Wasatch Front regional panel backs CDBG process changes and approves plan updates

Members of the Wasatch Front Regional Council approved two planning documents and discussed recommended changes to how small‑city Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applications are advertised and scheduled, saying the proposed changes aim to reduce administrative burdens for small towns.

The council voted to approve the May meeting minutes and later approved two planning documents — the annual action plan and the five‑year consolidated plan — with a request that staff double‑check page numbering and minor typos before final submission. Council members also reviewed a set of recommendations the council will carry to the upcoming state policy meeting, including asking the state and HUD administrators to remove a newspaper posting requirement and to shift application deadlines one month later to ease holiday‑season timing pressures.

Why it matters: The Regional Council’s recommendations would affect the small‑city CDBG application process that dozens of local governments use to seek federal housing and community development funds. Members said current timing and application complexity discourage participation from small towns that lack dedicated grant staff and make it difficult to get bids, engineering work and contracts in place for the same program year.

Council discussion and recommended changes

Staff reported that several Area Office of Governments (AOGs) and the state have raised similar concerns and that the council intends to push a set of modest changes at the state policy meeting chaired by Mayor Allen. Christie, a council staff member who presented the item, told the group the council will recommend complying with the state’s recent change that removed the mandatory newspaper…