Spartanburg council approves FY2025 CDBG and HOME annual action plan for HUD submission

The Spartanburg City Council on June 23 approved a resolution directing staff to submit the city’s FY2025 Annual Action Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Community Development Director Martin Livingston told council staff will submit the plan in early July to meet HUD deadlines after a 30-day public comment period that ran May 19–June 19 and a June public hearing.

Livingston said the city expects approximately $337,000 in CDBG funds and $211,000 in HOME funds for FY2025. He described program constraints: CDBG national objectives require that 70% of CDBG funding benefit low- and moderate-income areas; CDBG administrative costs are capped (staff said administration will be under 20%) and public services cannot exceed 15% of CDBG. HOME funds are reserved for affordable housing activities, including rental and homeownership production and program administration; staff noted CHDO (Community Housing Development Organization) set-asides at 15% for qualifying nonprofit developers.

Council members asked staff about how HUD funding is determined, and Livingston explained Congress sets appropriations and formulas based on poverty, housing conditions and population; he warned members that CDBG and HOME were not included in the then-current congressional budget proposal for the next fiscal year. Council discussed neighborhood-specific plans: Livingston summarized the Northside transformation plan (a HUD-funded choice-neighborhoods process from 2014) and said the South Side has planning efforts under way, including a Promised Neighborhood grant and other neighborhood-led initiatives.

Livingston described eligible and proposed uses in the annual action plan: rehabilitation, demolition for citywide code-clearance, an emergency repair program for elderly homeowners, rental and homeowner assistance through HOME funds, and leveraging workforce and job-training programs with ARPA funds. He said staff requested that council approve the plan and included authority for staff to make minor budget adjustments should HUD revise allocations during their review. Council approved the resolution by voice vote.

The resolution includes a staff-authority clause permitting minor post-submission budget adjustments required by HUD. Staff noted the HUD submission deadline and that HUD may return minor changes; the city will incorporate those within the parameters described in the plan.