Council moves to add CDBG items; staff outlines opioid-settlement allocations and HUD timeline delays

The Spokane City Council voted to suspend the rules and add two resolutions related to the consolidated plan and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to the meeting agenda, and staff briefed the council on proposed uses of opioid settlement money.

Maggie Yates told council members the city received its federal allocation late because the federal appropriations process was delayed and that HUD staffing shortages in Seattle could add four to five weeks to the review and grant-agreement timeline. She said staff is asking the council to approve the consolidated plan earlier so the city can proceed to grant agreements and contractual awards as soon as HUD completes its review.

Yates described several planned allocations from opioid-settlement funds included in the SBO package: $300,000 proposed to go to Maddie’s Place for NASH treatment via an interlocal agreement with the county; $30,000 allocated to expanded mobile outreach; and additional outreach capacity to be procured through a request-for-proposals process. Council members pressed for greater specificity in SBO documents and asked that line-item amounts be included both in briefing papers and in the SBO itself so future reviewers can track spending.

Councilors agreed to ask finance to add a clearer line-item breakdown to the SBO and to tie specific contract amounts to subsequent contract approvals; staff said some contract details remain under development and that RFPs will provide additional specificity before formal contract awards.

In separate action, the council approved suspending the rules to add two CDBG-related resolutions to the agenda to keep subrecipient contracting on an accelerated timeline while HUD processes federal approvals.

Council members said late federal allocations and limited HUD staffing constrained the city’s timeline and that improved transparency in SBO materials would aid future oversight and accountability.