Committee staff outlined the timeline and preliminary funding assumptions for the 2026 action plan and advised applicants to plan conservatively given federal budget uncertainty.

Speaker 4 presented historical allocation data and estimated that the 2025 allocation figures point to roughly $664,000 in CDBG and $233,000 in HOME before adjustments. After subtracting typical administrative percentages (20% for CDBG; 10% for HOME) and adding projected program income (estimated at about $166,000 for CDBG), Speaker 4 said the committee could anticipate approximately $697,000 available for CDBG and about $209,700 available for HOME in 2026.

Speaker 4 also announced a return to a pre‑2022 schedule: the committee will release applications in January and set the application deadline for Friday, Feb. 20 at noon. Outreach plans include a legal ad, posts to the human services listserv, email, and physical mailings.

Committee members asked how to communicate uncertainty to applicants. Speaker 3 and Speaker 4 agreed staff can tell applicants that allocations are uncertain because of federal budget processes; Speaker 3 said applicants should be advised to "not count on this happening" when building budgets. Speaker 4 offered technical assistance meetings to help organizations plan.

Next steps: staff will publish the application materials in January, run outreach as described, and provide assistance on request.