At the Sept. 29 meeting of the Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency board of directors, staff announced that the agency will shift most of its residential assistance programs to an income-based certification process.

The change will expand income certification from six programs to 10, increase staff processing time per application, and raise the agency's lead time to respond to applicants, staff said. The board heard that the extra verification steps could reduce the number of people who complete applications and delay approvals.

"We are currently income certing approximately a 100 application of the 400 that we take annually," said Miss Parks, a CRA staff member, during a presentation on the residential program update. She told the board the agency now requires additional documentation, including employment verification forms and pay stubs covering three to six months for most programs. She said the paint program and the "paint the time" program will be exceptions to some documentation requirements.

Parks said a single application takes roughly 10½ to 13½ hours of staff time to process, depending on the program. The agency currently aims to respond to accepted applications within 45 days; Parks said that target will move to 60 days to accommodate the new income-certification steps. With the change, staff estimates income-certification will apply to about 325 of the roughly 400 annual applications the CRA receives, up from about 100 now.

Executive Director Dr. Earl introduced the topic and acknowledged the operational impact. He and board members discussed options to speed processing, including hiring part-time or retired banking or real-estate professionals or engaging consultants to help with verification and review.

The board and staff discussed ways to reduce confusion among applicants. Chair Cooper asked whether the agency's web page lists required documents up front; Parks confirmed a checklist and application materials are already posted online. Parks warned the board that some applicants may choose not to provide required financial information and could drop out of programs, and asked for patience while the CRA monitors enrollment and processing as the policy rolls out over the coming months.

The presentation closed with staff asking board members to expect constituent calls about the new documentation and processing time; Parks said staff are working to manage inquiries and implementation.

Board members did not take formal action on the policy during the meeting; the presentation was informational and intended to notify the board of procedural changes.