City seeks input on CDBG funds

June 30, 2015 at 4:00 a.m. | Updated June 30, 2015 at 4:00 a.m.

Jefferson City resident Jenny Smith allocates resources while acting as a mock grant administrator during an open house in City Hall to discuss future plans for the Community Development Block Grant. Each visitor to the open house was given a block of ten dots, each representing money to be spent on the item of their choosing. After the open house, the actual people in charge of the grant will have an idea of how the community would like the money to be spent.
Jefferson City resident Jenny Smith allocates resources while acting as a mock grant administrator during an open house in City Hall to discuss future plans for the Community Development Block Grant. Each visitor to the open house was given a block of ten dots, each representing money to be spent on the item of their choosing. After the open house, the actual people in charge of the grant will have an idea of how the community would like the money to be spent.

Jefferson City officials are inviting public comment on how to spend the 2016 Community Development Block Grant funds.

Jayme Abbott, neighborhood services coordinator, said each year, the city received $243,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development meant to be spent on projects that benefit low- to moderate-income individuals, remove slum and blight or address an urgent threat and need.

The city is preparing the 2016 Action Plan that will outline how the money will be spent and is inviting ideas from local residents. The public process kicked off last week with an open house at City Hall, but comments may be submitted through the end of July.

Abbott said this year, the city tried a new approach to the open house with interactive maps and posters that asked people to identify how they would spend the money.

After collecting public comments, Abbott said staff will review and consider all submissions in August for the 2016 budget and action plan. A public hearing then will be held, followed by a review by the City Council. In November, the plan will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for review and approval.

Anyone interested in providing comments for the 2016 CDBG funds can either email them to [email protected] with the subject line CDBG 2016 Action Plan or mail them to Planning and Protective Services at 320 E. McCarty St. Comments will be accepted until July 31.

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