San Mateo commission recommends 2025–26 CDBG allocations; agencies urge help as federal funding uncertain

The San Mateo Community Relations Commission on an item about 2025–26 Community Development Block Grant funding recommended that staff forward funding allocations to the city council that largely maintain prior-year awards and distribute public services funds equally among current grantees.

The commission’s action followed a series of presentations from nonprofit service providers and staff briefings on CDBG rules and budget assumptions. Jeff Mora, the City of San Mateo housing specialist, told the commission the city is treating the 2025–26 cycle as a “renewal year” and is using the prior year’s entitlement as the baseline because the U.S. Congress had not finalized the federal budget and HUD allocations were uncertain.

Mora said the city’s annual entitlement used for planning is $753,586, and that program income and prior-year resources lift the available dollars to “just over a million” for the draft action plan. Mora reiterated statutory program limits that affect the budget: CDBG public services are capped at 15% of the annual entitlement and administration is limited to 20%.

Why it matters: CDBG funds support food distribution, homelessness prevention, legal services, fair housing enforcement, minor home repairs and microenterprise and childcare supports in San Mateo. The commission’s recommendation will be incorporated into the city’s annual action plan and forwarded to City Council for final approval in spring.

What the commission recommended and why - Public services: the commission recommended dividing the available public‑services pool equally among the returning CDBG public‑service grantees rather than reweighting awards. Staff noted the 15% cap on public services creates a fixed envelope to…