Lodi Council OKs CDBG plan revisions

The Lodi City Council approved the amended Community Development Block Grant fiveyear consolidated plan during Wednesday’s council meeting held at Carnegie Forum.

City staff were directed to provide more specifics to the plan for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s program, after HUD staff stated the city’s goals were too broad and vague and the city needed to use more specific language to properly explain how it would achieve its goals.

“HUD provided guidance to the city on how they should make improvements to their consolidated plan in the way that we identify our priority needs and activities,” Patrice Clemons CDBG program specialist said.

The city is slated to receive $624,641 in CDBG funding. The funds will not be dispersed until July and will be divvied up between local organizations and city improvement projects — 60% is allocated for a city-sponsored project and 40% goes to nonprofit and service organizations.

Clemons revised the city’s consolidated plan to include more specific language that provided a step-by-step process the city would establish to meet the goals determined by their five-year consolidated plan.

“Each activity that is funded through this grant must meet one of the three national objectives to benefit low and moderate income persons, or to eliminate any slums or blight, or for emergency need,” Clemons said.

Services eligible for funding include public facilities, crime prevention, access for disabled people, affordable housing and economic development for low-income and moderate-income residents.

Clemons first requested city council feedback during a December shirtsleeve meeting. She also met with the Lodi Improvement Committee as well as other community organizations, and past CDBG recipients to gather information that pinpointed issues where CDBG funding could assist the city as it works to fill the community’s needs.

After receiving public feedback, the city made the draft available for a 30-day public comment period beginning Dec. 17. The public comment period closed during the public hearing portion of Wednesday’s council meeting.

The Lodi Improvement Committee is responsible for reviewing and selecting organizations to receive CDBG funding, using a ranking scale that itemizes each project and its projected sphere of influence.

“Any proposed projects that come forward will need to comply with our five-year consolidated plan, in that they meet our priority needs that we identify, the activities that we identify, and our priority populations,” Clemons said.

A copy of the amended plan can be found on the city website at