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Richland staff outlines 2026 CDBG application process as public hearing opens and closes with no public speakers
Summary
City staff described requirements and limits of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, previewed seven public service and two public-facility applications, and explained the Planning Commission's role in scoring and forwarding funding recommendations to council.
Toni Lehman, the City of Richland’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) home administrator and Tri-Cities HOME consortium representative, opened a public hearing to explain how the city will handle 2026 CDBG funding and to invite community input.
Lehman told the Planning Commission the CDBG program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and “provides flexible funding to each of the cities, for community development benefiting low to moderate income people and communities through use for housing rehabilitation, public improvements, public service, economic development, and then activities tailored to our local needs.”
The public hearing was opened and closed without any members of the public speaking; the commission proceeded to discuss the application and scoring process. Lehman said the application window opened Aug. 15 and is now closed. She said staff will present the applicants to the Planning Commission on Sept. 24, when commissioners will hear five-minute presentations from each applicant and ask questions before scoring them.
Lehman provided specific program limits and projected funding available. She said seven public-service applications were received totaling more than $93,000, while the city has $43,720 available for public service; federal rules limit use of CDBG funds to 15% of the grant for public services. She said the public-facility portion of the grant has approximately $189,450 available and that two public-facility applicants have requested a combined $299,200.
Commissioners asked how income eligibility is verified; Lehman said that monitoring and income review are handled by her office and that many applicants serve presumed-eligible populations (for example, domestic-violence survivors or seniors). Commissioners also discussed whether staff should prepare funding recommendations in advance; some commissioners said they wanted staff analysis to inform discussion but expected robust deliberation and potentially departures from staff recommendations at the Sept. 24 meeting.
Lehman said application packets for the Sept. 24 meeting will include: the allocation policy and strategic plan used for CDBG, applicants’ forms, recent funding history (how much each applicant received from Richland, Pasco and Kennewick in the past four years), and a priority ranking form commissioners will use to score applicants on a 1–7 scale (1 = lowest priority, 7 = highest priority).
Commissioners and staff noted practical constraints for small awards: federal reporting requirements and environmental review create disproportionate administrative work for very small grants. Lehman said she will include applicants’ other funding sources (the 990 summaries) in the packet at commissioners’ request to help the commission make informed allocations.
The Planning Commission did not take a funding action at the meeting; Lehman said commissioners will make funding recommendations to the City Council following the Sept. 24 presentations. The council will then hold a public hearing and consider adoption of the city’s 2026 Annual Action Plan in November.
