Back in November, Asheville’s Mayor Terry Bellamy received a “funding alert” from the National Conference of Black Mayors. They announced their lobbying had been successful, and an extension would be granted to black mayors wishing to apply for Neighborhood Stabilization Program emergency funding.

HUD summarized the program:

HUD’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program will provide emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provides grants to every state and certain local communities to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes. The program is authorized under Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

I think they plagiarized this straight from Atlas Shrugged:

NCBM has assembled a team to work with all NCBM members to assist with their HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding requests and requirements. Through an innovative partnership, we have the resources of the Samuel Massie Chairs of Excellence HBCU program, Magic Johnson Enterprises, and Skanska Construction available to our membership. This team will assist your municipality with compliance of the November 15, 2008 submission deadline. This team provides access to a premiere group of HBCU scientists, engineers, urban planners, and construction experts to provide program management, construction planning, and consulting services through the eligible grant funding. The services can be provided with existing grant funding and will be at no cost to your municipality.

As it turned out, the city missed the deadline. Unfortunately, Economic Development Director Sam Powers shared that several departments will be meeting January 6 “to discuss possible economic stimulus options including this initiative.”

Planning and Development Director Judy Daniel contributed:

The [Community Development] staff discovered yesterday that the program may be a bit broader than we had first been led to believe. We are sending representatives from the Community Development over to Raleigh for a workshop on this program on January 14. Economic Development may also send a representative, and Mountain Housing Opportunities is possibly interested in participating in a joint application if we find we are eligible.

City Manager Gary Jackson surmised the implausible:

Given the economy, seeking grant resources should be a priority. Judy D. And I discussed how we were not in the list of target areas and how we might gain access to future opps. Actually, I’m not sure we missed this one. Our research indicates the targeted areas were those communities with extraordinary mortgage defaults.

We are tracking the stimulus opportunities as best we can with the sources available through professional journals and contacts. Of course, we will strive to do better. . . . If you want to do the very best possible, the next level of tracking would be for Council to engage a lobbyist.

Celeste Collins of OnTrack, a subsidized consumer credit counseling service, discovered grant moneys could apply to counseling in certain circumstances.

(e) Public services for housing counseling, but only to the extent that counseling beneficiaries are limited to prospective purchasers or tenants of the redeveloped properties.

This program is not intended for billionaires, but their wives might be eligible:

All activities funded by NSP must benefit low- and moderate-income persons whose income does not exceed 120 percent of area median income.