Community Development Block Grant

About the Community Development Block Grant

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a federal program that began operation in 1975. It is formally known as “Title I” of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. CDBG is run by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Primary Objective

Congress’ primary objective for CDBG has always been, and still is to improve communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. The law defines “low and moderate income” individuals and families as those with incomes below 80 percent of the median income for the entire metropolitan area (the Metropolitan Statistical Area). The law allows the meaning of the term to be adjusted for the size of the household; “lower income” is less for a two-person household and greater for a seven-person household. The term “low income” means individuals and households with incomes below 50 percent of the median income for the entire metropolitan area. The term “moderate income” means those with incomes above 50 percent but below 80 percent.

Funding

Every year, each city with more than 50,000 people, and each county over 200,000 in population, get CDBG funds automatically. These cities and counties are called “entitlement jurisdictions.” They are “entitled” to CDBG by virtue of their size. Entitlement jurisdictions get 70 percent of the money and states get the other 30 percent. Each state gets CDBG to pass along to its smaller towns and rural counties, which compete with one another for the funds. Every state has its own procedures for operating the “Small Cities” CDBG program. The amount of CDBG funding each of these jurisdictions receives is determined by formulas set by HUD.

Consolidated Plan

In order to receive CDBG funding, the law requires the Town of Flower Mound to prepare and maintain a formal document declaring how CDBG funds will be used. A proposed version of this document (a Consolidated Plan) must be presented to the Town citizens so that affected residents have a chance to study the document and to give the Town their comments. The Consolidated Plan includes both a long-term Strategic Plan and a short-term annual Action Plan. The Consolidated Plan requires the Town to identify all of its housing and community development needs, and then come up with a long-term strategy for meeting those needs. A key part of the strategy is setting priorities. The Consolidated Plan must identify what programs and resources will be used over the course of the long-term strategy.

Then, each year, the Town must submit an Annual Action Plan that spells out in detail which activities it will carry out and how much money (including CDBG) will be spent on them, in order to work toward reaching its program goals. At the end of each Program Year, the Town must submit to HUD an Annual Performance Report which gives a detailed description of the activities funded with CDBG money during that program year.

2019 Annual Action Plan (Amended)

2019 Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report

2020-2024 Consolidated Plan and 2020 Annual Action Plan

2020 Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report

2021 Annual Action Plan

2021 Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report

2022 Annual Action Plan

Citizen Participation

From the beginning of the CDBG program in 1974, Congress has intended that the public be involved in the planning and decision-making around the use of federal dollars returned to localities and states for housing and community development activities The law requires the Town to have and follow a formal and detailed Citizen Participation Plan before it can get CDBG funding. The Town’s Citizen Participation Plan describes the policies and procedures for citizen participation when we, as a community, are deciding how the funds we receive from HUD will be spent, within the limits set by the federal government. The Town encourages the citizens of Flower Mound to participate in the Community Development Block Grant process and to make their views known.