Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)

Public Hearing Notice

The City of Auburn’s Human Services Committee will conduct a public hearing on March 27, 2023 at 4:00pm in the City Hall Annex building located at 1 E. Main St, Auburn, WA 98002. The purpose of this public hearing is to review and receive comments on the City of Auburn’s past performance using $170,900 of Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds for Eviction Prevention Services. CDBG-Coronavirus funds were provided by HUD through the Washington Department of Commerce with the goal to prepare, prevent, and respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic. These funds are targeted to benefit primarily low to moderate income individuals. An outline of the funded activities is available for review in the Related Documents sidebar on the right side of this page.

Interested residents may offer oral comments at the Human Services Committee public hearing on Monday, March 27, 2023 at 4:00pm.

The public can provide comments in-person or submit written comments in advance of the scheduled meeting. To submit a comment for consideration through Speak Up Auburn, please scroll to the bottom of this page!

The City of Auburn's CDBG program makes a huge, positive impact in the community. It is managed by the Community Services Division, which is housed in the Community Development Department. On this page you'll find an explanation of what this program is, how it is funded, and information about when we will be asking you to provide your input and thoughts on how money is spent within this program. This page will be continuously updated throughout the year as new information and public engagement opportunities arise. We look forward to engaging with you about this important program!

What is CDBG?

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement Program provides annual grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to eligible cities to help support and develop viable urban communities.

Auburn receives CDBG funds annually, and funds a variety of projects in the community that support our City’s CDBG goals. Auburn works very closely with other communities who also receive these funds and we are a part of the King County CDBG Consortium which allows us to work closely with King County and the cities of Federal Way, Kent, and Bellevue.

How much money does Auburn receive?

The CDBG program provides formula grants, meaning that the amount we receive is based off of a set formula that Congress approves each year during the budget process. This formula includes multiple factors such as population, poverty rate, and age of housing stock.

Our annual grant amount changes each year based on changes to the budget as well as our community demographics. In 2022, we received $598,383. We don’t know how exactly how much we will receive in 2023, but we generally create a budget and plan based on the amount we received in the prior year.

How does the City prioritize how we spend these funds?

The City of Auburn is required by HUD to submit a plan every five years to HUD that maps out how it will prioritize CDBG dollars. This plan, called the Consolidated Plan, is designed to help states and local jurisdictions assess their affordable housing and community development needs. Our current plan covers 2020 – 2024, and includes data on our community needs as well as our planned activities to help address those needs.

Additionally, the City submits an Annual Action Plan to HUD that details what resources we expect to receive in the coming year and how we will spend CDBG funds.

Projects and activities of the current Consolidated Plan and our Action Plans follow three broad goals:

• Affordable Housing – Ensure access to healthy, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households throughout the region and advance fair housing to end discrimination and overcome historic patterns of segregation.
• Ending Homelessness – Make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time and eliminate racial disparities.
• Community and Economic Development – Establish and maintain healthy, integrated, and vibrant communities by improving the well-being and mobility of low- and moderate-income residents, and focusing on communities with historic disparities in health, income, and quality of life.

The City welcomes input from Auburn residents on how we allocate these funds. Typically, there are two public hearings held each year to receive input on the Annual Action Plan – once before we’ve drafted it, and once after it’s been published and community members have had the opportunity to review. See more about this process and the opportunities to share your perspectives with the City in the program lifecycle graphic on the right.

Every year, the City produces an annual report called the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) that details how we spent these dollars and what progress we made during the prior year. Our most recent CAPER can be found on the right hand side of this page in the documents section.

How does the City incorporate community input?

The process for community input on our CDBG program is guided by the City’s CDBG Citizen Participation Plan, a document that HUD requires each grantee to develop and follow. You can read our full plan, located in the related documents section to the right.

The City welcomes public participation in the development of the Consolidated Plan and amendments to the Plan. Prior to the adoption of the plan, the fund amount expected from HUD to the City of Auburn, the range of activities that may be undertaken, and the amount of funding expected to benefit low/moderate-income persons will all be made available to the public.

Key Opportunities for Input:

• Public Hearings: Public hearings will be held at least twice per year at key stages of the grants administration process to obtain the public’s views and to provide the public with responses to their questions and comments. Public hearings refers to both public hearings at City Council and the City’s Human Services Committee as well as community meetings. Residents are given at least 14 calendar days notice of all hearings and public meetings through posting on the City of Auburn webpage and direct notification to stakeholders. Public notice shall indicate the date, time, location, purpose of the meeting, and information about the issues to be discussed. This information will be posted on this website as it is available.
• Comment Periods: The City makes all reports related to CDBG available for review and feedback prior to finalizing them. The comment periods for plans and reports is listed in the following table. When these comment periods are open, the plans will be posted on this site as well as the City’s main website, and we will detail the ways you can submit comments.