The San Marcos City Council approved allocations of over $770,000 in Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, funding to multiple local groups with public service programs and projects on July 7.
Selected organizations offer programs that benefit citizens with low and moderate incomes or aim to “eliminate slums or blight,” according to previous Community Impact reporting.
The overview
City staff presented final recommendations to council for the amount of CDBG funding each organization who applied for the grants should receive. From a requested total of $1.54 million, the city had $774,306 to allocate, according to agenda documents.
Based on CDBG guidelines, no more than 15% of the grant, or $116,145, could be put toward public services, and no more than 20%, or $154,861, could be spent on staff administering the grant. The remaining grant funds could be allocated to various public service projects.
For a program or project to be eligible for CDBG funds, it must meet specific requirements outlined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A city staff committee reviewed and scored grant applications on the following criteria:
- Need and justification
- Implementation readiness
- Impact and cost effectiveness
- Community support
- City Council priorities
- Risk factors
What happened
The City Council approved the following allocations of CDBG funding allocation at a July 7 meeting:
After discussion, the council approved an amendment to staff’s recommendation, reallocating $5,000 originally recommended for Hays County Mental Health Court to HOME Center. The reallocation brought HOME Center’s funding up from an original $8,295.
Looking forward
City staff will submit the approved funding allocations to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by Aug. 14.
