PRESENTER: Presenter
Jennifer Gates, Grants Coordinator
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SUBJECT: Title
Public hearing regarding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, Fair Housing Plan, and Annual Action Plan, including funding recommendations for Program Year 2025.
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DEPARTMENT: Finance
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of New Braunfels has been fortunate to receive annual grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement Program since 1994. The annual funding amount varies each year as it is determined on a formula basis and then provided to entitled cities, counties, and states to help develop viable urban communities. It is the City’s longstanding practice to distribute CDBG funds throughout the community by providing eligible subrecipients with grant funding that can be used to revitalize neighborhoods, support affordable housing, provide economic opportunities, and improve community facilities and services intended for low- and moderate-income (LMI) residents. Of the total annual funding amount, specific percentages of the funding are eligible to be allocated to CDBG program administration (20% cap), public service activities (15% cap), and housing and public facility projects (65% minimum, 100% maximum). Any additional funds, including from previous Program Years, are held in reserve in the U.S. Treasury to be utilized by the City for housing/public facilities projects at a future date in accordance with timeliness requirements and project/program eligibility.
2025-2025 Consolidated Plan
As required by HUD, the City has developed a Community Development Block Grant 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan (Con Plan) as the current 2020-2024 Con Plan will conclude on September 30, 2025. Components of the Con Plan include a Housing Study, Market Analysis, a 5-Year Strategic Plan, and a 1-Year Action Plan. In addition to community feedback, the Housing Study and Market Analysis are used to identify specific community needs which are then incorporated within the 5-Year Strategic Plan. The 5-Year Strategic Plan provides an outline of the anticipated use of CDBG funds for the next five HUD program years, whereas the 1-Year Action Plan (Annual Action Plan) submitted with the Con Plan will identify specific projects and programs that the City will support with CDBG funds during the upcoming HUD Program Year 2025 beginning on October 1. As per CDBG requirements, subsequent Annual Action Plans are created and submitted to HUD each year with projects/programs that support the goals of the HUD-approved Con Plan.
Collaboration with community members, and public and private entities, is important to the development of the Con Plan as it allows for more effective alignment of CDBG programs with other plans, programs, and resources to achieve an overall greater impact for the City’s residents. Community engagement included stakeholder meetings, focus groups, public hearings, and one-on-one interviews, with collaborative partners including, but not limited to non-profit social service providers, non-profit housing providers, a local foundation, the New Braunfels Housing Authority, and City departments.
In accordance with Federal requirements for CDBG funding, the City is preparing to submit its Annual Action Plan (Action Plan) to HUD. The Action Plan, developed according to the City’s Citizen Participation Plan, outlines the projects and programs the City will support with CDBG funds during the upcoming Program Year, thereby furthering the goals of the HUD-approved Consolidated Plan, a five-year strategic planning document. After submission of the Action Plan to HUD for the agency’s review, projects and programs are implemented in accordance with the HUD-approved one-year budget and activities.
Program Year 2025 Funding Recommendations
As aforementioned, the City is preparing to submit the Program Year 2025 (PY25) Annual Action Plan to HUD as part of the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan process. The Annual Action Plan, developed according to the City’s Citizen Participation Plan, outlines the projects and programs the City will support with CDBG funds during the upcoming HUD Program Year. After submission of the Annual Action Plan, projects and programs are then implemented in accordance with the approved one-year budget and activities.
The City’s allocation for Program Year 2025 (PY25), effective October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, is $454,245. Of the total funding amount, $90,849 is eligible for program administration, $68,136.75 can be allocated for public service activities, and a minimum of $295,259.25 must be used for other activities such as housing and public facilities projects as per HUD CDBG requirements.
In accordance with the City’s standard process, a competitive Request for Application was available to nonprofit agencies and other eligible entities from February 11, 2025, to March 11, 2025. Applications were available for 3 categories: Public Services, Public Facilities, and Housing. The City subsequently received 15 eligible applications from 14 local non-profit organizations for a variety of programs and projects totaling approximately $328,130 within the Public Services category, and approximately $817,833 within the Public Facilities and Housing categories. The allocation for program administration is not subject to the competitive process as it is provided directly to the City by HUD to reimburse costs associated with the administration of CDBG funding on their behalf. After initial review by the City’s CDBG support staff, all eligible competitive applications were then provided to the City’s Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) for review, allowing them to establish PY25 funding recommendations.
CDAC is composed of nine New Braunfels’ citizens who have applied to become a member of the committee and have been appointed by City Council to serve in an advisory capacity on matters relating to the CDBG Program. CDAC’s responsibilities include reviewing the competitive application responses and making recommendations for funding allocations to be considered and approved by City Council. Funding allocations are subsequently included in the City’s Action Plan.
After prior extensive review and discussion, CDAC members met on May 8 to publicly rank the applications and form PY25 funding recommendations based on an estimated total allocation amount of $495,919. Additionally, during their regular meeting on June 4, CDAC considered and approved adjustments to the previous funding recommendations based upon the finalized PY25 allocation of $454,245 that was announced by HUD after the May 8 meeting. All recommendations for funding were based upon factors such as how the program/project will benefit low to middle income residents, availability of funding, past/current performance for organizations who had previously received funding, and the experience and capacity of the agency in managing the proposed program/activity, consideration of other available funding sources for the agency, and direct support of the City’s adopted CDBG 2020-2024 Consolidation Plan and the City’s adopted 2024-2029 Strategic Plan.
As such, the following allocations are being recommended by CDAC:
HUD requires a 30-day comment period, and several public hearings prior to submission, allowing for citizens to comment on the information proposed in the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan and its associated PY25 Annual Action Plan. The comment period is June 16 to July 17. A full draft of the Consolidated Plan, including the PY25 Annual Action Plan, is available for review at the City Secretary’s Office, the New Braunfels Public Library, the New Braunfels Public Library - Westside Branch, and information is also available on the City’s “CDBG Program” website during this timeframe. The first and second public hearings were hosted on June 30 at the New Braunfels Public Library - Westside Branch, and the New Braunfels Public Library - Main Branch, and the third public hearing is on July 14 during the regular City Council meeting. It is anticipated that the finalized Consolidated Plan and associated PY25 Annual Action Plan will be presented to City Council for approval on July 28 and delivered to HUD no later than August 16, 2025.
ISSUE:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☒Community Well-Being ☐N/A
Support non-profit organizations to ensure low- to moderate-income residents of New Braunfels are provided with a variety of assistance.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact to the City for the CDBG-funded recommended awards as this is an allocation of federal funding.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
No Council action is required as this is a public hearing to allow citizens to make comments regarding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, Fair Housing Plan, and Annual Action Plan, including funding recommendations for Program Year 2025.