Elected officials from across the country are joining City of Wichita leaders to protest a federal budget proposal that would strip $1 billion from the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG). Their message is scheduled to be delivered during a news conference 2 p.m. Friday in front of a CDBG success story, Cessna Aircraft Company’s 21st Street training facility.
A tour of CDBG projects will follow the news conference, which will also include remarks from Russ Meyer, the chairman emeritus of Cessna Aircraft. Meyer is leading a public-private effort to build a new Boys & Girls Club complex and secure other improvements along 21st Street.
Friday’s news conference is part of a national effort to raise awareness about the importance of the CDBG program and the severity of the proposed cuts - which would total nearly $1 billion, a 25 percent reduction from the 2006 Fiscal Year (FY).
The news conference is also part of activities related to the National League of Cities (NLC) Community & Economic Development and Human Development Steering Committee meetings, which are being held in Wichita today through Saturday. The NLC is the oldest and largest national organization for American cities. It serves as a resource and advocate for 18,000 cities, towns, and villages that collectively serve 225 million people. For more news and information about NLC and local government, visit www.nlc.org.
Wichita City Councilman Carl Brewer says the budget proposal is “devastating” to the future health of private-public projects designed to help low-income residents and restore declining areas of the City.
CDBG is the centerpiece of the federal government’s efforts to help states and localities meet the needs of communities in decline. The flexible funds enable local governments to revitalize neighborhoods, eliminate blight, increase affordable housing stock, create jobs, and generate new economic investment.
In addition to the Cessna Aircraft training facility improvements, the City of Wichita has used CDBG funds to invest in homeownership initiatives showcasing infrastructure improvements in Hilltop and Planeview communities as well as revitalize a 2-mile stretch of an inner-city thoroughfare, with commercial development.
Funding for the CDBG program for FY 2007 has been reduced by 25 percent from FY06, the lowest level of funding for the program since 1990. The FY 07 budget calls for $2.774 billion for CDBG formula grants for cities and states, reduced from $3.711 in FY 06.
In Wichita, CDBG funds have fallen from $3.8M in 2002 to $2.9M in 2006. The reduction forced local officials to forego important programs such as street improvements and high-priority housing initiatives.
Nationally, more than 95 percent of the FY 2005 CDBG funding went to activities principally benefiting low- and moderate-income persons. Wichita surpassed the national average in FY 2005 by allocating 98% of CDBG funding to benefit low- and moderate-income persons. The remaining two percent was used to eliminate slum and blight.
“We know that the CDBG program is a proven investment,” Wichita City Manager George Kolb said. “In the 21st Street corridor alone, a CDBG investment of $956, 000 has generated over $33M in public and private investments that never would have happened without the initial investment.”
Within a few weeks, a new grocery store will open in an underserved inner city neighborhood in Wichita. It will be the only major grocery store for low-income residents in the surrounding neighborhood. CDBG funds were used to help finance the project, which might not have happened without a private-public partnership. Groundbreaking is set for July 26.
“Without CDBG funding, this community would still be without a major grocer,” Council member Brewer said.
In making the CDBG commitment, Council member Brewer and his Wichita City Council colleagues addressed the need for a grocery store that might spur additional private investments in a declining area.
“We saw this as meeting a short-term need and also a way to encourage additional positive activity in this neighborhood,” noted Council member Brewer, “opportunities that would not have been possible without CDBG.”
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