Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program Fund; administration; distribution.

(1) The Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program Fund is created. All revenue designated for deposit in such fund shall be deposited by the appropriate agency. The department shall administer this fund as a grant and loan guarantee program for carrying out the purposes of ss. 290.0401-290.048.

(2) The department shall distribute such funds as loan guarantees and grants to eligible local governments on the basis of a competitive selection process established by rule.

(3) The department shall require applicants for grants to compete against each other in categories that may include one or more of the following:

(a) Housing rehabilitation.

(b) Economic development.

(c) Neighborhood revitalization.

(d) Commercial revitalization.

(e) Any other activity authorized by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, and applicable federal regulations.

(4) The department shall define broad community development objectives to be achieved by the activities in the grant program categories with the use of funds from the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program Fund. Such objectives shall be designed to meet at least one of the national objectives provided in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.

(5) The department may set aside an amount of up to 15 percent of the funds annually for use in any eligible local government jurisdiction for which an emergency or natural disaster has been declared by executive order. Such funds may only be provided to a local government to fund eligible emergency-related activities for which no other source of federal, state, or local disaster funds is available. The department may provide for such set-aside by rule. In the last quarter of the state fiscal year, any funds not allocated under the emergency-related set-aside shall be distributed to unfunded applications.

(6) The department shall establish a system of monitoring grants, including site visits, to ensure the proper expenditure of funds and compliance with the conditions of the recipient’s contract. The department shall establish criteria for implementation of internal control, to include, but not be limited to, the following measures:

(a) Ensuring that subrecipient audits performed by a certified public accountant are received and responded to in a timely manner.

(b) Establishing a uniform system of monitoring that documents appropriate followup as needed.

(c) Providing specific justification for contract amendments that takes into account any change in contracted activities and the resultant cost adjustments which shall be reflected in the amount of the grant.