : Organ izat ion , Design, Eco no mic Re stru cturing and Prom otion . To d ate , th er e ar e I05 sta te design ated ci ties in these program s.

COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION
This division provides staff, management and oversight for the programs of three state organizations and one federally -funded program attached to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. The State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless Commission is governed by a nine member commission appointed by the Governor. The Trust Fund Commission awards funds to nonprofit organizations and units of local government to support the operation of emergency shelters, transitional housing and essential services for the homeless. The Commission also provides technical and financial assistance to supportive housing developments that serve individ uals and families with specia l housing needs.
The Georg ia Commission for Nationa l & Commu nity Service administers the AmeriCorps-National gran t program to qualified non-profit and local govern ment applica nts on a funds-available basis. Grant funds provide stipends for community service by AmeriCorps memb ers in the national priority needs areas of ed ucat ion , e nviro nmen t, p ublic safety and hu man need. Amer iCorps member service augments services provided by traditio nal volun teers. A fifteen- member board appointed by the Governor oversees Commission projects.
This divi sion also administers the federal Section 8 Housing Assistance Program, which provides low income families with affordable, safe, quality rental housing . This U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HU D) funded program is administered by DCA in 149 of Georgia 's 159 counties through five regional offices in Albany, Athens, Carrollton, Eastman and Waycross. The program provide s rent subsidies on behalf of low income families and individuals to participating landlords who agree to maintain their rental properties to the required housing quali ty standards. In the remaining ten counties, local housi ng authorities administer Sectio n 8 subsidies.
The program has more than 16,800 assi sted families under contrac t and an annual budget of $ 100 million . It is staffed by approximately 130 workers, most of whom work in the field.

COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION REGIONAL OFFICES

Carrollton Regional Office 103 Parkwood Circle Carrollton, GA 301 17 (770) 836-6660 (888) 340-4481

Waycross Regional Office 960-A City Boulevard Waycross , GA 3150 I (912) 285-6280 (888) 879-2549

P ROGRAMS & S ERVICES DIRECTORY: 2005

Athens Regional Office Newton Bridge Rd., Suite 2 Athens, GA 30607 (706) 369-5636 (888) 318-0354

Alba ny Regional Office 323 Pine Avenue, Suite 202 Albany, GA 3170 I (229) 430-4117 (888) 340-7069

Eastma n Regional Offi ce Eastman, GA (478) 374-6961 (888) 340-6112

REGIONAL SERVICE OFFICES

Region 1: Regional Representative: Leamon Scott

P.O. Box 268, Rome . GA 3016 1, (706) 234-457 1

Region 2: Regional Representative: Kathy Papa

P.O. Box 6090, Gainesville, GA 30504, (770) 965-856 1

Region 3: Regional Representative: Cynthia Easley

60 Executive Park South, NE, Atlanta. GA 30329, (404) 679-4789

Region 4: Regional Representative: Corinne Blencoe

P.O. Box 3065. Laflrange, GA 30241. (706) 884-8950

Region 5: Regional Representative: Candice Gunn

225 W. Broad Street , Athens, GA 3060 I, (706) 583-2736

Region 6: Regional Representative: Nicole Katsikides

P.O. Box 4903 , Macon , GA 31201, (478) 841-2031

.Region 7: Regional Representative: Tina Hutcheson

P.O. Box 129, Bartow, GA 30413, (478) 469-3751

Region 8: Regional Representative: Spencer Mueller

P.O. Box 850, Blakely, GA 39823 , (229) 723-9184

Region 9: Regional Representative: James Crowdi s

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1202-C Hillcrest Parkway, Dublin, GA 3 1021, (478) 296-6 195

Region 10: Regional Representative: Julianne Hudson

P.O. Box 125, Cedar Springs, GA 39832, (229) 372-4280

Region 11: Regional Representative: Scott Purvis

P.O. Box 397, Hahira, GA 31632. (229) 794-2096

Region 12: Regional Rep.: Sarah Brockenbrough

P.O. Box 9205, Savannah, GA 31412, (912) 239-9913

PR OGRAMS & S ERVICES DI RECTORY: 2005

FINANCE DIVISION

exchange for providing equity to finance the development, while HOME provides low interest con struction/permanent loan s for

This division provides administrative support to the Department

multifamily developments. In return for these financial

in areas including purchasing, budget, payroll, accounts payable,

incentives, the owners of the developments agree to rent to low

accounts receivable , and accounting. In addition, the division

and very-low income hou seholds and maintain their properties

pro vide s man y of the same services to the Georgia Hou sing and

in good condition over an extended period of years. Over 94 ,000

Finance Authority (GHFA) .

units of rental housing around the State are under the management

Furthermore , the divi sion plays a significant role in GHFA's

of OAH, with as man y as 5,000 unit s added each year.

admini stration . Fin ance s ta ff is re spon sible for issuing

The Office of Special Hou sing Initiatives manages the federal

approximately $ 100 to $150 million tax-exempt bonds annuall y. The proceeds from the bo nd issuance are used to finance single family mortgage loan s. Additionally, the division con servatively

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HOME program for the Department, which results in about $3 1 million dollars annually in fund s for affordable hou sing. In addition, the Office provides gap financing assista nce to spur

manages GHFA' s general fund and bond fund inve stments, and

the con struction of affordable single family homes for sale to

is re sponsible for maintai ning the near ly $ 800 million in

qualified low and moderate income home buyers. The Office

out sta nding bonds. GHFA has one large active bond resolution

also pro vides con struction and permanent loan fina ncing for the

rated AAA by Standard and Poor 's (S& P). A smaller inactive

con struction of permanent supportive housing for the targe ted

resol utio n co nsis ting of two 1984 bon d issues is rated Aa+ with

hom el ess popul ation s. Si nce 2002, 160 units of perma ne nt

Top Tier stat us by S& P. While Moody's is not curre ntly req ueste d

s u p po rt i ve hou sin g ha ve bee n comp lete d or are und e r

to rate new bond issues , they maintain a AA rati ng on all GH FA

co ns truc tio n thro ug h thi s progra m. Th e Office a lso offe rs

bon ds issued prior to June 1998.

fina ncial and techn ical assistance, traini ng and co nsultation to

nonprofits, local governments, hou sing authorities and other s

HOUSING FINANCE DIVISION

interested in affordable housing development on a local level an d works to expand the hou sing opportunities available to

The Housing Fin ance Divi sion provides financing for the

individ uals with di sabilities.

de ve lopment and acquisition of affordable rental and owner-

occupied hou sing using bo th state and federal funding. This

PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL

divi sion administers the programs of the Georg ia Hou sing and

MANAGEMENT DIVISION

Finance Authority (GHFA) and is completely self-s upporting. No state fund s are used for operations.

Thi s division , through the Office of Planning and Ouality Growth, focu ses on helping the sta te's communities address issue s of

The Office o f Homeownership help s Georgia families purchase

co m munity de velopment and qu ality of life by encouraging

homes with bel ow market rate mortgage s funded from the

implementation of quality grow th best practices thro ughout the

proceeds of tax -exempt mortgage revenue bonds and with down

state . The Office encourages communities to use "s marte r"

payment loan s at zero percent interest. Home buyer educ ation

approaches for managing local dev elopment in order to maintain

seminars and counseling are also co ordinated by thi s Office.

community character and qu ality of life. Thi s Office is also

Participating lenders wit h hundreds of offices around the state take applications for the loan s, many of which are serviced by the Office under the trade name of State Ho me Mortgage. Mo re than 33,000 familie s ha ve used th is pro g ra m to m a ke homeownersh ip possible.

respo nsible for the administration and imp lementation of the Georgia Planning Act , Service Delivery Strategy Act and Georgia Development Impact Fee Act. The activities associated with these laws are ma ny and incl ude deve lopi ng m ini m um plann ing standa rds and procedu res for local and regional co mpre hensive pla ns; provid ing tra ining and ed uca tio na l mater ial s to local

Th e Office of Affo rdable Housing (OA H) ad ministers funding to

governments and Region al Developm ent Ce nters (RDCs) on the

for-profit and non -pro fit groups fo r the co nstruction an d/or

coordi nated pla nning process; mo nitoring deve lopme nts of

re habilitation of afforda ble rental ho using in comm uni tie s

regional impact; and reviewing and ver ifyi ng that local service

thro ughout Georgia. The financing so urce s available through and

delivery strategies comply wit h state law.

allocated by OAH, the Low Income Hou sing Tax Credit (Housing Tax Credits) and the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) are outlined in Georgia's Q ualified Allocation Plan (QAP). Hou sing tax credits allow investors in the project to obtain a dollar for doll ar reduction in federal and state tax liability in

The Office of Environmental Management administers the Keep Georgia Beau tiful Program, the lead agency in state go vernment for solid waste public education and the state's recycling and waste reduction effort s for local governments and the general

public. It has shared responsibility with other state age ncies for managing and implementing the state solid waste management plan includ ing trainin g and educating teachers, pub lic offic ials, and the genera l public on source reduction methods. This Office also ad mi nisters the Geor gia Comprehen sive So lid Wast e Ma nage me nt Ac t by develop ing local gove rnme nt plann ing standa rds, review ing local gove rnment solid waste plans, and providing solid waste technica l assistance to local gove rnments. Finally, the Office of Environmental Managemen t encourages and assists local gove rnments and our citizen s in beco ming bette r stewards of o ur vital water re so urces th rou gh worksho ps, pub lications and the WaterF irst Commun ity Program.
The division's Office of Research is responsible for administer ing local gove rnment surveys related to finance, taxation, wages and salaries, and other top ics. Th is Office publ ishes and maintains Georgia County Snapshots, Georgia Cit yScapes. Co mmunity Indicators, and the Uniform Chart of Acco unts. It also co nducts ongo ing local gove rn ment research o n topi cs of part icular importance to loca l gove rnments and the general publi c. and prepares local gove rnment fiscal impact reports for the General Assembl y.
Other resp on sibilities of th e Pl annin g and Env iro nme nta l Managem ent Division include ove rseei ng Georgia 's un iform co ns tr uc tio n co des and indu stri ali zed build in g program s, con ducting perform ance aud its of the state's 16 RDC s, and through the Office of Decision Supp ort Systems, assisting in the devel opm ent and integration of information systems for the division and providin g mapp ing and Geograp hical Information System services.

PROGRAMS & S ERVICES DIRECTORY: 2005
DIVISION DIRECTORY
Executive Office
Mike Beatty, Commissioner (404) 679-4 940
Phil Foil, Deputy Commi ssioner (404) 679-0600 ~
External Affairs
Jim Finch, Assistant Commissioner (404) 679-4937
jfinch @dca.state.ga.us
Offi ce of Regional Services Winfred Owen s (706 ) 583-2731
wowen s @dca.state.ga.us
Georg ia Academy for Economic Development Saralyn Stafford (9 12) 393-3690
sstaffor@dca.s tate.ga.us ~
Internal Affairs
Bill Swaim, Assistant Commissioner (404) 679-3154
bswaim @dca.state.ga.us
Office of Human Resources Al Howell
(404) 679-3137 ahow e ll@ dca.s tate .ga .us
Office ofAdministrative Services Raymond Noel (404) 679-0623
moe l@dca .state .ga.us
Offi ce of Inf ormation Systems John Elli s
(404 ) 679-4833 jellis@dca.state .ga.us
~

Business and Financial Assistance Division
Brian Williamson, Director (404) 679-1587
bwilliam@dca.state.ga .us
Office of Grant Administration Steed Robinson (404) 679-3168
srobinso@dca.state .ga.us
Offi ce of Economic Development Joa nie Perry
(404) 679-3 173 j perry@ dca .state .ga.us
Office of Field Serv ices Glenn Misner (404) 679- 3138
jp erry @dca.state.ga.us
Office of Downtown Development Billy Parrish
(404) 679-3 115 bparrish @dca.state.ga.us
~
Community Services Division
Terry Ball, Director (404) 679-0569
tball @dca.state.ga.us
Offi ce of the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless John Bassett (404) 679-3170
jb assett @dca.state.ga.us
Office of the Georgia Comm ission f or National & Community Ser vice Jim Marshall (404) 679-6844 jm arshal @dca .state.ga.us
Section 8 Rental Assistance Program Mich ael Timm (404) 679 -1726
mtimm @dca.state.ga.us ~

PR OGRAM S & S ERVI CES DIRECTORY: 20 0 5
Housing Finance Division
Carmen Chubb, Director (404 ) 679-0607
cchubb @dca .state.ga.us
Offi ce of Homeownership Phil Cottone
(404) 679-4846 pcottone @dca.state.ga.us
Offi ce ofAffo rdable Housing Laural Hart
(404) 679-0580 Ihart @dca.state.ga.us
Office of Special Housing Initiative Don Watt
(404) 679-0660 dwatt @dca.state.ga.u s
~
Planning and Environmental Management Division
Rick Brooks, Director (404) 679-0608
rbrook s@dca .state.ga.us Michael Gleaton, Assistant Director
(404) 679-3107 mgleaton @dca.state.ga.us
Offi ce of Environmental Management Randy Hartmann (404 ) 679-4816
rhartman @dca.state.ga.us
Office of Decision Support Systems Terry Jackson (404) 679-49 46
tjackson @dca.state.ga.us
Office of Research Mike Bush
(404) 679-31 32 mbush @dca.state.ga.us
Office of Quality Growth Jim Frederick (404) 679-3 105 ~

D IRECTIONS From 1-85, take exit # 3 1, North Druid Hills Road. Go East. At first traffic light, turn right into Executive Park . Take Executive Park Drive past the Marriott Courtyard and turn right onto Exec utive Park So uth. DCA is last buildi ng on left, #60 . Telephone: (404) 679-4940 Visitor parking is all the right and left. directly in fro nt ofthe building , or Oil the top level of the parkin g deck.
/
Sherida n Drive

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
60 Exec utive Park South, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30329-2231
(404) 679-4940 www .dca .state .ga.u s

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