R 125.193 Application procedures and requirements.

Rule 193. (1) Applications received by the authority in response to a Michigan housing and community development program NOFA or RFP must be handled in the following manner: (a) The authority staff shall accept applications on an ongoing basis during the application acceptance period as specified in the NOFA or RFP. (b) Applications submitted and accepted by the authority are reviewed in the following manner: (i) Authority staff shall review all applications for eligibility, threshold, and selection criteria and ensure that all application requirements are met. (ii) Authority staff shall review applications to determine whether they comply with the NOFA or RFP and applicable law. (iii) Authority staff may issue a notice of any administrative deficiencies related to applications reviewed. (iv) Authority staff shall conduct a comprehensive review of financial feasibility for development activities proposed in any application determined acceptable under paragraphs (i) to (iii) of this subdivision. (v) Authority staff shall create a report setting forth the recommended terms, amount, and any conditions related to the proposed loan, grant, or project. (2) Upon completion of staff review and any associated resolution of any applicable administrative deficiencies, applications that the authority staff reviews and selects for award are recommended to the authority for approval. In accordance with section 21(6) of the act, MCL 125.1421, the authority may delegate approval of housing and community development program awards to the authority’s executive director. (3) If the authority staff determines that an application contains deficiencies that require clarification or correction, the authority staff may request clarification or correction of the administrative deficiencies, including threshold, selection criteria documentation, and financial feasibility analysis. (4) Requests for clarification or correction may be sent to the applicant in the form of a facsimile, e-mail, or be relayed to the applicant via a telephone call and documented in the application file. (5) An applicant may not change or supplement any part of an application in any manner after submission to the authority, propose to increase the award amount, or revise the unit mix, as to income levels or bedroom-count mixes, or both, except to remedy an administrative deficiency identified by authority staff. (6) The authority may decline to fund any application if the proposed activities do not, in the authority's sole determination, represent a prudent use of the housing and community development program funds. Authority staff may make this determination if application materials or terms are determined by staff to be unacceptable or unaligned with housing and community development program requirements. (7) The authority is not obligated to proceed with any action pertaining to any applications that are received and may decide it is in the authority's best interest to refrain from pursuing any selection process. (8) Authority staff may negotiate individual elements of any application, loan, or grant. Revision of application terms does not guarantee an award of funding. (9) Authority staff may conduct a site review. Applicants shall receive recommendation for approval from the authority staff to be considered for funding by the authority.