Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS – Changes are coming to the Community Development Block Grant program that will streamline the process to apply for planning grants.
The changes were announced by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
“The majority of the changes revolve around the CDBG Planning Grant program,” Beckwith said. “This is in an effort to ensure communities have access to comprehensive plans prior to putting a shovel in the ground. By investing in solid planning efforts up front, this will help communities be set up for success throughout the project.”
A number of adjustments were made to the Planning Grant program, including updating the required local match from 10% to 8%, establishing a flat rate for administrative fees across all Planning Grant types, and substituting regionalizing with resiliency scoring for the bonus points policy.
“These adjustments were a top goal for our agency this year,” OCRA Executive Director Fred Glynn said. “We listened to input from our communities and key stakeholders to evaluate how we could further improve the CDBG program. These changes will help facilitate and streamline the process for communities, and as a result, help us to better serve the State.”
Additionally, through the changes OCRA addresses a community’s need for flexibility when it comes to studying utility systems by allowing a single utility study and a comprehensive utility study. The updates also include clarifying current instructions throughout the application to further facilitate the process.
Glynn says OCRA remains committed to being responsive to local units of government’s needs. He encourages eligible communities to take advantage of the updates and participate in the CDBG program.
Funding for OCRA’s CDBG programs originates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program and is administered for the State of Indiana by OCRA. For more information, visit in.gov/ocra/cdbg/