City presents CDBG and HOME funding recommendations; public comment period opens

City staff presented recommended allocations for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funds and opened a public comment period for the annual action plan.

Galen Price summarized five years of allocations and highlighted the cumulative effect of inflation on spending power: staff estimates the reduction in real purchasing power has cost the city the ability to fund roughly 18–20 owner-occupied rehabilitations, repair roughly 187 roofs and build about 12–14 homes for low- and moderate-income households compared with inflation-adjusted FY2021 dollars.

CDBG recommendations included a small increase in the home-rehabilitation program (reflecting a modest rise in the city’s CDBG allocation) and administrative funding below the 20% cap. Staff recommended funding six of seven public-services applicants and noted a NeighborhoodWorks (NeighborWorks) request to use prior program-income loan proceeds to purchase land for a mixed-income single-family development; if approved, HOME funds would be used for construction of the affordable units.

Under HOME, staff recommended slight decreases reflecting a modest lower federal allocation; tenant-based rental-assistance funding recommendations left an expected carryover that staff estimated at roughly $100,000 into the next program year. Price said the formal public comment period opened at the meeting and runs through July 17; staff will return with a second public hearing and a resolution for council adoption of the annual action plan at the Aug. 5 meeting. The plan is due to HUD by Aug. 16.