LAYTON — Even with a number of organizations already asking for a share of the city’s Community Development Block Grant funds, one city official thinks there should be room for at least one more in the future.
Councilman Michael Bouwhuis said city leaders should consider extending some funding to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program with CDBG funds next year, if the funds are available.
City leaders officially approved a list of projects for CDBG funds at a recent meeting, which included appropriations to the Road Home, Utah’s Promise and Davis County Homeless, among the five groups to receive funds.
By rule, only 15 percent of CDBG funds for a community may be used for public service organizations, according to Ben Hart, the city official who oversees the CDBG program. The city is receiving $288,000 in funds this year, which represents a decline in revenue from the previous two years.
At a public hearing for the CDBG funding outline, Amber Lee Bowman first raised the issue of helping Big Brothers/Big Sisters. She said the program currently helps 45 youths in the community, and the organization has started mentoring children of military people on active duty.
She said it costs about $800 a year to match a child with an adult in the program.
Bouwhuis later piggybacked on Bowman’s comments, saying the program is worth the help.
“It would be a good part of our community,” Bouwhuis said of the program.
Bill Wright, director of community and economic development, suggested public service agencies should petition Davis County for support, because the county now handles how local CDBG funds are appropriated.
CDBG funds come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and are often linked to low- and moderate-income housing assistance programs.
Comments