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Wichita council signs off on draft HUD annual action plan; housing, homelessness and CDBG/HOME allocations set pending federal notice
Summary
City council approved approximate CDBG, HOME and ESG allocations for the 2025-26 annual action plan; staff swept prior-year uncontracted funds into the new plan to reduce administrative backlog and will reopen public comment if HUD allocations differ by 20% or more.
The Wichita City Council approved an approximate 2025-26 annual action plan for federal HUD funding on May 6, authorizing staff to submit the plan to HUD while noting that final allocations from HUD were not yet published. The action plan sets proposed spending for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) resources and includes a number of housing and homelessness priorities.
City staff said they consolidated prior-year, uncontracted funds into the current program year to reduce administrative tracking burdens and to address expenditure deadlines. Andrew Tyree, management analyst in the Housing and Community Services Department, told the council that the department used current-year allocation levels for planning and that if HUD's final grant awards deviate by 20% or more staff will reopen the citizen participation process and return to council.
Key uses outlined in the plan included infrastructure and neighborhood projects funded by CDBG; a larger home repair program budget that raises individual repair limits (the department said it restructured the program after HUD-required environmental reviews); HOME program resources for rental and homeownership development and HOME-ARP funds for noncongregate shelter and supportive housing at the multi-agency center site; and ESG funds for rapid rehousing, encampment coordination, and a homelessness-prevention pilot.
Sally (Housing and Community Services) and other department staff described program design details: CDBG public service allocations of roughly $1.1 million (the local grandfathered cap), a proposed allocation toward construction of noncongregate shelter and Plainview Community Center capital, and HOME allocations that include HOME-ARP resources for shelter and permanent supportive units. Staff emphasized that many amounts listed in the council report reflect prior-year carryforward dollars swept into the budget for 2025-26.
Council members pressed staff on timeline risk and program administration. Sally noted potential federal budget risks nationally but said the city relied on a continuing resolution that covered allocations for the July 1 start of the program year and that the approach was chosen to avoid the delays experienced in the previous year. Council member Johnson declared a personal conflict and abstained from the vote. Council approved the plan and authorized staff to make adjustments as described in the financial considerations section and to submit the annual action plan to HUD.
