#### **Pilot No. 3 : Determine How to Best Meet the ConPlan Requirements** 

#### **Focus:** Consolidated Plan Document and Performance Reporting

**Purpose:**

To determine whether self-generated format (meeting statutory and
regulatory requirements) reduces administrative burden and enhances
participant's ability to report on program performance

**Participants:**

Miami Beach, FL; Westchester County, NY; Quincy, MA ; State of
Pennsylvania;

King County, WA

# **Pilot Description:**

Under this pilot, one or more grantees would design a format for
providing ConPlan information in the most appropriate and user-friendly
wayas best determined by the granteewhile still complying with
statutory and regulatory requirements; and include measurable goals
appropriate to the grantee's activities.

As the working groups emphasized, HUD's current ConPlan submission
guidelines and annual action plan submission guidelines place burdensome
requirements on grantees to submit information in a prescribed format.
For example, HUD may require a narrative rather than allowing grantees
to determine content and the format for displaying the information, such
as charts, tables and graphs.

**Summary of Grantee Pilots:**

**King County, WA** expects to develop a new Consolidated Plan format
that is both less burdensome while meeting citizen participation
requirements. Existing local documents and plans may be incorporated and
include measurable goals appropriate to proposed activities. Existing
tables will be studied and the formats modified to meet local
objectives. The Required narratives will be examined and modified if
necessary to streamline the Plan, they expect to be completed by
December 2004.

**State of Pennsylvania** will fulfill the second purpose of this pilot
by moving to an "outcomes-based measures" focus rather than "activities"
focus. The annual performance report is expected to be more definitive
and more understandable**.**

**Miami Beach, FL** planned to reference other documents to streamline
the data and narrative information to make it easier to understand by
citizens, other city staff, and local HUD staff.

**Westchester County, NY** plans to replace their hard copy ConPlan that
will be submitted as a CD ROM-oriented internet viewable edition. They
expect that providing the information electronically on a CD-ROM and on
the county's website will better convey the county's needs, the housing
market, and the selected strategies over the 5 years. They expect that
the public and agencies will be better engaged and provide better
feedback and will measure attendance at meetings and visitors to the
website.

**Quincy, MA** will test/evaluate whether the Consortium's
self-generated format reduces the administrative burden, improves the
readability of the Annual Action Plan, and enhances the ability to
report on program performance. The template used the streamlined
template (Pilot 5) in this year's Annual Action Plan as a prelude to
including it in their next ConPlan.

***Pilot No. 3 Status as of October 31, 2003***

***King County,*** ***WA*** has begun the initial steps of their pilot
-- the Field Office will work closely with this grantee.

***Quincy, MA*** will evaluate how useful the streamlined template is to
track progress toward meeting their five-year goals, reduce
administrative burden of developing the ConPlan document, and enhance
their ability to track and report on program performance.

*The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania*, a draft strategy section has been
developed and is receiving internal review by various officials within
state government. This draft is based on the discussion draft that was
reviewed by six Regional Housing Advisory Committees (RHAC) in July
2003.  The discussion draft outlined potential outcome measures to be
incorporated into the Consolidated Plan to make it more a meaningful
document.

A new Consolidated Plan format is being developed and a draft form was
provided to the HUD field office for discussion before the end of
August. An extension was granted by HUD for completed document
submission to HUD on or before December 31, 2003 rather than November
15, 2003.

***Miami Beach, Fl*** prepared and submitted a ConPlan that uses census
data for comparison, highlighting changes that have taken place in the
community since 1990, (i.e. reduction of severe cost burden). It's in a
more readable format that low and moderate-income persons could easily
understand, more user friendly.

***Westchester County***, ***NY*** demonstrated the format they propose
to use for the non-housing community development plan to develop new
ways to meet Con Plan Requirements, and enhance it at a recent meeting
of the National Association of County, Community and Economic
Development Association. The multimedia approach uses a variety of
photographs, tables, and charts to illustrate the new format that would
be available on the Internet.