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Brunswick approves $384,717 CDBG FY2025 budget, earmarks home repairs and nonprofit grants
Summary
The City Commission approved the HUD entitlement allocation of $384,717 for FY2025, directing the largest share to major/minor home repairs, funding demolition and six public-service awards to local nonprofits, and adopting an amended citizen participation plan adding social-media outreach.
Brunswick commissioners on July 16 approved the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fiscal-year 2025 budget after staff presented a plan to distribute the HUD entitlement of $384,717.
Neighborhood and community-services program specialist Dana Carter said the allocation breakouts are: $192,782 for major/minor home repair, $26,000 for public facilities, $57,770 for removal of slum and blight (demolition), $55,500 for public housing education and outreach, $2,000 for fair-housing outreach and $50,728 for planning and administration. Carter said the figure was slightly lower than anticipated but that the department has reorganized intake with a pre-screening process to eliminate a lengthy waiting list for repairs.
The public-services awards were announced for seven nonprofits and include allocations such as $14,670 for Roosevelt Lawrence Community Youth Center and awards to A Better Glenn, Brunswick Community Radio, Coastal Outreach, First Jordan Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Foster Love Ministries and the Robert S. Abbott Race Unity Institute. Carter said the city completed about 11 home repairs last fiscal year and aims to complete seven to 13 homes this year using CDBG funds; eligibility is owner-occupied and limited to low-to-moderate income households (HUD census-based thresholds; example cited: one-person household ~ $41,000).
Why it matters: CDBG funds pay for repairs that preserve affordable housing, remove hazardous structures, and underwrite nonprofits’ senior, youth and homelessness services in Brunswick. Carter said the department reduced its waiting list to zero and implemented a contractor pre-screening and on-site prescreen to speed determinations and avoid ineligible, high-cost projects.
Commission action: The FY2025 CDBG budget passed; a commissioner recused from the budget vote because of prior committee service, but the budget and the separate amended citizen participation plan (which added social-media contact information and the department’s updated address) were both approved by voice vote.
What’s next: Staff will implement the pre-screening and contractor outreach and return as required for any program rule changes. The Commission asked staff to monitor federal allocation trends as HUD amounts can change year to year.
