A major topic of discussion at the Public Works Board meeting last night was the news that the City would not be pursuing the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for $1 million to be used for repairing sidewalks. It seems that the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), which awards the grants, had some questions about the application, and the City allowed the deadline for answering the questions to pass without responding.
When the resolution authorizing Mayor Kamal Johnson to submit the application came before the Common Council at a special meeting on August 11, the resolution failed to get the necessary support. The councilmembers who did not support it expressed concern that the grant was a matching grant, and the City did not have $1 million to use for the match. Those who had crafted the CDBG application--Justin Weaver, Ryan Loucks, and the grant consultants from Laberge--maintained that the $307,000 the City would be collecting annually in Sidewalk Improvement District fees could be used as the match.
Although the resolution failed at the special meeting on August 11, eight days later, at the regular meeting of the Common Council, it passed with unanimous support, and the grant application was submitted.
At the Public Works Board meeting last night, Weaver, the former mayor's aide who was attending the meeting virtually, said it was "very disheartening that the grant opportunity has fallen by the wayside." Responding to an inquiry from Gossips, Tiffany Martin, aide to the current mayor, Joe Ferris, explained: "The Mayor felt it was prudent to pass on the opportunity while we assess priorities and get a better understanding of match requirements across all grants currently in play and the administration of those grants."
During the meeting it was revealed that the City paid Laberge $12,000 to prepare the grant application.
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Imagine a world where the "Housing Justice Director" role and funds were spent solely on a part-time, experienced, and expert Grants Manager.
ReplyDeleteOr even better, a future Mayoral Aide role could combine grants and ADA to save money. Normally, grants is in the CFO's office.
This person would be responsible for:
1) Identifying new local and national grants that fit _existing_ policy and priorities (grants follow democratic will, not the inverse).
2) Seek prioritization and approval from the Mayor and Council (resolution) (ex ante, not ex post)
3) ONLY then apply for the appropriate and approved grants, and then managing the grant deadlines and reporting professionally with a long-term horizon.
This would significantly reduce the workload for the Finance office, DPW, and HPD leaders, and mitigate the administrative burden of uncoordinated grant applications by well intentioned but potentially harmful individual rogue residents (read: FOHY). A universal Hudson grant prioritization and application process would also limit the appearance of favoritism and set expectations.
And yes, HCS still believes that a world with much lower taxes and lower grants, i.e. hyper localism in state government vs. a centralized state with high taxes and grants, is preferred.
But until Albany goes bankrupt or even more residents continue to leave the state, Hudson is forced to play the game of "robbing Peter to pay Paul".
Why does this not come as a surprise? One of the city's most pressing needs, discussed for years, once again fails to come to any resolution. Mayor Ferris wants safer crosswalks. How about safer sidewalks? It seems so fundamental.
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