The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has many streams of revenue that go to various programs all across the country. Today the Biden administration officially announced $5.5 billion in FY2024 allocations for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships.
“For 50 years HUD has provided flexible grant funding so that communities nationwide can make their own choices about addressing their most urgent challenges,” said Marion McFadden, HUD’s principal deputy assistant secretary for community planning and development in a press release.
“These funds will be used to create permanent housing, offer temporary shelter, provide down payment assistance for ready homebuyers, support community infrastructure – like water and sewer projects – and invest in small businesses,” McFadden continued.
There’s a total of $$58,272,106 in CDBG headed to the Commonwealth of Virginia to be split between 31 localities with the state government itself receiving $19,107,637. Virginia received a total of $24,637,492 in HOME funding.
Charlottesville’s CDBG Task Force has made recommendations on how to spend the funding this year without knowing the exact allocations until today. The figures are $438,617 in CDBG funds and $651,111 in HOME funding.
According to a public notice published in today’s Charlottesville Daily Progress, the city anticipated about $410,000 in CDBG funds, and about $98,000 in HOME funding. The rest of the funds will go to the other localities in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District.
The Planning Commission will have a public hearing on May 14, 2024 followed by a public hearing before Charlottesville City Council soon afterward.
In recent months, Council has approved repurposing of previously allocated CDBG funds:
- Council reallocates $215,000 in federal funds to Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to allow storage of more produce, March 7, 2024
- Council reallocates another $90K in federal funds to BEACON kitchen, April 2, 2024
Earlier this year, a University of Virginia student group urged the City Council to not use CDBG funding for public infrastructure. They were speaking on behalf of the Public Housing Association of Residents, a group that has previously received funding that would prefer the federal money be used to pay for direct services. (read that story)
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