Agenda - Council - 09/13/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) or the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which established the CDBG program. Commenters requested that these uses be eligible either to respond to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic, or in the alternate the disproportionate negative economic impacts of the pandemic in certain communities. Under the CDBG program, recipient governments may undertake a wide range of community and economic development services and projects. Commenters reasoned that many state and local governments are familiar with this program, and that aligning to its eligible uses may help recipients easily understand and pursue eligible projects. Commenters also noted that Treasury had chosen to align with existing federal programs in other eligible use categories, namely water infrastructure, in the interim final rule. Treasury Response: In the final rule, Treasury is not including all categories of projects permissible under CDBG as enumerated eligible uses to respond to the public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic. Because CDBG permits such a broad range of activities, including services to individual households, communities, small businesses, general economic development activities, and capital expenditures, Treasury determined that it was more appropriate to assess the underlying types of projects eligible within CDBG and whether each type of project responds to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic. In other words, Treasury considered whether various types of community and economic development projects respond to the impacts of the pandemic in different communities and circumstances. In the final rule, Treasury addresses the eligibility of these various types of projects in each relevant eligible use category within public health and negative economic impacts under SLFRF, including assistance for impacted households, disproportionately impacted households, disproportionately impacted small businesses, and capital expenditures. 216