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County accepts HUD grants totaling millions and reallocates emergency funds for homelessness and housing programs
Summary
Essex County accepted PY2024 HUD awards including a $5,279,531 CDBG allocation, $1,182,534.93 in HOME funds and $460,258 in ESG funding; commissioners also approved reprogramming roughly $50,000 across homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing activities, and asked officials about RFP timing and vetting.
The Essex County Board approved multiple housing and community development funding actions on Thursday, accepting federal awards and approving transfers to local service providers.
John Sures, director of the Division of Housing and Community Development, told the board the county is requesting authorization to enter grant agreements for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program year 2024: Community Development Block Grant funds of $5,279,531; HOME Investment Partnerships funds of $1,182,534.93; and Emergency Solutions Grant funds of $460,258. He said the grants follow RFPs and an action plan the division presented earlier this year.
"On resolution number 4, we're asking for your authorization to enter into a grant agreement with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for program year 2024 Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $5,279,531," Sures told the board.
Sures also presented reprogramming requests: $32,000 from unused ESG funds to Family Promise of Essex County for rapid rehousing activities, and smaller transfers to United Community Corporation ($10,000 and $8,000) to move homeless prevention dollars into rapid rehousing. The division requested moving $39,624 from one Arc of Essex County contract to another to cover higher-than-expected first-phase construction costs at a young-adult facility in Nutley.
Commissioner Vice President Cooper asked whether the division advertises RFPs through the county procurement portal and whether reprogrammed funds are awarded only to previously vetted recipients. Sures said the RFPs ran in late 2023, were advertised via newspapers and the county website, and that organizations receiving funds are vetted by the county inspector general; he said reprogrammed funds are typically assigned to organizations that have already been vetted by the division and inspector general.
Commissioners approved the block of housing and reprogramming measures in a grouped vote. Staff said the grants include both direct funding and administrative portions that may require matching funds (Sures said administrative matches will be met using salary and wages where applicable).
The approvals will allow the county to accept HUD funds and to distribute or reprogram those funds to local providers for housing, homelessness prevention and emergency shelter services; staff said additional procurement and grant‑administration steps will follow.
