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O'Fallon outlines CDBG, HOME and local housing programs; awards and caps detailed
Summary
Grants & Assistance staff summarized O'Fallon's HUD-funded programs, reporting a FY2025 CDBG allocation of $338,193 (allocation pending), program caps (20% admin, 15% public services), and new HOME-funded affordable rental awards to support acquisition/rehab and supportive services.
Melissa Grama, manager of the Grants & Assistance Division, presented a detailed overview of O'Fallon's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME-funded programs and answered council questions about eligibility and program limits.
"The city of O'Fallon has been a HUD and CDBG entitlement community since 2004," Grama said. She described three national CDBG objectives and said O'Fallon's work focuses on low- to moderate-income households. For fiscal year 2025 she stated the city's CDBG allocation amount as $338,193 and described statutory caps: "we are capped at 20% for administration and planning" and a 15% cap for public services.
Grama described core programs: emergency homeless prevention (financial assistance up to $1,500 per household, limited to no more than three consecutive months), a transportation program for necessary medical trips (up to 18 one-way trips per eligible rider annually), exterior home repair grants (up to $10,000), interior forgivable loans (up to $7,500, forgiven after five years if owner-occupied), and mobile-home repairs (up to $3,000). She also summarized Project HOME (funded by a local fundraiser) and two HOME-funded initiatives that will test radon and mitigate when required.
Grama said staff had reallocated HOME funds and in February 2025 awarded $620,540 to a partner organization to acquire and rehabilitate three rental units with supportive services; the city is securing its first unit in O'Fallon. She noted annual reporting obligations to HUD (CAPER) and the city's citizen participation process including multiple public hearings and coordination through the St. Louis County Home Consortium.
Council followed up on program scope; Grama clarified that the transportation rides are limited to medical locations within Saint Charles County and that the nonprofit partner will manage properties purchased for affordable rental activities. Several council members thanked staff for the presentation and for internal coordination on these grants.
