The City of Covington hosted a public hearing at the Center for Great Neighborhoods Thursday evening, where residents shared how they wanted the city to spend federal grant dollars.
“Believe it or not, we really do listen to what people say,” said Covington’s Federal Grant Manager Jeremy Wallace. “It does become part of the plan. Not everything the public wants can we even do, but we really do take that into consideration. And a lot of public input has led to actual actionable items that the city has done.”
Wallace and other city staff members presented the two programs to attendees. The two grant programs are both federal money sources–the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.
The programs operate on five-year consolidated plans; the current plan will end in 2025. The consolidated plans are also split out into more granular annual action plans. The point of the meeting on Thursday was for residents to provide input for the 2024 annual action plan.
As an entitlement city, Covington does not have to compete for federal dollars with other neighboring jurisdictions. This means the city is automatically allocated CDBG and HOME funds annually, although the exact figures vary from year to year, depending on the federal budget. Congress had not yet determined the allocations for this year at the time of Thursday’s hearing, but CDBG/HOME Manager John Hammons said the city was expecting figures similar to those of previous years as the funding has remained annually consistent since 2022. The programs are also allowed to carry over any unused funds from the previous year into the next year’s budget.
Year CDBG Allocation HOME Allocation 2022 $1,457,146 $644,682 2023 $1,433,981 $676,934 2024 (estimated) $1,433,981 $676,934
The CDBG program is the more flexible of the two programs and has been used in the past to fund economic development initiatives, infrastructure repairs, crime prevention programs as well as literacy initiatives. The HOME program is more narrowly focused on housing and has been used to fund rental assistance programs, home repair programs, housing nonprofits and, most notably, the local HOME Consortium, which provides forgivable loans to qualifying home buyers. Covington, Independence, Erlanger, Florence, Ludlow, Newport, Bellevue and Dayton are member cities in the consortium.
The five-year consolidated plan identified several priority issues on which the money could be spent: a lack of affordable housing, a lack of senior care centers, rent burdened households, an aging housing stock and improvements to public facilities and services.
“We solicit citizen comments, and we adopt, submit and amend the plans as needed,” Hammons said.
After the city’s overview of the programs, attendees were allowed to ask questions and give feedback.
Several members wanted to know what sorts of rental assistance the money could be used for, given the dearth of affordable rental properties in the region.
Wallace said that the HOME funds could be used for rental subsidies, but the city was more likely to use the money to develop rental properties. In the past, the city had used federal funding to develop rental properties at the Lincoln-Grant Scholar House and with Welcome House.
“I will say as a recipient of the Section 8 voucher, you get the voucher, you get four months to try and find a place,” said Covington resident and Welcome House employee Eric Woodward. “There are no places.”
Wallace admitted that rental needs in the city were increasing and that there may be more rent-related programs in the future, but he did not give specifics at the meeting.
Alyssa Adkins and Sergio Gutierrez gave a proposal for Northern Kentucky Street Soccer, a sports nonprofit that was looking for a new facility. The city has used CDBG funds in the past to give incentives and start-up capital to local organizations. City staff took note of the proposal.
Another attendee, who did not share his name, wanted to know if the city was planning more initiatives for homelessness and addiction.
“If you’re addicted in Covington, we’ve got such a shortage of housing, we’ve got no place for you,” the man said.
Wallace said that funding for shelters and other homelessness services usually comes from a different source within the federal government, although he readily admitted to the need for more affordable housing in the region.
Woodward asked if HOME or CDBG money might be used to buy a multi-family dwelling that could then be converted into a boarding house or similar shelter.
“I don’t want to speak for every city in the world, but CDBG is usually used more for permanent housing,” Wallace said. “Other grants are usually used for shelter and temporary housing.”
Other attendees had questions about using the funds for specific projects within the city, such as the 15th Street pedestrian bridge, the Duveneck House and Linden Grove Cemetery.
Covington residents who did not attend the meeting can submit feedback online by filling out the city’s online survey.
A draft plan will be released later this year and will have its own period for public comment, which will last from Apr. 8 to May 9. A public hearing on the draft plan will take place on Apr. 23 and the city commission will approve the plan at their meeting on May 14.
Read this year’s action plan and the current five-year consolidated plan at the links below. Covington residents can direct any additional questions about the programs to Jeremy Wallace by calling (859)292-2147 or emailing jwallace@covingtonky.gov.