Committee votes to set grant eligibility at 130% of HUD low‑income level for exterior property repairs

The University Heights Building and Housing Committee voted to set the income ceiling for the city’s residential exterior property maintenance grant at 130% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) low‑income guideline, using adjusted gross income as the qualifying metric. The committee approved the change by voice vote; the motion was moved by Councilman King and seconded by Councilman Cooney.

Committee members said the move is intended to make the $2,500-per‑award program easier for more residents to use, particularly seniors and others on fixed incomes who said they were excluded by the prior thresholds.

Housing Director Markel Davis told the committee that the program was codified in 2019 and had been pegged to HUD area figures, updated to 2025 numbers on the housing department website. Davis said the HUD figures “start at $55,650 for a 1 person household, [and] goes up to $104,950 for an 8 person household.” Davis also reported that only a very small number of residents have completed the application and received awards under the program since its inception.

Councilman King summarized the committee’s aim: “I think the real question on it was do we want that to be higher than that, which we have the ability to do to set it at maybe, 150% of that number and add 50% then.” Committee member (Mister Rock) recommended benchmarking to a local median or using adjusted gross income to reflect medical and other deductions; Rock suggested that adjusted gross income would better capture residents’ real affordability constraints.

Councilwoman Sachs cautioned about appropriate thresholds for programs targeted at very‑low‑income residents, noting that some programs use 200% of the federal poverty level as a benchmark and emphasizing that the committee should be deliberate about who the program is intended to help.

Committee discussion also covered the program’s administration and budget. Participants discussed whether the HUD benchmark should be placed in the ordinance (so it updates automatically when HUD updates its tables) and whether raising the ceiling would materially increase applications. The housing director and other staff said outreach and publicity will affect takeup and that the committee could revisit adjustments after tracking applications for a year or two.

There was some confusion in the meeting about the current annual budgeted amount for the grant program: some participants spoke of a roughly $15,000 annual pot while a different figure was mentioned orally during the discussion; staff were asked to confirm the correct budget number in follow-up materials.

The committee instructed staff to prepare a revised ordinance reflecting the 130% HUD ceiling (adjusted gross income benchmark) and to forward that draft to the full council for consideration in November.