Federal grants cuts 'devastating' to local towns, counties

A federal program that has funded housing repairs for low-income residents, helped pay for new water and sewer systems and rebuilt Crisfield after Hurricane Sandy is in jeopardy under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget that would cut the entire $3 billion appropriation to the Community Development Block Grant program.

"The program is not well-targeted to the poorest populations and has not demonstrated results," Trump's budget says.

Local officials say otherwise.

“It’s devastating,” said Crisfield City Manager Rick Pollitt. “This will really hurt people.”

Crisfield and Somerset County have probably been the biggest recipients of CDBG funds on the Lower Shore. Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the county received an $8.6 million Community Development Block Grant, part of a $50.5 billion emergency measure passed by Congress. It was followed by a second award to the county of $16.7 million.

A lot of that Sandy recovery money has been spent in Crisfield to repair infrastructure, elevate and rebuild houses and to repair the city dock, Pollitt said.

BACKGROUND: Somerset nears the end of Sandy recovery funds

The county also used $2.35 million to build a new Head Start addition at Crisfield High School and to demolish of the former Whittington Primary School. The city itself has received CDBG funds, including $800,000 this year for a new building for It Takes a Village, an after-school and summer enrichment program for local children. The program was previously housed in the Whittington school, which received severe damage during Hurricane Sandy.

In previous years, Crisfield also received $560,000 toward a wind turbine at the wastewater treatment plant and $1.3 million to develop the former Carvel Hall factory in Crisfield into an industrial park.

Crisfield is not alone.

The program has pumped millions of dollars into Lower Shore projects since it was started in 1974, including $800,000 for stormwater improvements in Berlin, $600,000 to Snow Hill for wastewater treatment plant upgrades, and $500,000 to Princess Anne to help fund the Washington Hotel restoration, according to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties also have depended on a steady stream of CDBG funding over the years to pay for housing rehabilitations for low-income homeowners.

“It will have a huge impact on us,” said Salisbury Mayor Jake Day, who counts on the roughly $300,000 a year to help fund various programs.

Some of the money awarded to Salisbury every year is passed on to Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Services to help homebuyers with down payment and closing costs, and to Habitat for Humanity to acquire houses and help pay for rehabilitation work, he said.

The city also had planned to use some of the money to pay part of the salary of a homeless services coordinator, and in the past used it to install sidewalks in low-income neighborhoods.

BACKGROUND:  Somerset County woman’s home first to receive post-Sandy assistance

The CDBG money comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development to the states. In Maryland, the program is administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, which then distributes funds to rural counties and towns in the state.

Some counties and cities in Maryland, including Salisbury, are considered Entitlement Communities, which are metropolitan areas with populations of at least 50,000. They are awarded annual grants on a formula basis to help provide decent housing and expand economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income residents, according to HUD’s website.

Salisbury’s annual grant ranges from $275,000 to $300,000, Day said.

The grants are similarly distributed to counties and towns in Delaware and Virginia, where the town of Exmore in Northampton County received $500,000 this year for two new wells and a water treatment facility.

Pollitt said it is likely some or all of the funding will be restored because Republican members of Congress will be getting negative feedback from the communities they represent.

Democrats, including U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees, have already taken a firm stance against most of the proposed budget cuts.

“The president’s budget is great if you’re a person like Donald Trump who flies to Mar-a-Lago every weekend at taxpayer expense — but it betrays the Americans who feel left behind and forgotten,” Van Hollen said in a news release. “And for the people who supported him, especially in rural areas of our country, they are hit particularly hard.”

The Community Development Network of Maryland also spoke out against Trump’s proposed budget and its steep cuts to programs that fund community development and affordable housing initiatives.

The president’s proposed budget includes slashing $6 billion in funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and would eliminate community development grants completely.

“The president’s proposed budget signals a total lack of commitment from the federal government to support development of our communities,” said Odette Ramos, the group's executive director. “We need more support, not less, to bring communities out of poverty and give low-income citizens better opportunities. These cuts will hurt communities across the state, including cities, suburbs and rural areas.”

Pollitt said other groups such as the Maryland Municipal League and the Maryland Association of Counties will likely join forces to “fight like they’ve never fought before.”

“I think we need to get excited,” he said. “This is really serious.”

On Twitter @LizHolland5