PRESENTER: Presenter
Christopher Greenwell, Grants Coordinator
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SUBJECT: Title
Discuss and consider the approval of the submission of the Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan, and its associated funding recommendations, for Program Year 2026 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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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.
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. The City’s allocation for Program Year 2026 (PY26), effective October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027, is $466,582. Of the total funding amount, $69,987.30 can be allocated for public service activities, $93,316.40 is eligible for program administration, and a minimum of $303,278.30 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, three competitive Request for Applications were available to nonprofit agencies and other eligible entities from February 10, 2026, to March 13, 2026; each application was available for one of three categories consisting of Public Services, Public Facilities, and Housing. The City subsequently received 14 applications from 11 local non-profit organizations for a variety of eligible activities totaling approximately $166,518 within the Public Services category, and approximately $420,987.20 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 PY26 funding recommendations. HUD allows for unspent funds rolling over from previous plan years to augment the housing/public facilities category. Therefore, the applications for this category are recommended to be fully funded/awarded ($420,987.20).
CDAC is composed of nine New Braunfels’ citizens who have applied to become members of the committee and have been approved by City Council to serve in an advisory capacity on matters relating to the CDBG Program. CDAC’s responsibilities include reviewing the competitive applications for funding, hosting agency presentations, 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 6th to publicly rank the applications and form PY26 funding allocations. Additionally, during their May 6th meeting, CDAC considered and approved the City’s recommendation to fully fund all Public Facilities and Housing projects, using a large portion of unallocated CDBG funding from previous program years.
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 that 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 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan and the City’s adopted 2024-2029 Strategic Plan.
As such, the following allocations are recommended by CDAC:
HUD requires a 30-day comment period and two public hearings before submission, allowing citizens to comment on the information proposed in the PY26 Action Plan; the comment period for CDBG Program Year 2026 was June 1, 2026, to July 1, 2026. A full draft of the PY26 Action Plan was available for review at the City Secretary’s Office, the New Braunfels Public Library, the New Braunfels Public Library - Westside Branch, and information was also available on the City’s “CDBG Program” website during this timeframe. The first public hearing was hosted on April 6th, 2026, at the New Braunfels Public Library - Westside Branch; the second public hearing was on June 11th at the New Braunfels Public Library - Main Branch.
Upon receipt of Council approval during the regular City Council meeting on July 13nd, 2026, the finalized PY26 Action Plan, including all comments received during the public comment period, will be delivered to HUD no later than August 15th, 2026.
ISSUE:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☒Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☒Organizational Excellence ☒Community Well-Being ☐N/A
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:
Staff recommends approval of the submission of the Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan, and its associated funding recommendations, for Program Year 2026 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.