Common use of Applicant Eligibility Clause in Contracts

Applicant Eligibility. A. The application must be filed in partnership with the relevant Neighborhood Association(s). Only where no Neighborhood Association exists, applications may be accepted from a Non-Profit Organization, or other community stakeholder group that has proven to the satisfaction of the City Commission their intent to improve the conditions of the neighborhood. B. Any applicant and the partner organization must be in good standing with the City, including any contractual relationships and must not be in default to the City on any obligations. C. The applicants must be able to commit to actively engaging in a citizen participation framework to gather public input and negotiate in good faith. D. In order for the City Commission to consider an application for a VEDA for a specific project, the applicant (defined as the individual(s) and/or the entity which owns or proposes to own the property) must meet the following criteria: i. The applicant must have a legal interest in the property for which a VEDA is being sought, or must provide documentation evidencing its ability to acquire the property (i.e. binding purchase agreement). ii. The applicant must be compliant with the City’s income tax ordinance. iii. The applicant must not be delinquent on any financial obligations to the City iv. The applicant must not have any outstanding written orders or violations for any property under its control or ownership that is located in the City v. Before a VEDA which has been approved by the City Commission will be executed by the City, the applicant shall have filed a completed Michigan Department of Treasury Form 2766 – Property Transfer Affidavit L-4260 with the City Assessor related to its acquisition of the property. The Property Transfer Affidavit shall be considered incomplete if the purchase price of the real estate is not entered on the form. E. If the applicant’s project exceeds $600,000 or total employment upon completion of project is likely to equal or exceed fifteen (15) persons, then they must receive certification of equal opportunity practices from the City’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion according to the following guidelines. i. The applicant firm must complete and include all information requested on Forms EEO 200 (Covenant of Non-discrimination with the City of Grand Rapids), EEO 201 (Permanent Workforce Data), and EEO 202 (Covenant of Non-participation in Wage Theft Activities). The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will review, maintain and analyze the information contained on the firm’s reports and notify the firm and the Economic Development Department of the firm’s compliance with this requirement. 1. Firms certified for VEDA purposes must submit a Form EEO 201 annually on or before the Commission approval anniversary date for the duration of the tax abatement period. This updated report will be in addition with other reporting requirements that the firm must file with the City’s Economic Development Department, but addressed to the attention of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The City reserves the right to request such records necessary to verify the information provided on the EEO 201 report. At the discretion of the City Manager, or his/her representative, examinations may be conducted as necessary to ensure compliance with this policy. ii. The Applicant must demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunity and non-discrimination by providing clearly documented evidence which demonstrates that the applicant has utilized all reasonable good faith methods for equal opportunity and inclusion recruitment, training and promotion of employees in their workforce. The Diversity and Inclusion Office and/or the Economic Development Department may request that such evidence be submitted for the previous five (5) years, or the length of time the applicant has been in business, whichever is shorter. The City’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion shall review such evidence of good faith effort and report its findings and conclusions to the City Commission, or iii. An Applicant who is unable to demonstrate its past commitment to equal opportunity and non-discrimination under subparagraphs (i) and (ii) above, may demonstrate its present and future commitment to such employment through the adoption of a voluntary plan designed to develop and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ equal opportunity throughout its workforce. Such a plan shall comply with Federal, State and Local law and be in a form acceptable to the City’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, who will assist the applicant in developing such a plan if requested. Such plan must also be implemented in good faith during the duration of the VEDA. iv. The City’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion shall provide updates to the City Commission on all such tax abatement plans and proposals. v. Unless this Policy is waived as provided for hereunder, the City Commission shall not act upon the application until the City’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion has certified that such applicant is either exempt from this policy, or has complied with Sections (i) and (ii) or (iii). F. The applicant must comply with the City’s EBO Policies including Micro-LBE Certification (Administrative Policy 04-01), Contract Compliance (City Commission Policy 600-10), EBO Construction (600-12) and EBO Goods and Services Policies (600-15).