Congressman Larry Buschon
Indiana 8th Congressional District
Congress of the United States
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC
August 31, 2012
Bruce Ungetheim
2037 Fleener Road
Evansville, IN 47725
Dear Bruce,
I apologize for the delay in sending you this information. I recently spoke to both
representatives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and also
Evansville’s, Department of Metropolitan Development regarding funding through the
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
As you may know, funding for CDBG programs has been drastically reduced in the last 10
years. In 2001, the CDBG program was funded at $4.399 billion. This fell to $3.303 billion in
2011. In Indiana specifically, CDBG funds went from $75.28 million in fiscal year (FY) 2010 to
$59.84 million in FY 2012. For FY 2011, the average grant nationwide was $1.9 million. One
of the factors contributing to the decline.in funds for localities is the increasing number of
recipients. In 2000, there were 1018 individual recipients while that number grew to 1167 in
2011. Evansville has seen a reduction in funds the last two years of $527,000 and $295,000
respectively. Both BUD and DMD agree that funding will most likely decrease again next year
regardless of the potential city-county merger.
CDBG funding is based on three criteria; growth lag, poverty, and housing
conditions. According to HUD, the growth lag is more pronounced for a combined area.
HUD estimates (and it is important to note that this is an estimate and not a formal assessment)
that Evansville would go from receiving $2.39 million to $2.05 million while at the same time
see an increase in the HOME program of over $60,000. Ultimately, the reduction would be in
line with reductions from the previous two years, especially when factoring in the additional
HOME funds.
Although some funding from CDBG could decline, there are other areas where a combined
Evansville-Vanderburgh County would be able to offset the loss ofCDBG federal funds through
other grants or program funding. We are working to identify those opportunities where a
combined entity would be eligible for greater funds through more advantageous formulas.
A great example is the Sustainable Communities Initiative where Evansville has already been
awarded over $3 million. One of the most significant factors in receiving this grant is local and
regional cohesion, which would increase with a combined Evansville- Vanderburgh County
area. Other grant opportunities include both formula and competitive varieties. The formula
grants include Urbanized Area Formula Program (transit), New Freedom Program (disability
assistance) and the Job Access and Reverse Commuter Program (transportation for welfare
recipients looking for work). Formula Programs include those for Bus and Bus Facilities, Clean
Fuel Grants, Major Capital Investments, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement.
I hope you find this information helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions.Sincerely,
Steven L. Reeves
District Director
