Covington annually uses its federal funds for things like emergency home repairs for income-eligible families, including furnace replacement and roof repairs.
Public hearing, survey ask how to spend federal grants
COVINGTON, Ky. – Covington is asking residents how it should spend about $3.5 million it expects to get from the federal government this year for two long-established grant programs designed to help neighborhoods.
The money – allocated through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs – is required to be spent on things like programs to make housing more affordable and public infrastructure, such as parks and streets.
To get public feedback, the City has created an on-line survey and also will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Feb. 20. The hearing will start at 5:30 p.m. and be held at the Hellman Creative Center, 321 West 12th St./M.L. King Jr. Boulevard, with parking nearby.
City officials say the input is not only helpful but also mandated as the City puts together both its one-year “Annual Action Plan” and a broader, five-year “Consolidated Plan.”
“This is the public’s opportunity to provide much-needed information and viewpoints,” said John Hammons, the City’s CDBG/HOME Program Coordinator. “We take all submissions into consideration. For context, in recent years public input has led to improvements of Austinburg Park and to spending for the preservation of affordable housing.”
The collective value of the allocations hasn’t been determined yet but is expected to be about $3.5 million, with about $1.8 million in the CDBG program and $1.7 million in HOME funds.
About the programs:
The Community Development Block Grant program is earmarked for a wide variety of services and programs – primarily in low- and moderate-income areas – such as street and streetscape infrastructure, park improvements, crime prevention, code enforcement, economic development, literacy, and housing rehab.
The HOME program typically helps create affordable housing through programs like down payment assistance for new homebuyers and incentives to help create new homeownership opportunities. For the HOME program, Covington is part of a regional consortium that includes the cities of Bellevue, Dayton, Erlanger, Florence, Independence, Ludlow, and Newport.
The final decisions on spending are compiled into an Annual Action Plan. For context, the current 2024-2025 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN details how the City is spending current funding on things like like street resurfacing, literacy programs, funds to preserve affordable rental housing, park improvements, emergency repairs for homeowners, and targeted crime prevention.
Once the City creates a draft plan for how the grant funds will be spent, the public will be given another opportunity to weigh in on that draft during a comment period. The plan must be approved by the Covington Board of Commissioners before it is submitted to HUD for approval.
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