Lock Haven council warns of possible loss of CDBG funds, preliminarily selects 2025 projects

Lock Haven City Council discussed the potential elimination of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and related federal housing and service grants and made a preliminary selection of candidate projects for the city's 2025 allocation.

City staff told the council that HR 1 (the federal budget bill) had been enacted with changes that could eliminate or terminate federal funding for CDBG, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). Staff said the city's 2025 CDBG allocation is $307,438, with $257,438 available for projects after administrative set-asides. The council heard a list of candidate projects and cost estimates and then voted on how to allocate the available funds.

Why it matters: council members and presenters cautioned that a loss of CDBG, HOME or CSBG dollars would reduce funding the city typically uses for streets, stormwater, park improvements and social services. Staff said the CDBG program has returned roughly $300,000 a year in federal funds to Lock Haven in recent years and that those dollars have supported long-standing local investments in water, sewer, parks and neighborhood…