NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDING
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The Waterbury Development Corporation (WDC) is the administering agent for the City of Waterbury's entitlement funds which it receives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These funds include: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG); Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
The City of Waterbury (City) is pleased to announce the availability of 2017-2018 CDBG funds. The City has not yet received notice of its allocations for the upcoming program year and, per HUD’s guidance, intends to use current year’s allocations as the baseline for planning purposes. These amounts may increase or decrease depending upon the final federal approved budget. The 2016-2017 allocations were as follows: $1,917,162 (CDBG), $170,015 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and $637,414 HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). Program income is anticipated to be $16,300 for HOME and $14,000 for CDBG.
In addition, the City has also estimated that it will have approximately $10,000 in funds from previous years due to the cancellation of projects/ activities or the completion of them under budget. These funds will be reallocated during this process and included within the Annual Action Plan. However, due to the limits on public services and administration and because these reprogrammed funds are not viewed as new funds, the reallocation of these reprogrammed funds shall be limited to those projects and activities not categorized as public service or administration.
In accordance with its Citizen Participation Plan, there will be a Public Hearing to solicit citizen input on the needs of the community before the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. in the Veteran’s Memorial, 2nd floor, City Hall, 235 Grand Street, Waterbury, CT. The facility is handicapped accessible.
The City will provide interpreters and assistance for non-English speaking, hearing-impaired or disabled residents upon receiving a request at least four (4) days prior to this hearing date. Contact Nancy Allen at 203-346-2607 ext. 7274 or at Allen@wdconline.org. All interested person(s) are encouraged to attend.
Those interested in applying for funds should request an application beginning on Wednesday, January 25, 2017 via the WDC’s website: www.wdconline.org and submit their applications to WDC no later than 3:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2017. Upon receipt the CAC will review the applications for consistency with CDBG eligibility guidelines (24CFR570.201 and the themes identified in the City’s Consolidated Plan (2013-2018). As part of the review process, additional public meetings and a second public hearing will be held to receive public input.
National Objectives of the CDBG program are: (1) to benefit low/moderate income persons; (2) to eliminate slums and blight; and (3) to address urgent (emergency) needs. The City of Waterbury estimates that not less than 70% of its aggregate 2017-2018 CDBG funds will be used to meet the national objective of benefit to low and moderate income persons; In 2015-2016, 100% of its funds met this objective. The objective of the ESG program is to provide services to the homeless. The objective of the HOME program is to construct and/or rehabilitate housing for low/moderate income persons.
It is the stated policy of the City to avoid activities that result in displacement. In the unlikely event any activity funded by the CDBG program results in displacement, the City has adopted a Relocation Policy and is responsible for providing relocation assistance if CDBG funds were used for that purpose.
WDC will offer technical assistance workshops to agencies/individuals wishing to apply for CDBG/ESG funding on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 from 10:00 -11:00 a.m. and Thursday, February 2, 2017 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. at WDC, 83 Bank St., 3rd Floor, Waterbury.
Funding applications for the HOME program are taken on an ongoing basis. Information and technical assistance can be obtained by contacting HOME Program Manager Tina Lubus at 346-2607 Ext. 7282 or by email at Lubus@wdconline.org
Las personas interesadas en solicitar fondos del CDBG deben pedir una solicitud a partir del 25 de enero 2017 a través de la página web del WDC: www.wdconline.org y presentar sus solicitudes a WDC antes de las 3:00 pm el 24 de febrero 2017.
WDC ofrecerá talleres de asistencia técnica a los organismos / individuos que deseen solicitar fondos CDBG / ESG 01 de febrero de 2017, de 10:00-11: 00am y 02 de febrero 2017 de 3:00 - 4:00 pm en el WDC, 83 Bank St., 3rd Floor.
Habrá una audiencia pública sobre las necesidades de la comunidad ante el Comité Asesor de Ciudadanos (CAC) el 8 de febrero de 2017 a las 5:30 pm en el Memorial de los Veteranos, segundo piso de la Alcaldía, 235 Grand Street, Waterbury, CT.