The American Recovery Act, at least that administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provided $13.61 billion for projects and programs designed to help communities recover from the economic downturn.
About $1 billion of those funds were earmarked for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). According to Recovery.gov, a website used to inform, promote and monitor the programs’ progress, most local governments use this investment to rehabilitate affordable housing and improve key public facilities – stabilizing communities and creating jobs locally.
On the website, President Obama says, “We expect you, the American people, to hold us accountable for the results. That is why we have created Recovery.gov-so every American can go online and see how their money is being spent.”
A section of the website reports on allocations of the CDBG-R funds on a state-by-state basis and how communities used the funds. DeKalb and Naperville are two of 44 Illinois communities listed.
Compare.
Jurisdiction/Grantee Name: CITY OF DEKALB, ILLINOIS – Date: 06/01/2009
CDBG-R Fomula Grant Amount: $110,573
Activity Description: Acquisition of one blighted or vacant property that has received repetitive damage due to stormwater and provide relocation assistance to the residents. The future use of the property has not been determined, however, due to the floodplain regulations, it will most likely remain open space. No specific property has been identified.
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Jurisdiction/Grantee Name: IL, Naperville – Date: June 2, 2009
CDBG-R Fomula Grant Amount: $130,778
Activity Description: Weatherization Program – Single family owner-occupied energy audit and energy efficiency upgrades for low-mod individuals or families up to $5,000
Considering the size of the two municipal budgets we’re not talking about a lot of money here, but… DeKalb bought private property with Recovery Act money and while it hasn’t determined its future use it believes it will likely remain open space. The funds did help with relocation expenses of the family that lived in a home on the property.
Naperville used their Recovery Act money to help its low to moderate income single family owner occupied residents by providing energy audits and energy efficiency upgrades. Assuming each homeowner used its $5,000 max that’s 21 Naperville families receiving assistance to DeKalb’s one.
Considering the area’s unemployment rate, and the growing number of residents contending with foreclosure, more people need help recovering from the recession. Which model better addresses economic recovery, DeKalb or Naperville?
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2 Comments
Now that is an idea from Naperville that is GREAT, and one that we should have copied!!! Naperville's idea is 'green' because it could result in families saving energy, could cut back on bills for those same needy families, it has great potential to provide some out-of-work construction people some projects to do, and could increase home improvement business sales for materials.
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Kay, I still think there are many people within the levels of government who have no clue that unless the construction companies start going back to work soon, this country will continue to only get deeper into economic despair.
I still have five employees off of work and they have been for almost eighteen months now. The governments answer is to extend their benefits (not all are being extended however) instead of thinking of great ways to stimulate those jobs by doing things similiar to what Naperville has done.
The City of DeKalb did things that merely kept one or two local businesses keep operating. They did not even hire one new employee in fact some were even let go while doing this work. Great Recovery!
TIF could be used also. Those in TIF Districts could get necessary home improvements taken care of using no interest TIF loans. Contractors would have to be local ZIP CODE and materials purchased from local merchants. Too bad that we have lost two of our real lumber yards in the last few years. Lowe's can handle what needs to be accomplished with the TIF get back to work program.
Instead, we have a mayor who loves to make mountains out of mole hills. Wasting time stretching out the replacement process for the 3rd ward. Waiting until the end of the month when the replacement should be named in the next meeting on the llth. It's not as difficult as the mayor is making it to be especially since he pretty much has his guy.