Huachuca City holds public hearing on use of expected $516,000 CDBG allocation

Huachuca City held a public hearing March 21 to gather resident input on possible uses for an expected FY2026 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) regional allocation, which SEAGO staff estimated at roughly $516,000 for the community’s rotation in 2026.

At the hearing William Osborne of the Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization (SEAGO) walked attendees through CDBG funding streams available to the town — the regional account (on a multi‑year rotation), a biennial Colonias set‑aside, and an annual State Special Projects (SSP) competition drawn from returned CDBG funds. "CDBG funds must be used to benefit low‑income persons and areas, alleviate slum and blight or address urgent need," Osborne said, noting that SEAGO helps prepare applications and that eligible projects must generally be shovel‑ready with completed environmental reviews.

Osborne explained typical eligible activities — water and sewer lines, street and sidewalk work, community facilities, park improvements and housing rehabilitation — and warned that the regional account effectively funds one primary implementation project on the town’s six‑year cycle while SSP and Colonias each have different schedules and competitive rules. He also noted caps on certain activity types and the program’s low/moderate income beneficiary threshold.

Mayor Johann Wallace said the goal of the hearing was to produce a formal list of candidate projects the council can include in a resolution for the regional account application. Osborne confirmed that ideas recorded in the meeting minutes would be carried forward for consideration and that specificity (designs, cost estimates, client lists where required) strengthens competitive applications.

The hearing closed after residents and councilmembers discussed candidate projects; the council subsequently moved to adjourn the meeting.