The proposed FY2018-19 budget for the Town of Dallas has been presented to the Board of Aldermen and is available for public inspection in the office of the Town Clerk at 210 N. Holland St., Dallas, NC.  There will be a public hearing on Monday, June 11, 2018 at 6:00 p.m., held at the Dallas Fire Department Community Room for the purpose of discussing and adopting the proposed budget.

NC CDBG NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION PROGRAM

The Town of Dallas is proposing to submit a grant application through the Neighborhood Revitalization Program, which is part of the NC Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program administered by the Rural Economic Development Division of the Department of Commerce.  This is the first time in several years that this program, which allows for housing activities such as rehabilitation, acquisition, and clearance, has been made available for CDBG funding.  Following is a list of highlights of the 2018 Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

• Approximately $10 million will be available statewide on a competitive basis through the NC Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
• The maximum grant amount is $750,000.There is no minimum amount and no matching requirement.
• Projects must incorporate at least one of the following three livability principles as an area of focus:
  1. Promote equitable, affordable housing
  2. Support existing communities
  3. Value communities and neighborhoods
• Projects must meet one of the following national objectives for the CDBG program:
  1. Benefiting low-and-moderate income (LMI) persons (income equal or less than 80% of the metropolitan median family income level)
  2. Preventing or eliminating slums or blight
  3. Meeting urgent needs that pose an immediate threat to public health and welfare (Neighborhood Revitalization Program activities will generally not qualify under this objective)
• Benefit to LMI persons may be either direct or area-wide.
• Direct benefits are those activities that serve certain persons (e.g. housing rehabilitation) and must show a 100% LMI benefit.
• Area-wide benefits are those activities that benefit communities and are not participant specific (e.g. neighborhood parks).These activities must show at least a 51% LMI benefit.
• The grant period for the Neighborhood Revitalization Program is 30 months.
• Funds for the housing category may be spent on rehabilitation, acquisition, clearance, relocation, substantial rehabilitation, replacement housing, and emergency repairs.
• Housing projects may be conducted within a concentrated area, by scattered site, or by a combination of both.
• Only owner-occupied housing units may be rehabilitated or relocated through the program.
• CDBG financial assistance for housing must be in the form of a loan to the recipients, not a grant.The loans may be deferred, deferred forgivable, or amortized with low interest.
• All CDBG loans must be secured with a Note and Deed of Trust.A professional title search must also be conducted prior to any work commencing on a unit.
• Local government applicants must have the capacity to administer the proposed project with either its own CDBG-experienced staff or the assistance of an experienced CDBG administrator.“Experienced” is defined as someone who has previously administered more than one CDBG program.
• Applicants must conduct two public hearings to obtain citizens’ comments prior to submitting a grant application.The first hearing should be held at the beginning of the should be held after the application is drafted but prior to its submission, highlighting the proposed activities to be carried out and the total cost of those activities.
• The application deadline is Friday, July 27, 2018.