Planning and Development Services Department
TO: David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM: Margene K. Swarts, Assistant Director, Development Services
CC: Scott McCullough, Director, Planning and Development Services
DATE: February 9, 2011
RE: CDBG Program Eligibility and General Uses
In response to a recent inquiry, the DS Division prepared an overview of CDBG funding eligibility and general uses. The inquiry focused on areas of the community that were once considered “targeted” for CDBG funds. At this time, there are no “targeted” neighborhoods in Lawrence with regard to CDBG funding. All Block Groups in Census Tracts in Lawrence designated by HUD Census Data as “Low and/or Moderate Income Area” are eligible for CDBG funding on an area-wide basis. This has actually been the case for several years.
For the 2010 CDBG program year, Brook Creek Neighborhood Association (BCNA), East Lawrence Neighborhood Association (ELNA), North Lawrence Improvement Association (NLIA), Oread Neighborhood Association (ONA), and Pinckney Neighborhood Association (PNA) received CDBG funds for Neighborhood Association Operating and/or Coordinator funding because they applied for the funds and were recommended for funding by the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC). The City Commission subsequently approved the CDAC recommendation. Any neighborhood association whose boundaries define an area that is 51% or more Low and/or Moderate Income are eligible to apply for CDBG funding for operating and/or coordinator funding.
CDBG funding is not limited only to neighborhood associations. Capital improvement projects in a defined low and/or moderate income “area” are an eligible activity and many such projects are and have been conducted throughout Lawrence through the years.
CDBG funding is a result of the review by the CDAC of an application for funds. If there is no application for a project or activity, there is nothing for the Committee to consider for funding. There are agencies and neighborhood associations that have not or do not apply for funding. Community Development Division (CDD) staff tries very hard to disseminate the information to all known Interested Parties each year. For at least the last 25+ years, the information and application is made available in the fall each year and the deadline for applications is December 1 of that year. With the advent of the Internet, the information is now posted on the City’s website.
The CDD staff are the City liaison to the CDAC and as such, do not make recommendations regarding CDBG funding. Staff provide regulatory information and guidance to the CDAC and public, staff the CDAC meetings, monitor CDBG funded sub-grantees, oversee CDBG funded Capital Improvement projects and activities, partner with various entities such as Tenants to Homeowners, Inc. and Habitat for Humanity, Inc. in the delivery of their programs, and deliver the Comprehensive Housing Rehab, Emergency and Furnace Loan, and Weatherization programs through the Development Services Division of Planning and Development Services.
Federal regulations for the CDBG program permit up to 20% of the annual grant to be used for administration of the CDBG program. For the 2010 program year, this amount was $174,709. It is anticipated the 2011 amount will be similar or slightly less. Additionally, the regulations provide the City the ability to determine how the program will be administered. According to the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the most recently completed CDBG program year, the expenditure for Administration was $161,534. The balance of unexpended administration funds in any program year is rolled forward into the following year and reallocated toward that year’s projects and activities.
The former Neighborhood Resources Department is now the Development Services Division of Planning and Development Services Department. The CDD is one of three divisions within the Development Services Division. One of the charges of the CDD is the administration of the CDBG program. It is an eligible and appropriate expense for the City to use CDBG funds to administer the CDBG program.