HGA stands at the forefront of changing federal policies and programs:
- HGA was the first firm to support a grant recipient in preparing and submitting a HUD-approved Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) Action Plan.
- We assisted a state client to become the first grantee to have its action plan amended to reflect the substantial changes to how HUD expects grantees to calculate and determine duplication of benefits (DOB) as it applies to Small Business Administration (SBA) loans resulting from the substantial changes made to DOB policies in June 2019.
- For a Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) housing effort, HGA supported the implementation of the first state-run SBA loan reimbursement program.
HGA’s comprehensive services to state and local governments include writing action plans and amendments; drafting program guidelines and standard operating procedures; interpreting the applicability to cross-cutting federal statutes; performing monitoring and ensuring compliance; implementing projects; providing general grant and financial management; facilitating 2CFR 200 compliant procurements; assisting subrecipients with selecting and ranking projects through requisite citizen participation; training and providing technical assistance; and managing the recovery program and its projects from inception to closeout.
Because of our commitment to federal grant compliance, eligibility determination, and meeting national grant objectives, our clients have never faced fund recapture. HGA’s trademarked VistaTRAK system has been a foundational cornerstone for ensuring compliance. The system comprises a federally-compliant document filing and storage tool as well as tracking and reporting tools to provide transparency to stakeholders. VistaTRAK has been recognized by HUD for improving monitoring capacity and record-keeping.
HGA excels in leveraging CDBG-DR funding to be used as a match to cover the cost share on other grant programs, such as the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) programs, the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Program, Economic Development Administration programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and many local and state programs through bond referenda. By matching CDBG-DR dollars to other federal program allocations, HGA has helped clients fund additional and/or larger scope projects while remaining fiscally viable.
While disaster recovery has historically been a focus of HGA, we also manage HUD entitlement and novel programs. We understand the differences between the CDBG-DR Program and the HUD entitlement programs and have existing, proven processes, systems, and templates in place as well as the critical programmatic and institutional knowledge in understanding the differences between HUD program allocations. We are currently supporting local governments with their projects funded by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program, Public Housing, and the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Our grant managers have also assisted entitlement communities with administering their funding allocations received through the CARES Act, Section 108 Loan Securitizations, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Section 236, and Section 801.
Click on the icons below for more information on HGA’s HUD programs services.