Housing and Redevelopment Authority Meeting Date: August 1, 2024
To: Members of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority
From: Melissa Hanson, Housing Coordinator
Title
Approve Updated Housing and Redevelopment Authority Policies.
Body
The Northfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority is being asked to approve a resolution to approve updates to Housing and Redevelopment Authority policies.
Summary Report:
In an effort to standardize Council policy formats and to ensure all policies have an easily editable document, staff has reorganized and edited Council policies. Included among these policies were Housing and Redevelopment Authority policies.
While working with existing policies, staff noticed that there were numerous formats being used, some had no true policy but were simply a Council staff report and related actions, many had outdated information, and very few had editable (Word) versions available. It was determined that it would be best for staff to completely retype and reformat all Council policies. Administration staff created a format, retyped all documents, reviewed and edited for basic changes such as replacing staff names with titles to minimize the need to update policies with staff turnover, and then handed off to the individual departments for further editing. Some policies had minor changes, while others did have more moderate changes. In addition, some policies were renumbered and shifted to different sections to allow for better organization.
The City Council approved the Council policies and reviewed board/commission specific policies at their May 21, 2024 meeting. Specific boards and commissions with policies included in the updates are now being asked to approve the updated document related to their board/commission.
After further HRA staff review, it was noted that the Home Matters Residential Rehab Policy did not have reference to manufactured housing as an eligible housing-type. Staff notes that the additional clarification addresses how the program procedures for each housing-type differs due to the way the homes are titled.
Details of the changes made to each Housing and Redevelopment Authority policy are noted below:
• Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA)
• 10.01 First Time Homebuyers Policy
Minor changes to process and formatting were made.
• 10.02 Home Matters Residential Rehab Policy
Addition of manufactured housing as an eligible housing-type to match existing program and procedure. Minor changes to process and formatting were made.
Per staff review, it is recommended that the Housing and Redevelopment Authority remove the following polices:
• Street Assessment Assistance Policy
Deleted since there are no longer street assessments.
Going forward, all Council and board/specific policy electronic Word versions will be kept in a common location so all members of staff are able to access them, if updates are needed. The Administration staff has also worked with Human Resources staff and the City Attorney to lay out protocols for updating existing policies and creating new Council policies as well as distinguishing differences between a Council policy and Handbook policy.
The updated versions (Attachment 2) and redline versions (Attachment 3) are attached.
Alternative Options:
The Housing and Redevelopment Authority can choose not to approve all or some policy updates or proposed edits.
Financial Impacts:
N/A
Tentative Timelines:
ü May 21, 2024 - Council policies approved by the City Council and all updated policies posted on the City website.
ü June 1, 2024 - Policies related to the City Council Rules of Business and Board & Commission Rules of Business will go into effect and added to the Council Policies on the City’s website.
• June- July 2024 - Polices related to individual boards and commissions will into effect at the next board/commission meeting. Also, the City Council merged annexation policies will be brought back for consideration.