Committee reviews multiple Community Services grant budget amendments; several set for full-council vote

The New Castle County Council Community Services Committee on April 2 reviewed several proposed amendments to the grants budget that would appropriate program income and a foundation grant for senior repair, down-payment assistance, senior-center recreation, special events and a homeowner rehab program.

Committee co-chair Councilman Jay Street presented the ordinances during the committee session. The items and amounts presented were: ordinance 25035, appropriating $278,201 in program income to the Senior Home Repair program (administered by the Department of Community Services, Division of Community Development and Housing); ordinance 25036, appropriating $2,216,910.42 in program income to a down-payment/settlement assistance loan grant (Department of Community Services); ordinance 25037, appropriating $11,181 to the Ab Jones Senior Center Recreation Grant (Department of Community Services, Division of Community Resources); ordinance 25038, a Delaware Community Foundation grant of $70,780 (approximately $70,780.80 was mentioned) to the Special Events Fund administered by the Department of Community Services; and an item listed as 25043 (transcript label) appropriating $70,786.42 in program income to an Empowerment Area homebuyer/homeowner rehab program (Department of Community Services, Division of Community Development and Housing).

Nikai Traylor, the committee's legislative assistant, reported that there was no public comment submitted online for these items. Committee members asked few follow-up questions during the meeting; no formal committee votes on those ordinances are recorded in the transcript. Several of the items were described by presenters as scheduled for a full Council vote later the same evening, while the Empowerment Area homeowner/rehab item was identified for consideration at the May 13 meeting.

At the start of the session the committee approved minutes from the March 25 meeting by voice vote; the transcript records a motion, a second and an "Aye," but does not name the mover or seconder.

The committee moved on to a scheduled presentation after the budget items. The transcript records a motion to adjourn at the meeting's close and a second; the meeting ended shortly thereafter.

What happened next: the ordinances presented at the committee level will proceed according to the schedule stated in the meeting (some to the full council that evening; one to the May 13 agenda). The transcript does not record final votes on these ordinances within the committee meeting itself.

(Reporting note: amounts and ordinance numbers are taken from committee remarks as recorded in the meeting transcript; where the transcript contained minor inconsistencies in spoken amounts or labels, the article reports the figures as they were presented to the committee.)