Commission hears that Goshen City’s CDBG allocation rose; members discuss distribution to local nonprofits

Commission member Teresa presented the Community Development Block Grant budget estimate and award update and explained how the commission proposed to allocate funds among local public‑service providers.

Teresa said staff used a 10‑year average to estimate an award of about $272,525 but that the allocation received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development came in higher (reported at $294,440). She walked commissioners through the required contingency approach, the 20% caps for certain line items and the 15% cap on public‑service funding. "We thought it would be about $272,525, but we actually got our allocation from HUD and it's 294,440," Teresa said as she reviewed the packet.

Teresa said four public‑service applicants — Boys and Girls Club, Council on Aging, Clubhouse and Maple City Healthcare — received amounts close to their requests and historical averages. Two applicants, Walnut Hill and Goshen Interfaith, received modest increases to help offset state education voucher cuts that have reduced other local supports for low‑income families; Teresa described examples of families whose voucher amounts fell substantially during recertification cycles.

Teresa said the full packet has administrative and program planning allocations (administration to the city, outreach to LaCasa) and that the submission has been sent to Indianapolis and will be forwarded for federal review; staff expects to hear back by August. She noted the program year begins July 1 and cautioned that Congress’ budget deliberations could affect future funding, but she said current local submission is proceeding.

The commission did not adopt a final, binding contract at the meeting; Teresa described recommended allocations and next steps in the federal review process.