Agenda 05/24/2022 Item #11C (Update on Emergency Rental Assistance 1 and 2 Programs)05/24/2022
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation to accept an update on the Emergency Rental Assistance 1 and 2 Programs. (This
item is a companion item to items 9A and 11D)
OBJECTIVE: To provide an update on Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) programs available to
Collier County renters.
CONSIDERATIONS: Since the onset of the global COVID-19 health pandemic, Congress has passed
several pieces of legislation that provided funding for states, counties, municipalities, and tribal
governments. Large pieces of legislation, such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act, The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 - which included a $900 billion COVID-19
Relief package - and the American Rescue Plan Act 2021 made funds available for a variety of uses for
pandemic recovery. In addition, several existing grant programs, like the Emergency Rental Assistance,
Community Development Block Grant, Emergency Solutions Grant and HOME ARP Grant, were
provided to address COVID-19 response.
On January 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced funding available to state and local
governments to provide financial support to residents that are unable to pay rent and utilities due to the
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Collier County was eligible for this funding since our resident
population exceeds 200,000 per the Consolidated Congressional Act of 2021. The Emergency Rental
Assistance 1 (ERA 1) Program made available $25 billion to assist nationwide.
On January 26, 2021, Agenda Item #16D7, the Board of County Commissioners ("Board") accepted the
ERA 1 funding in the amount of $11,622,381.
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) which included additional
funds and created the Emergency Rental Assistance Program 2 (ERA 2). These funds were received by
the County on May 10, 2021. On June 08, 2021, Agenda Item #16D1, the Board accepted the ERA 2
funding in the amount of $9,088,102.
Since the initial awards of the ERA 1 and ERA 2 programs the Board has taken several actions including :
(a) On March 25, 2021, the County was notified that the US Treasury had modified our award
terms, extending the award and administrative cost terms. The Board accepted Amendment
#1 on June 8, 2021, Agenda Item #16D1.
(b) On August 24, 2021, Agenda Item #16D1, the Board of County Commissioners accepted a
clarifying Executive Summary to further streamline the eligibility requirements for
households seeking assistance under the program based on US Treasury guidance issued on
August 4, 2021.
(c) On October 12, 2021, Agenda Item #10B, the Board approved changes to the program to
streamline eligibility requirements and addressed allowable activities to benefit all program
applicants.
(d) On March 22, 2022 Agenda Item #16D2, the Board expanded allowable activities for
households seeking assistance.
On May 10, 2022, the Board directed staff to review what was needed to improve the facilitation of
applications and increase participation in the program. Since this meeting staff has taken the following
actions:
1. Increased Media buys to include 509 TV and 452 radio Spots and 3 half page newspaper ads in
the Naples Daily News. This media outreach will occur from May 17, 2022 to June 30, 2022.
Staff will bring back an amendment to our Quest agreement for additional media buys through
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September 2022.
2. Developed and provided utility bill inserts to be mailed throughout the month of May and June
2022 to all residential utility customers.
3. Conducted and scheduled outreach educational events:
(a) St Matthews House
(b) Resort Management a/k/a Resort Group, Inc. - Condominium Association Manager
(c) Salvation Army
4. Began working with the Clerk of Courts finance to streamline payment processing by completing
one pay application to cover 3 months of assistance to improve on time payments.
5. Updated the County web page with additional frequently asked questions ( FAQ’s) to allow
citizens an option for questions to be answered quickly.
6. Proposed a request for an additional six (6) temporary FTE’s, a companion item, to assist with
application processing. It is anticipated the addition of staff will process 20 applications per
week, compensating for the increase in applications since the closure of OUR FLORIDA and
with additional outreach efforts.
7. Gathered public input at a public meeting held on May 16, 2022. The comments received during
the meeting included a recommendation to hire additional staff to support processing efforts, send
mailers to all registered voters, increase training for staff processing applications, outsource
processing of applications to a private company, request landlords distribute program information
and mail program information to all households in Collier County.
8. Prepared a Collier TV video on the ERA program eligibility criteria and application process, the
DO’s and DON’T’s of the process (URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl5S2X9j-Sk).
9. Contacted all applicants with an incomplete status by email offering assistance in completion of
their application.
10. Continued finalizing the assistance of two Greater Naples Leadership volunteers to assist with
follow up.
11. Provided program information Flyers to the City of Naples, Collier County employees, and the
SWFL Apartment Association for distribution.
12. Scheduled interview with Fox 4 and Friends for taping on Thursday, May 26, 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this Executive Summary.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no growth management impact associated with this
item.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item is approved in form and legality and requires a majority vote
for ratification. -DDP
RECOMMENDATION: To accept an update on the Emergency Rental Assistance 1 and 2 Programs.
Prepared By: Maggie Lopez, Financial and Operational Support Manager, Community and Human
Services
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COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 11.C
Doc ID: 22291
Item Summary: Recommendation to accept an update on the Emergency Rental Assistance 1 and
2 Programs. (This item is a companion item to items 9A and 11D) (Kristi Sonntag, Community and
Human Services Director)
Meeting Date: 05/24/2022
Prepared by:
Title: Manager - Federal/State Grants Operation – Community & Human Services
Name: Kristi Sonntag
05/17/2022 7:45 PM
Submitted by:
Title: Manager - Federal/State Grants Operation – Community & Human Services
Name: Kristi Sonntag
05/17/2022 7:45 PM
Approved By:
Review:
Public Services Department Kristi Sonntag PSD Level 1 Reviewer Skipped 05/17/2022 7:43 PM
Operations & Veteran Services Kristi Sonntag Additional Reviewer Skipped 05/17/2022 7:43 PM
Community & Human Services Kristi Sonntag CHS Review Completed 05/17/2022 7:46 PM
Grants Erica Robinson Level 2 Grants Review Completed 05/18/2022 7:28 AM
Public Services Department Tanya Williams PSD Department Head Review Completed 05/18/2022 8:19 AM
County Attorney's Office Derek D. Perry Level 2 Attorney Review Completed 05/18/2022 2:34 PM
Office of Management and Budget Debra Windsor Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review Completed 05/18/2022 2:38 PM
County Attorney's Office Jeffrey A. Klatzkow Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review Completed 05/18/2022 2:40 PM
Growth Management Operations Support Christopher Johnson Additional Reviewer Completed 05/18/2022 3:08 PM
Grants Therese Stanley Additional Reviewer Completed 05/18/2022 3:38 PM
County Manager's Office Dan Rodriguez Level 4 County Manager Review Completed 05/18/2022 4:51 PM
Board of County Commissioners Geoffrey Willig Meeting Pending 05/24/2022 9:00 AM
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