The Community Development Committee met 08/28/2024. They held two public hearings with two related informational discussions pertaining to the Community Development Block Grant Program. Nobody spoke at either of the public hearings, but the committee did spend time discussion both the CDBG notice of funding for the 2025-2026 program year as well as the intention to create a 2025-2029 consolidated plan for the CDBG Program.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
CDBG NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABLE AND COMMUNITY NEEDS FOR THE 2025 PROGRAM YEAR – Nobody spoke at the public hearing.
Community Development Specialist Olivia Galyon told the committee that part of the process and requirements related to the CDBG program was to hold public hearings and provide opportunities to the public to provide input into the ways the funds would be spent.
The process started in late summer/early fall at which point city staff try to predict how much money they will receive from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in CDBG funds. They base their estimates on how much money they have received in previous years.
They then allocate that money to core city programs including the Housing Rehab Loan Program, the Neighborhood Grant Program, Administration and Fair Housing, Appleton Housing Authority, and the Community Resource Navigator Position.
After the city determines how much to give to those programs, they open up an opportunity for city departments to apply for funding for eligible city projects.
After city programs and city projects are allocated funds, they allow community partners to apply for any money that remains. The city provides pre-application training to interested organizations, and then had around a 1-month window for organizations to submit applications. Those applications are checked for eligibility, reviewed by staff, and then passed on the CDBG Advisory Board which reviews and scores them. An opportunity for public feedback on applications is given and then the Community Development Committee and the Common Council vote on the preliminary allocations.
The city will not find out from HUD what the exact dollar amount they will be receiving is until at least February. Once they receive the final number, staff adjusts the preliminary allocations as needed and then bring those final amounts to the committee and Council for approval.
Appleton usually receives around $600,000 annually from HUD for the CDBG program.
The amount of money that goes to city programs varies year to year. For example, the Neighborhood Grant Program and the Housing Rehab Loan Program don’t always need funds.
Alderperson Martyn Smith (District 4) asked what kind of feedback the city receives from the public. Ms. Galyon indicated that they make sure they provide opportunities for public feedback but they don’t receive a lot of response. Surveys typically result in higher response levels than other forms of feedback.
Alderperson Smith also wanted to know if it was expected that certain organizations were always going to receive CDBG funding. Ms. Galyon indicated the groups varied and that it was not guaranteed that there would even be funding available to outside organizations.
Alderperson Smith mentioned that organizations like Pillars and the Building For Kids were well respected and everybody was happy to see money go to them, but he wondered if there was an opportunity for newer non-profits to ask for money. Ms. Galyon said there were opportunities for such organizations to apply for funds, but an important factor in the decision was the type of project they were seeking money for. Only 15% of the overall CDBG dollars could go to “service” projects versus a limited improvement project such as expanding a homeless shelter to offer more beds.
Additionally, Ms. Galyon noted that the city tried to emphasize to organizations that being awarded funds for one year did not mean they would be awarded it in future years.
CREATION OF THE 2025-2029 CONSOLIDATED PLAN FOR THE CDBG PROGRAM – Nobody spoke at this public hearing.
Ms. Galyon told the committee that the US Department of Housing and Urban development required that communities who received CDBG dollars submit a 5 year plan on how they intend to use the funds they will be receiving. Appleton’s last plan went from 2020-2024, so they needed one for 2025-2029.
Staff was currently working to update the existing data for the plan and was going to kick off the community engagement process to determine what kind of projects the community was interested in these dollars going to. The community engagement process would include public hearings and a survey as well as outreach directed toward non-profits and other organizations that were serving the Appleton community so that staff could learn about what kind of issues those entities were observing in the community.
They expected to have the plan ready for approval by the Council in early 2024 so that it could be submitted to HUD ahead of the 2025 plan year which starts 04/01/2025.
Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) asked if there were any issues with the city soliciting applications for 2025-2026 CDBG dollars when they did not have a new five-year plan in place yet. Ms. Galyon indicated that was not a problem.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1204728&GUID=2892C91B-98A2-460E-A465-4247DCD24950
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