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Fiscal Year 2018 — 2019 CDBG Program May 1, 2018 Page 5 Representatives from each organization were invited to present their proposed public service programs for funding consideration at two Community Redevelopment and Housing Commission public hearings on February 28, 2018 and March 1, 2018 held from 3:OOPM to 7:OOPM on both days. At the Special CRHC meeting on March 28, 2018, Commissioners finalized the funding recommendations provided in Exhibit 2. In order to maximize the allocation of limited funds, the Commissioners decided to reduce their recommended funding levels by 15% for all of the organizations, and allocate the remainder equally. The Summer Night Lights Pilot Program will be provided by Neutral Ground. The recommended funding amounts for the nonprofit organizations equals $792,635, with the exclusion of the Orange County Fair Housing Council, which is recommended to be funded out of program administration, as in previous years, as permitted by CDBG regulations. The Community Redevelopment and Housing Commission, acting with guidance from City staff, made substantial improvements to the Community Development Block Grant review process this year for our nonprofit allocation in order to strengthen the process. With close to $800,000 in grants being dispersed, it was critical for the Commission to allow each organization ample time to present their programs. Last year the applicants made presentations to the CRHC in City Council chambers, and were given 3 minutes each to present. This year, the site was moved to the Ross Annex, which allowed for a more open, informal format, where presenters could more easily interact with the Commission. Additionally, each organization was allotted 7 minutes each to present their program to the Commission, versus 3 minutes last year. They were also allowed to provide a PowerPoint presentation. A five minute follow up was then added to allow Commissioners the opportunity to ask questions of each organization. The presentations were held over a two day period after regular business hours from 3:OOPM — 7:OOPM and lasted a total of nearly 9 hours. The improvements this year were in addition to the on-line scoring process used for the first time last year, where each Commissioner applies a score to 12 questions that cover 34 key areas of each on-line application. After combining the scores from all six Commissioners, extensive deliberation was held at a follow-up meeting to ensure a balance between funding as many organizations as possible with sufficient funding to complete their objectives. Following this extremely thorough review process, the Commission is recommending funding for a total of 17 programs for consideration by City Council. Next Steps: The proposed FY 2018 - 2019 CDBG Program and Funding Plan includes the anticipated allocation from HUD at an estimated level of $5,284,239. Once the City receives the actual CDBG Program allocation for GY 2018 from HUD, the anticipated allocation amount of $5,284,239 will be adjusted to the actual amount. This adjustment may be an increase or decrease. If there is an increase for Capital Projects, staff will: 1) fully fund the City Capital Improvements projects to the amounts requested; or 2) request new applications from City Departments to fund new projects. If there is an increase for Public Services, the Commissioners directed staff to: 1) fund the next three organizations on the list that are scored equally at 82.67% (America On Track, Community Action Partnership of Orange County, and NeighborWorks of Orange County), if sufficient funds are available to fund all three organizations; and/or 2) fully fund the requested amounts from the organizations starting from the top until all of the additional CDBG Public Services funds are 60A-5