Olympia appeals for increased Community Development Block Grant funding amid proposed budget cuts

That is something we would not want to happen, especially on the [CDBG's] 50th anniversary. It is just ironic.”

Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne

In light of the proposed cuts to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fund in the Fiscal Year 2025 national budget, the Olympia City Council urged federal lawmakers to advocate for increasing the CDBG budget.

At the council meeting on Tuesday, Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne announced the city sent letters via email to Senators Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, and Rep. Marilyn Strickland. "We have asked them to look at the President's budget, which cut the CDBG program, I believe, by $400 million next year."

"That is something we would not want to happen, especially on the [CDBG's] 50th anniversary. It is just ironic," Payne commented.

Through a proclamation, the city council recognized April 2024 as National Community Development Month. It recognizes and celebrates the CDBG program, which has provided local governments with the financial resources to assist low- and moderate-income persons since 1974.

In a presentation, Anastasia Everett, CDBG program manager for Olympia, highlighted the program's impact on the city. She said Olympia has received CDBG funds as an entitlement community for 42 years, totaling $15.48 million. These funds have supported housing rehabilitation, infrastructure improvements, and community economic development activities.

Everett said that since 1995, Olympia has invested nearly $6.5 million of CDBG funding in housing activities. She added that 614 housing units had been rehabilitated or acquired.

Everett presented a graph showing the city's CDBG allocations from 1982 to 2023. The graph illustrated that the city's allocations rose steadily from 1998 to 2003, peaking at $482,000. It showed a gradual decrease over the years, after 2003. However, the program manager noted that the city's allocation for the 2023 program year was only $362,000, significantly lower than the peak allocation of over 20 years prior.

With dwindling appropriations a national issue, the program manager showed how the CDBG budget declined from $12 billion in 1975 to just $3.6 billion in 2020 despite more communities receiving funds. 

The city council, alongside the National Community Development Association, requested that Congress consider increasing the CDBG program budget to $4.2 billion for FY 2025.