[Adopted 9-11-2006 by Ord. No. 538]
A. 
There is hereby established the position of Municipal Housing Liaison for the Borough of Buena. The Mayor shall appoint the Municipal Housing Liaison, with the advice and consent of the Borough Council, to serve upon appointment by the Mayor and approval by resolution of the Council and subsequently for a term of one-year commencing on January 1 of each and until the appointment and qualification of his successor. In the event the Mayor shall not appoint the Municipal Housing Liaison or the Council shall fail to confirm such appointment within 30 days next succeeding January 1 of each year, the Council shall make such appointment at the expiration of the thirty-day period.
B. 
Subject to the approval of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), the Municipal Housing Liaison may be a full- or part-time municipal employee.
C. 
The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be responsible for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program for the Borough of Buena, including the following responsibilities, which may not be contracted out:
(1) 
Serving as the primary point of contact in the Borough of Buena for all inquires from the state, affordable housing providers, administration agents, and interested households.
(2) 
Monitoring the status of all restricted units in the Borough of Buena Fair Share Plan.
(3) 
Compiling, verifying, and submitting annual monitoring reports as required by COAH.
(4) 
Coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers and administrative agents, as applicable.
(5) 
Attending continuing education opportunities on affordability controls, compliance monitoring, and affirmative marketing as offered or approved by COAH.
(6) 
If applicable, serving as the administrative agent for some or all of the restricted units in Borough of Buena as described in Subsection F below.
D. 
Subject to approval by COAH, the Borough of Buena may contract with or authorize a consultant, authority, government or any agency charged by the Borough Council, which entity shall have the responsibility of administrating the affordable housing program of the Borough of Buena. If the Borough of Buena contracts with another entity to administer all or any part of the affordable housing program, including the affordability controls and affirmative marketing plan, the Municipal Housing Liaison shall supervise the contracting administrative agent.
E. 
Compensation shall be fixed by the Borough Council at the time of the appointment of the Municipal Housing Liaison.
F. 
Administrative powers and duties assigned to the Municipal Housing Liaison.
(1) 
Affirmative marketing.
(a) 
Conducting an outreach process to insure affirmative marketing of affordable housing units in accordance with the affirmative marketing plan of Buena Borough and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15; and
(b) 
Providing counseling or contracting to provide counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualifications, rental lease requirements, and landlord/tenant law.
(2) 
Household certification.
(a) 
Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following up on interviews with interested households;
(b) 
Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;
(c) 
Providing written notification to each applicant as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;
(d) 
Requiring that all certified applicants for restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form, as applicable and eligible applicant households with members working in the housing region where the units are located;
(e) 
Creating and maintaining a referral list of eligible applicant households living in the housing region and eligible applicant households with members working in the housing region where the units are located; and
(f) 
Employing the random selection process as provided in the affirmative marketing plan of the Borough of Buena when referring households for certification to affordable units.
(3) 
Affordability controls.
(a) 
Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance of title of each restricted unit;
(b) 
Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions, recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;
(c) 
Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions and cancellations of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly filed with the appropriate county's Register of Deeds or County Clerk's office after the termination of the affordability controls for each restricted unit;
(d) 
Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures; and
(e) 
Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates of occupancy or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.
(4) 
Processing request from unit owners:
(a) 
Reviewing and approving requests from owners of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance during the term of their ownership;
(b) 
Reviewing and approving requests to increase sales prices from owners of restricted units who wish to make capital improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional bedrooms or bathrooms and the cost of central air-conditioning systems; and
(c) 
Processing requests and making determinations on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.
(5) 
Enforcement.
(a) 
Securing annually lists of all affordable housing units for which tax bills are mailed to absentee owners, and notifying all such owners that they must either move back to their unit or see it;
(b) 
Securing from all developers and sponsors of restricted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing of the project or development, written acknowledgment of the requirement that no restricted unit can be offered, or in any other way committed, to any person other than a household duly certified to the unit by the administrative agent;
(c) 
The posting annually in all rental properties, including two-family homes, of a notice as to the maximum permitted rent, together with the telephone number of the administrative agent where complaints of excess rent can be made;
(d) 
Sending annual mailings to all owners of affordable dwelling units, reminding them of the notices and requirements outlined in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;
(e) 
Establishing a program for diverting unlawful rent payments to the municipality's affordable housing trust fund or other appropriate municipal fund approved by the DCA;
(f) 
Establishing a rent-to-equity program;
(g) 
Creating and publishing a written operating manual, as approved by COAH, setting forth procedures for administering such affordability controls; and
(h) 
Providing annual reports to COAH as required.
(6) 
The administrative agent shall have authority to take all actions necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities hereunder.