The Dane County Health and Human Needs Committee on June 30 recommended approval of three resolutions to add the Village of Mazomanie, the Town of Dane and the Village of Edgerton to the Dane County Urban County Consortium, which makes residents eligible for services funded by the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and allows municipalities to apply for CDBG-funded infrastructure projects through Dane County.

Committee chair Wade Leitner opened the item and Deputy Director Iayu Kumre (Dane County Department of Human Services) described the practical effect: returning municipalities would be eligible to receive county-administered CDBG services and to be included in the county’s annual population calculations that help determine CDBG allocations.

Kumre said the Village of Mazomanie and the Town of Dane are returning after previously opting out; Mazomanie’s change followed the hiring of a new village administrator and a renewed interest in county-administered programs. The Village of Edgerton was previously part of Rock County’s consortium and chose to join Dane County’s consortium because of the range of programs available through Dane County.

Supervisor Sherry asked whether Edgerton residents who live in the portion of the city that sits in Rock County would be eligible. Joanna Cervantes (division manager, Housing Access and Affordability) reported that the county confirmed with HUD that all city residents would be eligible for services through the Dane County consortium and that the population in Rock County would be counted in the consortium total used by HUD’s funding formula.

Supervisor Moss moved approval of the three resolutions together. With no discussion or objections, the committee carried the motion unanimously and referred the resolutions on for the county executive’s signature and final county approvals.

The approvals mean the three municipalities can access county-administered CDBG programming going forward; further administrative steps remain, including formal county acceptance and the county executive signing the agreements.