Blacksburg council approves HUD annual action plan; Mayor Sutin abstains over employment conflict

Blacksburg's Town Council on May 12 approved its annual HUD action plan, which sets the town's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME program priorities for the coming year. Mayor Michael Sutin disclosed a conflict of interest before the vote, saying he is employed by Community Housing Partners, an organization that receives HUD funding, and that he would not participate in the council's action.

"I affirmatively state that I will not vote or in any manner act on behalf of the town council regarding this approval," Sutin said during the meeting and asked that the HUD item be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately so he could abstain.

Councilors moved to separate the item from the broader consent package and then voted. The clerk recorded a majority of affirmative votes and one abstention; the motion to approve the HUD annual action plan passed. The clerk called the roll to record votes after the brief discussion.

Why it matters: The HUD annual action plan allocates federal CDBG and HOME resources, which fund local housing and community development programs. Approval authorizes the town to use those federal funds as described in the plan and is required to proceed with program execution and contract funding.

What happened at the meeting: After Sutin's disclosure the council split the consent agenda into two votes so the mayor could abstain from the HUD item. There was no substantive discussion recorded publicly on the content of the HUD plan during the meeting and no public comment was offered on the item.

Next steps: With council approval, the town will proceed to implement the HUD-funded activities outlined in the annual action plan, subject to program administration and any necessary contracts or subrecipient agreements.