Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing And Community Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners debate accepting small HOME‑ARP and CDBG increases amid reprocurement concerns
Summary
County staff notified commissioners of small additional HUD CDBG and HOME allocations and a $4,682 HOME‑ARP offer from Treasury; commissioners questioned whether the administrative cost and a new RFP process would outweigh the amount and asked staff to prepare options and a resolution.
County staff told commissioners on June 3 that Butler County will receive additional federal funds for 2025: about $55,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and nearly $20,000 in HOME funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Separately, the U.S. Department of Treasury offered $4,682 in HOME‑ARP (American Rescue Plan) funds that would require the county to amend its existing HOME‑ARP plan and likely reinitiate a request‑for‑proposals (RFP) procurement process.
Staff said the county previously conducted an RFP for HOME‑ARP implementation and that two capital project proposals received were not accepted by the board; those capital projects would need a new competitive procurement process if the board chooses to accept and allocate the additional HOME‑ARP dollars. The administrator explained that the administrative and staff costs of amending the plan and conducting another RFP could exceed the $4,682 offered by Treasury.
Commissioners debated options. One commissioner suggested accepting the $4,682 would be a poor use of taxpayer money if the county must spend more to administer and reprocure projects; another commissioner said the board should consider funding a small shortfall from the general fund if the additional amount was critical to a project. Staff noted the county has not yet accepted prior RFP proposals and that, after administrative fees were deducted from the HOME‑ARP pool, about $2,600,000 remained for projects (staff provided that figure during the discussion). The board did not take a final vote on accepting the HOME‑ARP offer at the June 3 meeting.
The administrator said staff will prepare a resolution and return to the board with options for amending the HOME and HOME‑ARP plans and the procurement implications. Staff also said Community Development recommended how to allocate the additional CDBG and HOME dollars and that the commissioners will need to amend the 2025 action plan if they choose a recommendation.
Clarifying details: the CDBG increase was described as about $55,000 and additional HOME funds of about $20,000; the HOME‑ARP Treasury offer was $4,682. Staff said the county's HOME‑ARP pool previously totaled about $3,000,000 before administrative deductions and that the remaining project funds were approximately $2,600,000. Commissioners asked staff for an itemized estimate of the administrative cost to amend the plan and to rebid projects before deciding whether to accept the small additional award.
