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by Michael Monks
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In the report issued by Management Partners, the Cincinnati-based firm contracted to review each department within the City of Covington, the findings indicate, "The City’s approach to preserving and enhancing an aging and historic residential housing stock includes stabilization efforts and down-payment assistance using CDBG and HOME funds, and enforcing property maintenance and nuisance codes. As federal entitlements used to support housing continue to decrease, a comprehensive strategy that will ensure efficient resource allocation and leveraging for the next three years is essential. Although the City is in the process of completing an aggressive economic development action plan for the Center City area, a complementary and citywide housing strategy is missing."
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Management Partners recommends the development of a city-wide housing strategy to address the City's role in new development, neighborhood stabilization through redevelopment initiatives and code enforcement, and to identify focus areas that can be leveraged with private and other public housing initiatives. The firm urges partnerships whenever possible between the City and entities such as the Urban Partnership, the Catalytic Development Fund Corporation of Northern Kentucky, the Center for Great Neighborhoods, and the Housing Authority of Covington. However, the report notes, if the City and the Housing Authority cannot improve its working relationship, HAC should cease to exist and its operations should be moved to City Hall.
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From the report: "As demonstrated by the new River’s Edge at East Pointe mixed-income development, HAC can be a creative tool for residential development. The opportunities for HAC to contribute to the revitalization of Covington’s residential stock should not be disregarded. Our research and interviews revealed a proclivity for the City and HAC to alternately hold one another at arm’s length and then profess dismay about not forging stronger ties and mutual trust. It is imperative that a close working relationship exist between the HAC and the City of Covington. Absent that relationship there will be a level of complexity, additional cycle time, misunderstanding, and potential for conflict to a development environment that requires greater simplicity, quicker and nimbler response capacity, unity of vision and partnership and trust. Given the upside value of HAC, and more importantly the negative potential for dissonance from HAC, the City must work to assure HAC’s status as a partner and stakeholder in the development process. If such a partnership cannot be forged in a timely fashion, the fallback plan would be for the Covington City Commission to assume the mantle of the HAC. The City attorney has indicated that this course of action is uncharted territory but has not indicated that it is contrary to statute. Consequently, Covington should initiate the necessary research and planning to disband the HAC as currently constituted and have the City Commission become the HAC in the event that the desired close working relationship cannot be achieved."
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As for other federally-funded housing opportunities handled at City Hall, the report finds, "Covington’s CDBG entitlement allocation for the 2012-2013 program year is projected to decrease an estimated 6%, from $1,495,287 to $1,404,381. However, more severe cuts for the HOME entitlement are projected, with funding to Covington dropping by 42%, from $423,562 to
$244,458 in fiscal year 2012-13. Although these entitlement grant programs are likely to continue to shrink they can be an important source of leverage and gap funding for specific development projects. While these sources must by law remain under Covington’s control, the strategy should be to give priority for application of these resources to projects specified by the new Urban Partnership. To that end, the assistant city manager should work closely with the Urban Partnership on an annual basis to earmark these resources for support of Urban Partnership operations and projects within the constraints of federal requirements."
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Future of Covington's Code Enforcement Department Uncertain
The City's code enforcement department oversees building, property maintenance, and nuisance codes, but Management Partners reports that there is an average workload of just one inspection per day. From the report, "Clearly, the expense associated with a full-time Level II certified inspector exceeds the demand associated with this function. Similarly, the workload for code enforcement officers, based on data obtained from the department, averages four cases per day." However, the report also finds that an aggressive code enforcement program is significantly important for an older city like Covington. "No one wants to develop in a rundown area," the report says. It goes on to recommend the establishment of a more consistent approach to code enforcement, making citations automatic so as to eliminate the need for a violation notice, making inspections on a complaint basis, implementing a program for inspecting vacant buildings annually, and more significantly, transferring responsibility for plans review and inspections to the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission.
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The report also recommends the consolidation of code enforcement into NKAPC, or reducing the department's employees to part-time status. Or, the report continues, Covington could seek to create a consortium with other cities to handle code enforcement jointly, or perhaps request proposals from a third party private vendor to conduct the City's code enforcement duties.
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Read the full report from Management Partners: Click Here (PDF)
The city hasn't shown an ability to redevelop the properties it already owns with any consistency or efficiency. Why should the same folks with a track record like that take charge of the HAC properties & most importantly budget? If it can be privatized without cronyism occurring that should be the way it goes. Otherwise keep the status quo.
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