Federal CDBG Allocation Falls $145,000 this Year

Source: www.thenorthwestern.com
Jeff Bollier of the Northwestern reports:

The city of Oshkosh cut nearly all funds for a program to buy, raze and redevelop blighted property in the central city area as part of a $145,000 reduction in federal Community Development Block Grant dollars this year.

The city was notified earlier this year to prepare for its $920,000 allocation to be cut by up to 16 percent, which reduces the city's projected CDBG allocation from $920,000 to $775,000.
Oshkosh Principal Planner Robin Leslie said the city cut funds in central city development and community facilities programs from $122,000 to $31,000, almost all of which is used to buy blighted property, raze it, clean up the site and prepare it for redevelopment.

Leslie said central city redevelopment was an easy program to cut because it does not directly benefit low and moderate income families, as is required for a majority of the CDBG funds allocated to the city. The program will be continued using funds left over from previous years.

"We've been supplementing the central city fund for quite a few years so we were comfortable enough lowering it as much as we could," Leslie said. "Money from past years means we won't have to stop it entirely."

Other CDBG budget cuts include:
»A $10,000 new allocation for the Fair Housing Center of Northeast Wisconsin;

»An administrative allocation to the Oshkosh Housing Authority for the first-time homebuyer program it offers will be reduced from $17,000 to $8,500. It will not affect the program or homebuyer assistance, though;

»Administrative and salary allocations from $168,000 to $140,00 since administration and planning costs can only account for 20 percent of the total allocation. And

»General public services allocations — grants to community nonprofits that provide services in the Oshkosh area — from $108,000 to $93,200.

Leslie said the general public services allocation cuts will be spread evenly over all agencies that receive grants. The grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 and go to programs such as the Christine Ann Center for Domestic Abuse Services, ADVOCAP, the Tri-County Community Dental Clinic and the Winnebago Conflict Resolution Center.

Leslie said the reductions avoid major cuts to the core CDBG programs of home and rental rehabilitation, neighborhood initiatives and the Oshkosh Seniors Center funding. Leslie added that the city already expects another cut to its funding in federal fiscal year 2012 that could affect those programs or cut public services allocations even further.

"We wanted to preserve those programs we've been doing for years as much as possible," Leslie said. "Next year, we may have to cut further and it might come down to a choice between cutting housing rehabilitation or cutting further into our public services funding."