TO: ADAM PIRRIE, CITY MANAGER
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: JANUARY 28, 2025
Reviewed by:
City Manager: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM - APPROVAL OF THE 2025-2026 BUDGET (FUNDING SOURCE: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUND)
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SUMMARY
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program is a federal program that provides funding to cities and counties to carry out programs and projects designed to benefit low-income persons. The CDBG allocation to Claremont for 2025-26 is estimated to be $133,980 and is recommended to be divided between the three programs detailed in this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council approve the program budget for the 2025-2026 Community Development Block Grant programs as proposed and authorize staff to proportionately increase or decrease each program budget based on the final Community Development Block Grant allocation.
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there are the following alternatives:
A. Approve the proposed 2025-26 CDBG budget with changes.
B. Request additional information.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The estimated allocation of CDBG funding for 2025-26, in the amount of $133,980, is proposed to fund the City’s Housing Rehabilitation Program ($83,883), Senior Case Management Program ($20,097), and Job Creation and Business Incentive Program ($30,000). These allocations are within the approved budget for the CDBG Fund for 2024-26.
The staff cost to prepare documentation and this report is estimated at $500 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department.
ANALYSIS
The CDBG Program is a Federal Block Grant Program that began in 1974 and provides funding to cities and counties to carry out programs and projects designed to benefit low-income persons. As a member of an Urban County Agreement, Claremont receives its CDBG funding from Los Angeles County. The County performs many of the administrative tasks required to comply with the Federal regulations of the CDBG program.
Proposed 2025-26 CDBG Budget
The County has not yet released the final budget allocation for 2025-26 but has released estimates. Since the budget is only an estimate at this time, staff recommends the City Council authorize staff to proportionately increase or decrease each program budget based on the final CDBG allocation.
The proposed budget is a continued commitment to the existing programs that have been previously funded with CDBG funds. The detailed breakdown of the budget is shown below.
|
Project/Program |
Budget |
|
Housing Rehabilitation Program |
$ 83,883 |
|
Senior Case Management Program |
$ 20,097 |
|
Job Creation & Business Incentive Program |
$ 30,000 |
|
Total |
$133,980 |
Housing Rehabilitation Program: $83,883
The Housing Rehabilitation Program has been a part of Claremont’s CDBG program for many years. The program is divided into two components, a rehabilitation loan and an energy efficiency improvement grant. The program’s primary purpose is to provide funds to low-income homeowners who are not able to pay for needed maintenance, repairs, or energy efficiency improvements. The maximum amount for the loan program is $20,000 per household, and the interest rate is zero percent. The loans are not required to be repaid until the homeowner sells the home or transfers the title. Energy efficiency improvements identified during a home energy efficiency review are qualified for a grant of up to $5,000.
Senior Case Management: $20,097
The Senior Case Management Program provides individual case management services to seniors over the age of 55, who reside in Claremont. Staff and the program consultant assist clients with a variety of age-related concerns, including Social Security, Medicare, Medical, SSI, HMO’s, and long-term care, by providing information, referrals, and on-going case management. Clients receive one-on-one interaction to ensure comfort and confidentiality.
The Senior Case Management Program also serves as a gateway to a number of other social service programs that are offered by the Claremont Senior Program, such as the Nutrition Program, Phone Assurance Line, and various support groups. The program serves an average of eighty ongoing cases that require individualized assistance. Additionally, the program provides support to over 1,900 individuals with one-time inquiries for information and referral assistance. The program provides twenty hours of support to the community each week with regular on-site office hours at the Joslyn Center, Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Participation in this program has been consistent. Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) CDBG guidelines limit funding for public service programs to a maximum of fifteen percent of total CDBG allocations. As the annual CDBG allocation has continuously been reduced, the budget for the Senior Case Management Program has been adjusted correspondingly. As a result, the City’s General Fund must subsidize the difference between the Senior Case Management program cost and the CDBG allocation in 2025-26.
Job Creation and Business Incentive Program: $30,000
In September 2009, the City Council approved the Job Creation and Business Incentive Program, which provides assistance to new or expanding businesses in the form of forgivable loans. In exchange, the assisted business must create one permanent, full-time equivalent (FTE) income-eligible position per every $25,000 in funding, in which the hired employee must be from an extremely low- to moderate-income household. The City Council has approved thirteen loan requests since the adoption of this program. With the elimination of the Claremont Redevelopment Agency, this program represents the only ongoing source of funding currently available for economic development, and therefore, staff recommends this program be continued into 2025-26.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Staff has evaluated the agenda item in relationship to the City’s strategic and visioning documents and finds that it applies to the following City Planning Documents: Council Priorities, Sustainable City Plan, General Plan, 2024-26 Budget.
CEQA REVIEW
This item is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Brad Johnson Alex Cousins
Community Development Director Senior Management Analyst