Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Leesburg sustainability staff: federal funding and some rebates for energy projects are no longer available
Summary
Leesburg sustainability staff said federal funding and rebate assumptions for energy projects are not available, citing a shortfall that will require staff to rework project budgets and seek alternative grants.
Deb Moran (sustainability manager, Town of Leesburg) informed commissioners that several previously anticipated federal funding sources and tax rebates for energy projects are no longer accessible to the town, affecting planned projects and capital assumptions.
Deb said the town had been expecting an Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant or similar funding and referenced an amount of approximately $75,000 connected to an energy efficiency program that was not received. She also said tax rebates and other incentives related to electric‑vehicle purchases and building energy measures that the town had modeled into capital projects are not available; the town will therefore revise project cost assumptions and look for alternative funding sources.
Alternatives and next steps: Deb discussed a potential funding source — the Mid‑Atlantic Environmental Justice Fund administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust — and encouraged commissioners to consider projects that could match that fund’s categories (capacity building, tree planting, workforce development). She said the application window for that fund opens soon but that, because of timing, the town might not apply this year; staff will collect ideas and, if suitable projects arise, seek grant partners.
Deb also said the town presented its sustainability annual report to Town Council on Jan. 27 and that staff will circulate the report link to commissioners.
