Committee adopts 2026 funding allocation plan amid federal budget uncertainty

The Community and Economic Development Committee adopted a substitute resolution establishing the city's recommended 2026 funding allocation plan for federal block-grant programs, approving a carryover approach intended to minimize disruption to funded agencies while federal appropriations remain unsettled.

Mario Higgins, director of Community Development Grants Administration, told the committee the city relied on the most recent Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) subcommittee proposal because Congress has not finalized the 2026 appropriations and the federal government is operating under a continuing resolution. "We are currently under a 60 day, continuing resolution," Higgins said, and staff do not have an exact final appropriation date. He said the administration extrapolated a roughly 6% nationwide cut to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from a reported $200 million reduction in that program and used that as the best available basis for local recommendations.

Higgins recommended a "hold harmless" carryover so existing funded activities could continue where possible and avoided large programmatic disruptions. He presented recommended local figures for planning purposes: CDBG $14,200,000; HOME (HOME Investment Partnerships Program) $4,300,000; Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) $1,350,000; Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) $1,400,000. Higgins cautioned that these amounts "will not be a 6% cut" in every case and that the federal allocation formula ultimately determines local funding levels; he also noted the administration assumed approximately $800,000 in adjustments from last year's recommended levels.

Agency representatives in the room asked for clarification about the timing of the continuing resolution and whether the city was making an "educated guess" on funding levels. Higgins said the proposal is based on the last federal subcommittee recommendation and emphasized that if larger cuts occur the committee would need to reconvene to consider reprogramming or across-the-board adjustments. After committee discussion, Alderman Mark Chambers moved adoption of the substitute resolution and the committee approved it by hearing no objections. Staff said agencies should be prepared to submit documentation and budgets so contracts for 2026 can be finalized once federal appropriations and city council approval are complete.

The adopted substitute resolution sets recommendations and starts the process for obligating funds; final local allocations remain contingent on federal appropriations and statutory formula calculations.