CURRENT AFFAIRS By Eric Coleman
Oakland County Commissioner
National Association of Counties
2nd Vice President
Congress is now considering a proposal by President Bush to eliminate a program that has provided an enormous benefit to the citizens of Oakland County. The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) has enabled Oakland County and its cities to improve housing, assist seniors and disabled citizens, and foster economic development.
CDBG was created in 1974, to help state and local governments develop viable urban communities, provide decent housing, and expand economic opportunities for low and moderate income people. For 30 years, CDBG has done just that—assisting state, county, and city governments with a wide variety of activities that enhance communities and help improve the lives of citizens.
Just last year, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development celebrated CDBGs, long track record of outstanding success.
President Bush is proposing to “consolidate” 18 direct grant programs across the government—including CDBG—into one new program at the Department of Commerce. This would essentially eliminate CDBG.
The new program would focus solely on economic development, taking into consideration factors such as poverty and job loss in communities when distributing funds. The Commerce initiative would also create a bonus incentive program for communities that comply with other unrelated priorities of the Bush Administration, such as the No Child Left Behind Act. A third piece of the program would offer tax incentives under the Administration’s Opportunity Zones initiative, which aims to stimulate business community investment in underserved communities. Although this sounds good, the real results is that with the exception of the City of Pontiac, all communities and programs within Oakland County would no longer be eligible to receive CDBG funding.
Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that the new program at the Department of Commerce would be funded at $3.71 billion, which is far less than the $4.15 billion in CDBG funding alone that was allocated to local governments this year. Clearly, the new program would make it more difficult for counties to improve communities through economic development and better housing.
The importance of CDBG to local governments cannot be understated. CDBG dollars are used to implement vital infrastructure improvements, leverage private resources in development projects, provide crucial social services, and create affordable housing and homeownership opportunities.
Oakland County’s CDBG program allocates $4.35 million, to 50 participating cities, townships and villages based on a formula authorized by the County Board of Commissioners. Annual CDBG allocations range from a minimum of $8,000 for small villages up to $185,000 for large cities. The county also administers a comprehensive Home Improvement Loan Program and Housing Counseling Program that are available to low and moderate income residents of the 50 communities. In Oakland County, CDBG funds have been used to:
Improve the City of Clawson’s firefighting capacity by upgrading fire hydrants, water lines and valves in a low and moderate income residential neighborhood. This project maximized fire protection for 1,356 area residents and properties.
Enhance the lives of senior and disabled citizens by assisting with a van transportation and food service program. Multi-jurisdictional van transportation programs in more than 15 municipalities are designed to transport seniors and disabled adults to functions, doctors’ appointments, and other various locations, while hot food vehicles deliver hot meals to home bound seniors and disabled adults. CDBG provides for the purchase of vans, buses and hot food transport vehicles and pays the wages of drivers and dispatchers.
Capitalize a home improvement loan program to help low income families meet housing code requirements. Oakland County administers this revolving loan program which services over 250 elderly, disabled or mentally challenged homeowners annually. Partially funded through CDBG, the program helps the neediest residents of the county with home improvements that help maintain viable neighborhoods.
CDBG works by positively impacting the lives of millions of Americans. CDBG has an established, proven track record as a successful program that promotes community and economic development. This is one program that must be allowed to continue.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) and other local government groups strongly oppose any cuts to or the elimination of the CDBG program. CDBG is vital to county governments to address local community development needs. It is a resource that must be protected.
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners united to unanimously pass an emergency resolution to join NACo in urging Congress to restore CDBG formula funding to the FY 2004 level of $4.35 billion and to reject the “Strengthening America’s Communities Grant Program” proposal.