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Erie presents proposed CDBG/HOME budgets and a mayor-led literacy coordinator role
Summary
City officials presented proposed fiscal 2026 CDBG and HOME allocations and a mayoral initiative to hire a literacy coordinator to align city-funded programs with school priorities; councilors pressed administration on public-service caps and street-paving tradeoffs.
City officials outlined proposed Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funding for fiscal 2026 and introduced a mayor-led literacy initiative intended to add a literacy component to city-funded youth programs.
Deb Smith, a representative of the Department of Economic and Community Development, told City Council the city is using last year—s numbers while it awaits an official HUD allocation and said "for our proposed City of Erie request, we are looking to propose $1,575,049." She noted program income and prior allocations were used to produce the proposal and emphasized that figures are still subject to the final federal allocation.
Council members pressed staff on individual line items. Councilor Flores asked why large sums were proposed for street improvements and administrative costs while some long-standing social-service providers did not appear to receive allocations; Smith replied that public-service spending is capped (20.96% of the base allocation) and that several providers funded in prior years either changed their programs or did not apply this cycle.
The mayor and supporters described a new literacy coordinator position to be funded through this planning process. "This is my initiative," a council member said, asking that a city staffer be hired "to oversee any program that is receiving dollars from the City of Erie" and to align after-school and summer programming with school-district priorities. Councilors and the mayor discussed multilingual outreach and outcome measurement; the administration said it would work with the district to ensure translations and shared metrics.
Officials also outlined HOME program proposals for rental housing and housing rehabilitation, and reminded the public that the city will host two public hearings on April 13 (10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.) and display the proposed plan on the city website and at community centers through May 4. Smith provided a public comment address and an email for submissions: Department of Economic and Community Development, 626 State Street, Room 404; dsmith@erie.pa.us.
Next steps: the administration expects to submit the plan to HUD after the city authorizes submission on May 6, pending the final allocation.
The city reiterated that CDBG-funded activities must principally benefit low- and moderate-income residents and that program caps limit how much may be devoted to public services in any given year.
