Minutes 04/25/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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April 25, 2017 WHEREAS, Portsmouth qualifies under applicable law and HUD regulations as an Entitlement Community, and therefore receives direct federal funding under the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Programs; and WHEREAS, CDBG and HOME are the only federal funding programs that seek to comprehensively address the common issues faced by older urban areas; and WHEREAS, since Federal Fiscal Year 2009 the City of Portsmouth has used its CDBG and HOME allocations to provide direct assistance for the creation of nearly 700 units of affordable housing; to demolish 20 blighted structures which were hindering the investment of private capital in the city; to create or substantially improve 6 recreational facilities benefiting local residents, particularly youths; to provide annual meals programs for approximately 25,000 children; to provide health and wellness services for approximately 3,500 children; to serve numerous other children through youth assistance programs; to provide self-sufficiency assistance to approximately 3,000 disabled citizens; to provide transportation service for approximately 10,000 senior citizens and approximately 2,000 disabled citizens; to provide services and/or shelter for approximately 4,000 homeless or at-risk individuals or families; to perform several crucial intersection, sidewalk and other infrastructure improvements; and to provide numerous other important improvements benefiting the residents of the city; and WHEREAS, the CDBG and HOME Programs are critical to the over 1,200 communities that receive one or both of them as a direct source of annual funding, and the 7,200 rural and suburban jurisdiction that can apply for them through state allocations; and WHEREAS, between Federal Fiscal Year 2005 and Federal Fiscal Year 2016 nationwide, the CDBG program created or retained 387,109 jobs and assisted 1.33 million low-and-moderate homeowners to purchase or rehabilitate their homes and remove lead- based paint hazards; and WHEREAS, between Federal Fiscal Year 2005 and Federal Fiscal Year 2016 nationwide, the CDBG and HOME Programs have benefited over 42 million people and the Programs’ activities have positively benefited every citizen of Portsmouth; and WHEREAS, the current proposed Federal Budget for Federal Fiscal Year 2018 eliminates all funding for the CDBG and HOME programs; and WHEREAS, Portsmouth and other cities facing similar urban core issues and fiscal stresses have received and relied upon community development funding for over forty years, and no other funding source is available to attack comprehensively the issues addressed by CDBG and HOME funding; and WHEREAS, the elimination of funding for the CDBG and HOME Programs would have a severe impact on Portsmouth, and particularly its most vulnerable populations: its youth, its disabled citizens, its senior citizens, and its low to moderate income residents; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, that it stridently opposes the elimination of federal funding for the Community Development Block Grant Program and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Manager is directed to forward a copy of this Resolution to the City’s congressional representatives; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Manager and her designee(s) are hereby authorized and directed to communicate and provide necessary input and clarification to the City’s congressional delegation to achieve the goal of maintaining funding for the CDBG and HOME Programs.”