City manager says rental help program not needed, already in place at welfare dept

City Manager Blaine Cox (Courtesy photo); Welfare Director Todd Marsh (Rochester Voice file)

Editor's note: City Manager Blaine Cox' memo to City Council follows article

ROCHESTER - Rochester's city manager on Thursday expressed concerns that a proposed plan to allocate funds for rent assistance to aid housing insecure residents who suffered COVID-19 related job losses is unnecessary since such assistance is already readily available through the city's Welfare Office.

In a letter within the agenda and packet for Tuesday's City Council meeting, City Manager Blaine Cox said after discussing the issue with staff it was decided, "Our existing welfare program is positioned to meet all the needs of residents with verified need that exist."

City Welfare Director Todd Marsh told The Rochester Voice on Friday that, in fact, city welfare disbursals are down more than 30 percent compared to April 2019.

"It's down similar amounts all over the state," Marsh said.

Marsh said federal stimulus checks and the state's increase in unemployment compensation could be why demand for assistance is down.

In his summary to the City Council Cox reasoned, "The proposed Residential Housing Relief Micro-Loan Program contemplates providing financial assistance to residents who are in jeopardy of losing their housing due to job loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Per longstanding provisions stipulated in state RSA's, our existing welfare program provides this very assistance."

Cox also noted that a microloan program would be an added burden administratively.

"A "loan" program brings additional procedures and added challenges that are not necessary," Cox wrote. "These may include added eligibility determinations as well as added repayment/recovery efforts."

The proposal was authored by longtime homeless advocate and city councilor Jeremy Hutchinson, who at a City Council meeting on April 21 said homeless insecurity poses a "grave vulnerability to our city."

Along with councilors Palala Belken and Chris Rice, he urged a $500,000 housing microloan fund that would lend up to $2,000 per household to help those at the "knife's edge" from being evicted.

The plan was to have the money come out of the city's unassigned fund balance, which would require a public hearing and a two-thirds majority vote.

Hutchinson's impassioned plea got pushback from several councilors including Pete Lachapelle, who said he supported the concept but wanted to see it vetted by the finance committee.

City Councilor Jim Gray agreed that the proposal should move to the purview of the finance committee, while also worrying about the constitutionality of the proposal.

Memo from City Manager Blaine Cox to City Council

April 30, 2020

Mayor McCarley & Rochester City Council:

City Staff have given consideration to the Residential Housing Relief Micro-Loan Program proposed at the April 21, 2020 City Council meeting (copy attached).

We asked the following two questions to guide our analysis:

1. Does the proposed program provide any services that the city's existing welfare program does not already provide?
2. Is there a need currently identified that is not being met?

We have determined that the answer is "no" to both of the above questions and therefore submit to the Mayor & Council that this program is not needed at this time. Our existing welfare program is positioned to meet all the needs of residents with verified need that exist.

Question #1 Analysis: The proposed Residential Housing Relief Micro-Loan Program contemplates providing financial assistance to residents who are in jeopardy of losing their housing due to job loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Per longstanding provisions stipulated in state RSA's, our existing welfare program provides this very assistance. In fact, under current assistance provisions we absolutely provide assistance to prevent housing loss and do not limit our housing assistance to only those who have experienced COVID-19 related job loss.

Question #2 Analysis: We have not been made aware that any City Councilors have been contacted by constituents indicating that they are in need of a loan program as contemplated by this proposal. If we become aware of such a need, existing welfare assistance guidelines and protocols are ready and flexible enough to provide assistance without such a loan program. In addition, it is clear that per state RSA's and city council approved welfare guidelines the city is required to provide assistance with verified need regardless of the available funding in the Welfare Department's approved budget.

I would also like to inform the City Council's deliberation of this proposal by sharing the following:

1. Governor Sununu's Executive Order #4 "Temporary prohibition on evictions and foreclosures" precludes, at least during the term of the order, the loss of housing contemplated by the proposal - landlord-tenant situations, lender-mortgagee situations and mobile home park owner - pad fee situations.
2. A "loan" program brings additional procedures and added challenges that are not necessary. These may include added eligibility determinations as well as added repayment/ recovery efforts. Although the city's Welfare Department rarely seeks direct self-payment recompense for financial assistance provided, as efforts would largely be unsuccessful, we do use mechanisms already in place under current assistance structures and state RSA's.

These include civil liens, real estate liens, civil judgements and federal disability approval retroactive money reimbursement. Reimbursements are indicated in monthly department reports and total $5,074.89 this current fiscal year.

3. Welfare Director Marsh is reporting that we are not experiencing a heightened demand for rental or mortgage housing assistance at this time, which is reflective of other municipalities he has communicated with. Despite the very real challenges related to COVID-19 related job loss identified by the Housing Relief program , the unrealized increase in demand may have been thwarted or minimized due to other programs already in place such as the governor's executive order mentioned above, the $1,200 federal stimulus checks, state level relaxed unemployment compensation assistance eligibility, the added $600/ week federal subsidy added to unemployment compensation as well as a stipend added to federal SNAP assistance payments (formerly food stamps).
4. The Welfare Department will continue to very actively monitor and track not only housing assistance requests, but all general assistance needs. Welfare and Finance will track available funding as well. If at any point in time during the COVID-19 crisis we discern any anomalies or concerns, we will report these immediately to the Mayor and Council.