This Is Stimulus Money
by the Mysterious Flying Miser
From Sign On San Diego:
“Not many would believe this, but more than 400 cities want to emulate Chula Vista and more than 300 already are. Ever since the city began making lenders register and maintain homes that have gone into foreclosure, similar programs began popping up around the country. As a result, Chula Vista has been recognized with the 2009 Helen Putnam Award by the League of California Cities for its Residential Abandoned Property Program.
”Launched two years ago, the program requires mortgage lenders to maintain vacant, foreclosed homes to neighborhood standards. That includes keeping the lawn green, the fences and doors locked, and repairing broken windows. ‘You’ve got to make it look like the rest of the neighborhood so it doesn’t scream out ‘foreclosure, break in,” said Doug Leeper, the city’s code enforcement division manager, who created the program. ‘It was a preventative measure,’ he said. ‘I don’t want our newest neighborhoods to become blighted because people are losing their homes.’
”If a home is in default and vacant or has been foreclosed upon and is vacant, lenders must register the home with the city, which costs $70. Some aren’t registered until after the city receives a complaint that the house or property is becoming dilapidated. City Manager Jim Sandoval said Leeper’s program has made a difference in Chula Vista and throughout the country. ‘We’re one of the cities that has been hit the hardest because we grew so fast,’ Sandoval said.
”With nearly 9,000 foreclosures in the city over the last two years, Leeper said he has had to increase staff in his division. Since July 2007, more than 2,600 properties have been registered with the program, producing more than $183,000 in registration fees, Leeper said. Not all 9,000 properties have been registered because some lenders haven’t complied with the program and, in other cases, homes are still occupied. There have been 2,000 complaints about unkempt homes and $1.3 million in fines issued.
”But if banks make an effort to correct problems, then the fines are reduced, Leeper said. So far, the city has collected $500,000 in fines, which vary in amount from $100 to $500 per day, depending on the condition of the property. ‘This is my third housing downturn and by far the worst,’ Leeper said.”
From the East Valley Tribune (Phoenix):
“As people continue to lose their homes through foreclosure and eviction, sometimes leaving their pets behind, workers and volunteers of nonprofit pet rescue groups throughout the Valley are seeing record numbers of abandoned pets. And as they grapple for space to keep the animals in foster homes or shelters, they also have seen a decline in donations.
”The Valley-based Lost Our Home Pet Foundation, a no-kill pet rescue group that serves real-estate professionals who discover pets abandoned in back yards without food or water, saw calls double from 15 to 30 a day during the summer, according to Jodi Polanski of Mesa, president of the group.
”From 2007 to 2008, the Arizona Humane Society experienced a 100 percent increase in animal abandonment calls for cats, dogs and other pets and responded to about 16,000 calls last year, according to Kimberly Searles, AHS spokeswoman. This year, the calls are on track to match last year’s, Searles said.
”Many of those groups, such as Gilbert-based Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary and Phoenix-based Paws and Claws Animal Rescue, report they also have seen cash and pet-food contributions slow, attributing the downturn to a bad economy and people relocating for jobs.
”A number of fundraisers have been scheduled by the pet rescue groups in the coming weeks - where one can sip on a ‘Muttini,’ listen to live music at ‘Pet-a-Palooza’, or take a stadium stroll with your pet. ‘Everybody has been holding back,’ said Polanski, a mortgage broker whose pet rescue group consists of 25 volunteers, many of whom foster several pets because the nonprofit group does not have a shelter. ‘There’s been a big difference from last year to this year in the way of donations, and the economy has been playing a role in that. (Fewer) resources have been coming in as companies from around the Valley have cut back.’
”‘The one thing that is apparent is that our vet care costs have steadily gone up every month and the pets coming into us are sicker and need more medical attention,’ she said. ‘These pets often have gone without food or water for long periods of time and sometimes are emaciated and it takes some time before they are nursed back to health.’
”The Arizona Humane Society, which has about 300 pets available for adoption, does not receive any government funding and is struggling to keep up with the $300 cost of an average 10-day stay for an animal at its two shelters before they are adopted, Searles said. No pets have been euthanized at the Humane Society for space reasons since it added its second shelter …in Phoenix in 2002, according to Searles.
”We’ve definitely seen a drop in donations, and we rely on those,” Searles said. “Obviously, those factors are attributed to the economy because everybody is wanting to hang on to the money they have. People lose their homes to foreclosure, leave their pets behind and downsize to smaller apartments where sometimes larger dogs may not be accepted.”
Friends For Life Animal Sanctuary, a 16-year-old pet rescue group with about 150 volunteers at 143 W. Vaughn Ave., west of Gilbert Road, spends about $15,000 a month, but has received about $70,000 less than it received last year. Despite this, the volume of strays has gone up, said Barb Savoy, a spokeswoman for the group, who has three dogs and one cat of her own.
”Friends For Life has had to cut back some of its expenses, such as training and deciding what kind of health care they can spend on an animal, Savoy said. ‘The number of strays is discouraging,’ she said. ‘Animals are getting loose or turned loose. It’s a sad reality what a domesticated animal faces on the street. They can be targeted by another animal, they can easily get hit by a car, or face starvation. They’re used to getting fed and being in a home.’”
From KCBS News (San Francisco):
“Hundreds of East Bay families that face the possibility of becoming homeless will get help from the federal stimulus plan. $3.3 million in federal money is going to the nonprofit Shelter Inc. and seven partner agencies. Shelter Inc. has focused on homeless prevention in Contra Costa County since 1986.
”‘The idea, because this is stimulus money, the idea is to help families that are being impacted by the current state of the economy,’ said Shelter Inc. Executive Director Tim O’ Keefe. O’ Keefe also said he is seeing a growth in the number of people that are looking for help.
”‘What we’re seeing more and more of are people that maybe a year ago or two years ago would have called themselves middle class,’ O’ Keefe said. ‘And now, they’re finding themselves with hours cut back, they’re finding themselves in foreclosure.’
”O’ Keefe said the stimulus money will not help property owners who are in danger of losing their homes; instead, about 900 low income households will get help paying the rent so they can avoid eviction notices. Another 70 individuals and families who are homeless will get help with rapid rehousing.
”Last year, Shelter Inc. had to turn away 75 percent of those who called the agency looking for help.”
