Fort Smith board approves draft Community Development Block Grant and HOME budgets; HUD award pending

The Fort Smith City Board of Directors on May 6 adopted a resolution authorizing the draft Year 51 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Year 32 HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) budgets and the submission of the 2025 action plan.

Why it matters: CDBG and HOME funds support housing, community development and nonprofit programs serving low- and moderate-income residents. Local funding recommendations set by the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) guide city allocations once HUD final grant amounts are confirmed.

Candace Gubucci, director of community development, told the board the Community Development Advisory Committee held three public hearings on March 20, 2025 to review funding requests and had forwarded recommendations to the board. She said the city had not yet received HUD's final award figures, so recommended line items in the packet are conservatively flat: $780,000 for CDBG and $360,000 for HOME.

The board opened and closed a public hearing on the item; no citizens registered to speak at the hearing. Director Settle asked for clarification about how the city would handle a lower HUD award; Gubucci said the city would prorate awards proportionally if the final HUD allocation comes in lower than the amounts shown in the packet.

The clerk called the roll and the resolution passed 7-0.

Ending: With passage the city is authorized to submit the action plan to HUD; staff will finalize line-item awards when the federal grant amount is announced and will administratively prorate awards if needed.