Grosse Pointe City

CDBG funds plummet in City

By K. Michelle Moran
C & G Staff Writer

GROSSE POINTE CITY — The City expects to see a substantial cut in its Community Development Block Grant funds in 2012.

During a Feb. 13 City Council meeting, City Manager Pete Dame said federal cutbacks mean that the City is only anticipating $73,000 in CDBG funds this year, down from $89,000 in recent years. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is channeled through the Wayne County CDBG Program.

“This is significantly less money than we have had in the past,” Dame said, and City Council member John Stempfle agreed.

What’s worse, Dame said, is the proposed funding might end up being even lower.

For 2012, Dame said they’re hoping to allocate $30,000 toward accessible pedestrian ramps, $8,000 toward Services for Older Citizens’ public service programs, $30,000 for SOC’s minor home repair program and $5,000 to the City to cover some of the costs associated with administering these projects.

To help those limited dollars go further, Dame said federal HOME program funds administered by the county could be applied toward housing rehabilitation.

In addition, he said that because of the cutbacks, the City would likely combine two years of sidewalk ramp funding into one year of work because the engineering costs would otherwise almost exceed the amount of the grant. Last year, Dame said, they bid out the sidewalk work, but ultimately didn’t do it. He said they plan to bid out last year’s and this year’s work together, and will try to bid jointly with other cities this year in the hopes of securing lower bids. Dame told the council that the City has now completed about half of its sidewalk ramp project.

The council unanimously approved the allocations, which will now be submitted to Wayne County for authorization. CDBG funds can only be used for certain kinds of projects.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1047.