Code of Maine Rules › 19 - DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › 498 - OFFICE OF TOURISM AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › Chapter 39 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM 2011 PROGRAM STATEMENT › Section 498-39-7 - AMENDMENTS TO THE PROGRAM STATEMENT

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
The State may amend the 2011 Program Statement from time to
				  time in accordance with the same procedures required for the preparation and
				  submission of the program statement. The State of Maine's Administrative
				  Procedure Act will guide the amendment process.
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To: Potential CDBG applicants
From: Michael D. Baran, Director, Office of Community
				  Development
Date: July 12, 2010
Re: Community Evaluation Factor
A.
Background
The Maine Community Development Block Grant program
				  traditionally uses a "community evaluation factor" as a part of its competitive
				  project evaluation system. The purpose of the factor is to give some weight to
				  the fact that some communities have greater needs than others - and when there
				  are two proposals with roughly similar solutions and effectiveness, the one
				  from the community with the greatest need should get the award.
The data and formula elements of the community evaluation
				  factor have been updated several times over the years, reflecting changes in
				  program design, as well as changes in the availability of standardized data.
				  The last major revision was in 2007. At that time, the Office created a 20
				  point factor using current data to measure substandard housing, affordability,
				  tax burden, and low income population. This factor was used in scoring housing
				  assistance, infrastructure and public facilities grants.
Now that there has been some experience with the new system,
				  it is an appropriate time to consider some revisions. In a meeting with
				  Planning Decisions (the consultant hired by our Office to assist with updating
				  the community evaluation factor) on May 17, 2010, state CD staff who score
				  applications identified two problems with the current scoring system related to
				  the community evaluation factor:
1 The
				community evaluation factor is unnecessary in scoring housing assistance
				applications. Housing assistance applications are already scored on the basis
				of benefit to low and moderate income persons. The community evaluation factor
				is redundant for such applications.
2 In the economic development section, the
				community evaluation factor is not used, but there is a complex "project
				significance" factor which is similar in nature. The project significance
				factor is time-consuming for staff to calculate, and confusing for applicants
				to try and measure in advance.
The recommended changes below address these two issues. They
				  do so in a way that follows the principles as the 2007 revision, namely:
1. Scoring factors should be closely related
				to the program function for which the scoring factors relate;
2. Balancing is needed so that there is not a
				bias towards small communities (with few in need, but a high percentage of the
				community) and large communities (which may have many in need even with a very
				low percentage).
3. Data which is
				updated on an ongoing basis, even if less precise, is preferable to data from
				the 2000 Census.
4. In order for
				communities to know in advance where they stand, the points must be
				predetermined prior to applications, and not depend on application
				data.