Clark County staff gave the Urban County Policy Board an overview Jan. 12 of applications submitted for the 2026 round of CDBG and HOME funding and delivered detailed scoring guidance for volunteer reviewers.

Rebecca Royce summarized the applications by category: public services applicants include dental and health services; four tenant‑based rental assistance applications were received; two construction projects applied under affordable housing and homelessness; and a pre‑applicant (NEA) was disqualified after changing its scope between pre‑application and full application. Royce said Evergreen Habitat for Humanity’s proposal is more suitable for HOME funding than CDBG because it centers on new construction for homebuyer activities.

On scoring, Royce walked members through the Neighborly platform and recommended reviewers allocate roughly 30–45 minutes per application, warning of several common biases: affinity, halo/horn effect, central tendency, recency and leniency/strictness. She said board members will receive application packets, a funding guide and staff comments to support scoring, and that reviewers will sign a DocuSign conflict‑of‑interest form; if a conflict exists, staff will mitigate by removing members from scoring specific applications.

Key dates and logistics: staff expects Neighborly access to be available around Jan. 30 and scores will be due March 2. Staff also recommended opening multiple monitors and using the funding guide while scoring.

The board will review staff recommendations at its March meeting before finalizing awards.