Hartford committee reviews draft federal action plan, sends it to council with no recommendation

The Operations Management Budget and Government Accountability Committee met May 6 to review the city’s draft annual action plan for federal community development funds and unanimously voted to send the plan to the full Court of Common Council without a committee recommendation.

Cheryl Horwitz, director of central grants administration, told the committee the city is "getting less and less money every year" while community needs rise and HUD rules limit how funds can be used. She said staff had tried to balance funding for effective programs with the administrative requirements tied to federal dollars so the city does not risk losing future funds.

Horwitz outlined the allocation structure in the draft and said public service projects are constrained by a 15% cap, leaving roughly $400,000–$500,000 for that bucket. She described a $10,000 lower threshold the office applies to avoid awarding grants so small that administrative costs outweigh their benefit, and said staff have been cautious about awarding multiple grants above roughly $60,000 because a few large awards would exhaust the pool.

"We get less and less money every year, and sometimes it's negligibly less, but less," Horwitz said, describing the trade-offs the grants office must manage.

The presentation emphasized a shift toward infrastructure investments — repairs and upgrades for child-care and youth facilities — with Metzner Center specifically named as a project to receive support. Horwitz said some organizations scored poorly or requested ineligible activities and therefore were not funded; she also said about five organizations withdrew their applications.

A committee member praised the staff and volunteer reviewers for the detailed application work required under HUD rules, saying the process includes extensive documentation and outside reviewers. The chair proposed sending the draft to the full council "with no recommendation" to allow other council members time to propose substitutes; the committee voted unanimously to do so.

The committee’s action sends the draft to the full Court of Common Council for final action; the chair noted the item will likely be taken up at the council meeting scheduled for May 26.