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Council Reviews Multi‑Year HOME/CDBG/ESG Appropriations and a Pending HUD Waiver for a Subrecipient
Summary
Council heard staff summaries of HOME, CDBG and ESG appropriations for 2023–2025, asked for details on unallocated balances and loan repayments, and heard that a waiver request to HUD is pending for Christian Churches United because of a potential conflict of interest.
Harrisburg City Council’s work session reviewed three federal funding streams — HOME, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) — across fiscal years 2023–2025 and discussed the 2026 annual action plan.
Staff reminded the council that HOME funds support community housing development organizations (CHDOs) and developers, noting a current HOME application from Wildheart for a mixed‑use project called “The Gateway.” Patrice Dawkins and Gloria Martin Roberts said HOME funds do not expire and that HOME, ESG, and CDBG appropriations for 2023–2025 are being processed together; staff acknowledged some funds remain unallocated and that they will provide a clearer breakdown.
On ESG, Patrice Dawkins explained the program subsidizes homeless prevention, outreach and rapid rehousing. When Councilwoman Green asked whether ESG could be used for disaster response after the recent storm, staff said ESG is narrowly for homelessness‑related activities; disaster response can be funded only when activities align with HUD goals and are captured in an annual action plan or consolidated plan. Staff agreed to provide a written memo clarifying permissible disaster‑related uses.
Council asked for specifics about loan repayments and the source pages in the budget book for repayment schedules; staff said the department would send the figures and the relevant budget pages.
A recurring procedural issue discussed was potential conflicts of interest among subrecipient awards. Staff reported that two conflicts were resolved but Christian Churches United (CCU) remains an outstanding case: because a staff member’s daughter works at CCU, the law bureau must send a formal waiver request to HUD; staff said HUD had verbally indicated no conflict, but a written exception is still pending. Council members asked how unallocated funds would be handled if the waiver were denied; staff said they would reallocate the dollars to other subrecipients and return to council with recommendations.
Several councilmembers noted they would recuse themselves where appropriate; one councilmember (Lawson) disclosed he serves on the board of Wildheart and said he would recuse from the eventual vote on Bill 8.
Council moved several pending appropriations (Bill 10 for HOME, Bill 8 for CDBG and Resolution 59, the annual action plan) to the next legislative session for formal votes and asked staff for a package of supporting documents prior to that meeting.
Next steps: staff will provide a written memo on permissible disaster uses of ESG, detailed allocations and unallocated balances for HOME/CDBG/ESG across 2023–2025, and the law bureau will draft and send the HUD waiver request for CCU.
