a) Distribution of Funds
Subject to the annual receipt of funds, the Authority shall
first deduct the funds it requires to meet its administrative expenses as
described in Section
381.107.
It shall distribute the remainder of the funds among the 4 geographic
set-asides as described in section (b).
b) Geographic Set-Asides
1) After distributing the amount necessary
for the purposes of subsection (a), the Authority shall make Grants to
municipalities and counties for use in connection with Abandoned Residential
Property. The Applicants shall be divided into 4 geographic set-aside
categories with the money divided as follows:
A) 30% of the moneys in the Fund that have
been appropriated, subject to the annual receipt of funds, shall be used to
make Grants to municipalities in the County of Cook (other than the City) and
to the County of Cook.
B) 25% of
the moneys in the Fund that have been appropriated, subject to the annual
receipt of funds, shall be used to make Grants to the City of
Chicago.
C) 30% of the moneys in
the Fund that have been appropriated, subject to the annual receipt of funds,
shall be used to make Grants to the municipalities in the Collar Counties and
to the Collar Counties.
D) 15% of
the moneys in the Fund that have been appropriated, subject to the annual
receipt of funds, shall be used to make Grants to municipalities in the State
(other than the municipalities in the County of Cook and the Collar Counties),
and to the other counties in the State (other than the County of Cook and the
Collar Counties).
2)
When the jurisdiction of a municipality is included within more than one of the
geographic set-asides set forth in subsection (b)(1), the Authority may elect
to fully fund the Application from one of the relevant geographic
areas.
3) Grants distributed to the
municipalities and counties under subsection (b)(1)(D) shall be based on areas
of greatest need within these counties, which shall be determined, to the
extent practicable, proportionately on the amount of fees paid to the
respective clerks of the courts within these counties, and on any other factors
that the Authority deems appropriate [20
ILCS 3805/7.31(b)(4)] . The Authority
will meet the statutory requirement to provide funding to areas of greatest
need within this 96-county set-aside primarily through subsection (c)(1)(A)
(Need). Instances in which it is impracticable to base Grant awards
proportionately on the amount of fees paid to the respective clerks of the
court include, but are not limited to: when no application is received within
the county; when no application received in the county meets the minimum
application requirements; when funding is unavailable due to inadequate
receipts; and when the amount collected by a county is less than the cost to
administer the Grant. Additionally, proportionate share funding may be
impracticable when there are extraordinary circumstances warranting a larger
Grant amount than the fees that have been remitted by that county.
Extraordinary circumstances include such situation as: when an Applicant
demonstrates exemplary capacity, need and impact; when there has been a natural
disaster, a significant loss of employment, or other event generating extreme
need within a county; and as demonstrated in the materials provided by the
Applicant.
c)
Application Ranking
1) The Authority will
rank Applications against other Applications in the same geographic set-aside
category based on the criteria in subsections (c)(1)(A) through (E):
A) Need
Applicants should clearly demonstrate need within the
jurisdiction. This demonstration may include, but is not limited to, the fees
paid to the clerks of the court in the county, along with historical
information on the financial burden that maintaining and demolishing abandoned
residential properties has imposed on the Applicant. For the geographic
set-aside referenced in subsection (b)(1)(D), and when the Treasurer provides
regular and reliable data to the Authority on receipts for each county, the
Authority will consider the amount remitted from the clerk of the court in the
Applicant's county, along with information provided by the Applicant, to
determine which Applications demonstrate the greatest need for the Grant and
therefore will receive the highest score.
B) Capacity
Applicants should clearly demonstrate capacity to undertake
the proposed activities. This demonstration may include, without limitation,
evidence that the Applicant has administered similar grant programs.
C) Impact
Applicants should clearly demonstrate that the Grant will
have a strong positive impact, whether upon the entire jurisdiction or an
identified portion of the jurisdiction.
D) Budget and Cost Reasonableness
Applicants should provide an estimated budget and demonstrate
a systematic, thorough and well-documented approach to ensuring that costs are
reasonable, including any costs associated with third party vendors.
E) Readiness to Proceed
Applicants should clearly demonstrate a thorough, detailed
and reasonable work plan for the expeditious completion of proposed
reimbursable activities.
2) The Authority will equally weigh these
criteria unless adjustment is necessary to further program requirements or
legislative findings. In the event the Authority seeks to revise the weighting
of these criteria, the Authority will propose amendments to this
Part.
