CDBG Coalition hopes to protect, increase funding

Dauphin County, Pa. Commissioner George Harttwick at the CDBG Coalition briefing. Photo by Alix Kashdan While celebrating a House appropriations bill markup that boosted the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to $3 billion, the CDBG Coalition pushed for measures that would sustain the program in the future at a Capitol Hill briefing April 28. The coalition, organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and including NACo, reiterated a wish list of $3.3 billion in funding and an adjustment for inflation, which has been absent since the program's 1974 introduction. In its 41 years, the number of CDBG recipients has increased to more than 1,200 from its inaugural 594, but the initial funding level, $2.7 billion, has increased much less than the rate of inflation. It's a need-based, formula-driven funding program to states and local governments through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "If you would adjust for inflation, the program would probably be funded at about $12 billion," said Gene Lowe, the U.S. Conference of Mayors' assistant executive director. "We simply have been nowhere near that." Dauphin County, Pa. Commissioner George Hartwick described the extent to which CDBG has helped his county. "We've been able to do some creative things with leveraging dollars," he said, pointing out one dollar in CDBG funding can typically be leveraged to raise $4.77 in private financing. "Being able to have flexible utilization of dollars to solve some extremely complex issues in redevelopment, infrastructure and road repairs we've combined it with our infrastructure bank to address major projects," Hartwick added. He emphasized what the 30 percent set-aside of CDBG funding for rural projects has meant. "In northern, rural parts of the county, if it wasn't for our ability to utilize CDBG dollars we may not have any public infrastructure at all," he said. "The idea of providing water and sewer lines and the ability for us to put in critical roadway has been crucial." Tim Ware, executive director of the George Washington Regional Commission in Fredericksburg, Va. echoed that sentiment. "At a time when local governments in rural communities are striving to overcome economic competition, aging infrastructure and scarce federal resources, it is vital that federal policymakers continue to maintain strong funding for the CDBG program," he said. Reps. Jim McGovern (D) and Joe Kennedy (D), both of Massachusetts, also voiced support for CDBG funding during the briefing.