Kitsap County staff brief council on consolidated plan timeline, CDBG and HOME funds and potential HUD uncertainty

Kitsap County representatives on March 5 briefed the Poulsbo City Council on the 2026–2030 consolidated planning process for federal housing and community development funds, laying out how Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships funds will be coordinated with local funds and a joint competitive grant cycle.

Doug Washburn (Kitsap County Human Services), Shannon Bowman and Bonnie Tufts (Kitsap County Block Grant Office) described the county’s status as an HUD-designated urban county. They told council CDBG funds are roughly $1,000,000 annually for the county (excluding Bremerton) and HOME funds are about $750,000 annually with Bremerton receiving a 29% set-aside. The consolidated plan is a five-year HUD document that establishes priorities and drives annual Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)/RFP processes.

The timeline county staff presented: data gathering and stakeholder outreach through spring; a policy plan and RFP publication in May with public comment; a coordinated grant cycle opening mid-June and application due mid-July; funding recommendations published in September with public hearings in October; and the consolidated plan and first-year action plan due to HUD by November 15. Staff noted the coordinated grants process brings multiple pots and committees together for capital and service awards and that local groups (cities and districts) nominate representatives to the grant recommendation committees.

Presenters also discussed national- and region-level uncertainty: calls from regional partners that a federal continuing resolution could be floated and that rumors about potential HUD regional-office closures could complicate processing and slow reimbursements. County staff said they have not received final notice of any HUD office closures but that, should Seattle or other regional offices close, application processing and reporting could be delayed. Council members asked for updates and said they would like staff to flag any risks to specific city contracts or grants.

Kitsap County staff also listed sample projects the coordinated cycle has funded in past years — including Nordic cottages, weatherization, single-family rehab, down-payment assistance and a Kingston Ridge roof repair — and encouraged Poulsbo to nominate members to the capital and services grant recommendation committees when requested.