La. Admin. Code tit. 4 § VII-1901

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section VII-1901 - Projects or Activities

A. The Office of Rural Development (ORD) provides financial assistance to local units of government throughout the state mitigating the effects of natural and economic emergencies and funding units of local government projects essential to community well-being.

B. Municipalities with populations of less than 35,000 and parishes with populations of less than 100,000 inhabitants will be considered rural for the purposes of this program.

C. The ORD applies the following guidelines to any project or activity funded.

1. All projects or activities funded must be related to rural development revitalization of a rural area, as defined in R.S. 3:313.

2. All funds shall be used to mitigate the rapid deterioration or assist the improvement of rural health, education, agri-business, transportation, public facilities, tourism, infrastructure, or other defined purposes essential to the socioeconomic well-being and quality of life of Louisiana's rural areas.

3. Projects or activities should further enhance community services and broaden rural employment opportunities whenever possible.

4. Projects or activities should further the provisions of the Rural Development Law, R.S. 3:311-323.

5. At the start of each fiscal year, the executive director shall determine the equal funding level for all eligible parishes, which includes villages, towns and cities within each parish as well as the parish government, based on the total amount budgeted as aid to local governments for rural development grants. The ORD shall make awards to all parishes throughout the year up to that equal funding level.

6. In cases where the eligibility of the parish is limited (parishes over 100,000 in population with eligible unincorporated areas or eligible municipalities), the parish shall be funded to the maximum of those eligible levels so long as the amount does not exceed the amount to which rural parishes are eligible.

7. Parish governments may request funding for projects that serve a parish-wide area or an unincorporated area within the parish. In cases where a parish's application is for funding a project that is not parish-wide in scope and is designed to benefit an incorporated area within the parish, the governing body of the parish must submit a resolution of support for the project stating that determination.

8. Municipal governments (villages, towns, cities) may not exceed the total funding level as outlined in the ORD application guidelines for rural development grant funds for any fiscal year by having a parish government submit an application to fund a project within the corporate limits of a village, town or city, unless the project is a service that extends beyond the corporate limits and serves an adjoining portion of the parish or unless the project is in response to an emergency officially declared, as defined by state law (R.S. 38:2211 et seq.).

9. Grants approved by the ORD are expected to be completed within one year from the date of signing of the letter of commitment by the executive director of ORD. Extensions will be limited to two on each grant and an extension must be approved, in writing, by the executive director of ORD.

10. Rural development funds are not intended for salary only projects or ongoing salaried positions.

11. All invoices submitted for reimbursement must be in original form and marked by vendor to identify the invoice as expenses related to the approved ORD grant using the grant number furnished by ORD at the time of issuing the approved letter of commitment.

12. There shall not be awarded to any Local Governmental Agency (LGA), municipal or parish, an additional grant if a previous grant to that LGA is still open past a period of 24 months.

13. Changes or amendments to an application must be in writing and must be approved by the executive director, in writing. If the change in an application is so great that it goes from one category to another, the request must include a new abstract and a new budget and must be accompanied by a new resolution of support from the LGA's governing body.

14. Multi-parish regional projects are not intended to be funded by ORD funds, however, if each parish in a region agrees to fund a project that meets the criteria of the ORD grants, with the agreement of its local governing authority and the legislative delegation of that region, the total amount of the regional grant shall be prorated to each parish in that region. The prorated amount shall come out of the total allocated to each participating parish for that fiscal year.

15. A regional project may be funded, provided the legislature appropriates funding for a named regional project above the general appropriation for the ORD. Regional is defined as more than one municipality collaborating on a project parish-wide or more than one parish.

D. The director of the ORD shall develop an application procedure satisfying the purposes, intentions, and the implications of regulatory provisions contained in the Rural Development Law.

La. Admin. Code tit. 4, § VII-1901

Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Office of Rural Development, LR 24:1290 (July 1998).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:311 et seq.