Cleveland Development Planning Sustainability Committee CDBG Hearing Day 2 – October 23, 2026

The Development Planning Sustainability Committee continued part two of day two of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) hearings on October 23, 2026. No agenda or minutes were included in the available record; this summary is drawn from the raw transcript. The committee reviewed home repair programs, Community Development Corporation (CDC) funding, public services and community engagement, the proposed CDBG/general fund swap, and HUD compliance issues.

Home Repair Programs

• The department presented home repair programs including Model Block exterior repair along commercial corridors, the Senior Home Assistance Program (SHAP), Repair-A-Home (RAW) loans, and furnace/hot water tank repair and replacement. In 2025, 375 homes received one of these services.
• Model Block currently has 24 projects in production and is funded through decertified CDBG dollars. SHAP serves seniors and disabled owner-occupants below 35% AMI with one critical health/safety repair every 10 years. RAW provides loans at 0-3% interest to owner-occupants who usually cannot access traditional financing.
• Councilman Bishop asked for the 375 repaired homes broken down by ward, repair category, and dollar amount; the department agreed to provide that data.
• Councilman Slay asked for AMI figures and raised concerns that home repair programs reach a limited audience in a majority-renter city. He requested analysis of the qualifying population and its distribution across the city. The director said the department is working on a home repair gap analysis and is coordinating with the Mayor's innovation team and CDCs.
• The department confirmed AMI thresholds: 50% AMI is $52,500 for a family of four and $36,750 for an individual; 80% AMI is $84,000 for a family of four and $58,800 for an individual.
• Councilman Slay asked whether rental properties could be served. The department stated lead grants already serve rental properties based on renter income, and furnace/hot water tank repair also serves renters. SHAP and RAW are currently limited to homeowners, but department leadership indicated changes are planned.
• Councilman Jones raised concerns about long waiting lists, contractor shortages, and seniors waiting so long that they pass away before receiving service. The department reported that an implementation vendor completed 71 units in the last year across four programs, including lead grants, Healthy Homes Production, and SHAP. That was an improvement over past production of roughly 20 units, but it came with challenges from relying on a single contractor.
• Councilwoman Gray said SHAP has become backlogged beyond nine months to a year, that applications have been stopped, and that seniors are not always told about alternatives like Cleveland Housing Solutions. The director acknowledged communication failures and said the department is rebuilding the programs.
• Councilman Jones proposed allocating $10 million to community development to expand these programs and argued for setting AMI eligibility at the highest level permitted. The director said CDBG dollars are capped at 80% AMI; general fund dollars could be used to serve higher-income households. The chair explained that AMI is set by HUD for the Cleveland-Lorain metropolitan statistical area.

CDC Administration and Funding

• The department said it plans to fund 15 CDCs in 2026 with about $7.35 million. In 2025, CDCs completed 58 substantial rehabilitations, provided technical assistance to 342 small businesses, and completed 581 public services.
• Six CDCs were close to $100,000 short after ward redistricting; the department supplemented those funds to help preserve CDC staff.
• The department proposed a more proactive funding model: CDCs would submit proposals, and the city and council would develop a collective CDC funding plan. The long-discussed 'swap' would move CDC and council neighborhood development support to general fund dollars while using CDBG for eligible projects, reducing HUD compliance burdens.
• The chair provided historical context: Cleveland has funded hyperlocal CDCs since 1975, but HUD has long questioned the arrangement. The swap concept grew out of Councilman McCormick's framework.
• Councilman Jones criticized slow contracts and reimbursements, saying CDCs are being starved out. The department said average payment time is about 45-60 days and that slower payment alone is not the full problem. The director said no specific timeline is set, but more political will exists, and the department has a meeting scheduled with CDCs on October 29 to introduce new processes.
• Councilwoman Hudson asked how council NDA allocations would work under the new process. The department said council members would still choose how to use their allocated funds, subject to procurement and eligibility requirements, depending on whether the money comes from CDBG or general funds.
• The chair used a hypothetical $20 million CDBG illustration: roughly 20% for administration, 40% for council/NDA redistribution, and 40% for department-run programs, while noting actual allocations are set through the budget process.
• Councilwoman Gray and Councilman Davis expressed concerns about CDC capacity, particularly in Black communities and less-resourced neighborhoods. Gray said one of her CDCs is in trouble and cannot be allowed to shut down. Davis said his wards' six CDCs faced arbitrary six-figure cuts because of redistricting, threatening four jobs, and he asked how CDC goals are established.
• Staff explained that consolidated plan goals are tied to HUD's five-year planning categories. For small-business technical assistance, the 2025 CDC goal was 335 and actual reported performance was 377; the 2026 forecast is 350, while the 2027 goal of 100 is a HUD planning artifact rather than a realistic annual target.
• Councilman Fisher noted that the presentation showed $19 million in total CDBG funds, with $3.9 million, about 21%, for planning and administration. He asked about acceptable CDC administrative costs and was told the CDC indirect cost rate is less than 20%.

Public Services and Community Engagement

• The department outlined 19 public services contracts for 2026 plus 10 anticipated citywide contracts focused on home repair, housing counseling, housing-related financial education, and senior transportation. In 2025, public services grants provided emergency food to more than 15,000 people, and citywide grants provided housing counseling and support to about 2,300 homeowners and renters.
• For 2027, the department plans competitive procurement and closer alignment with the consolidated plan, including attention to social determinants of work such as transportation and potentially child care.
• New work from the Bureau of Community Programming includes a middle neighborhoods specialist, housing innovation district work, a financial empowerment blueprint and resource directory, neighborhood financial needs assessments, youth financial empowerment programming, and 10 community and institutional partnerships with Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Cleveland Housing Solutions, the County Land Bank, and CDCs.
• The community engagement team has five staff members. In 2025, the team attended about 103 events and engaged about 606 residents, connecting them with home repair, utility assistance, rental assistance, and land bank application information. The team also supports Southeast Side work and consolidated plan workshops.

NDA, HUD Compliance, and Administrative Follow-ups

• The department said NDA is not a project and cannot be submitted to HUD as a lump-sum dollar amount in the CDBG plan. A HUD representative has called the NDA line item a slush fund. Council members pushed back, saying council has budget authority and will continue deciding NDA allocations. The director said the department is not trying to take council funds but needs projects listed individually to satisfy HUD; the proposed swap is intended to resolve that problem.
• The department said previous HUD findings about exceeding the administrative cap have been resolved, and no funds are currently at risk of being clawed back.
• Outstanding follow-up items include RAW and SHAP carryover balances, fair housing outreach broken down by ward, a report on CRA depository banks expected in roughly two months, and a list of CDCs reporting home repair accomplishments.

Environmental Review

• The department said every federal dollar requires an environmental review; even exempt projects require documentation. CD has two environmental review technicians and one compliance manager, and CD also performs environmental reviews for CMHA under a memorandum of understanding.
• Councilman Davis requested a citywide count of people trained to perform environmental reviews. Councilwoman Gray said CDCs previously blamed environmental review delays for unmet deliverables; the department said that backlog has passed.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken; the hearing was adjourned until the call of the chair.
• The committee requested home repair data by ward, category, and dollar amount.
• The committee requested analysis of the eligible home repair population, including owner-occupancy, renter eligibility, and AMI distribution.
• Councilman Jones proposed a $10 million investment in community development and discussion of raising AMI eligibility caps; CDBG is capped at 80% AMI, while general fund dollars could reach higher-income households.
• The department committed to providing RAW/SHAP carryover data, fair housing outreach by ward, the CRA depository bank report, and CDC home repair accomplishment data.
• The department scheduled a meeting with CDCs on October 29 to discuss new processes.
• Further negotiations on NDA funding and the CDBG/general-fund swap remain open ahead of spring budget decisions.