Press Release
April 11, 2022

Gov. Cox Declares Community Development Week in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (April 11, 2022) — Gov. Spencer Cox has declared the second week in April as Community Development Week in the state of Utah. The proclamation recognizes the importance of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which is among the few flexible sources of federal funds that remain available to local governments for community development. Projects must primarily benefit low-income and moderate-income individuals.

For more than four decades, CDBG has provided communities throughout Utah with an important source of funds to address affordable housing, infrastructure, and community development needs. The CDBG program provides grants throughout the state to create local approaches that improve the physical, economic and social conditions in communities by providing vital resources. 

Since 1982, CDBG has provided $259,780,242 to fund 2,695 projects in small cities in Utah. Some of these projects include single family housing rehabilitation in four regions of the state - Six County, Bear River, Southeastern, and Uintah Basin. Additional projects throughout the state consist of culinary water projects, senior center improvements, ADA accessibility, street improvements, and land acquisition for affordable housing units.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to economic, health, and social hardships for millions of people and a new awareness of the changes needed to reduce pandemic impacts in the future. CDBG Coronavirus response grants provided supplemental funding for a wide range of community development activities to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the direct and indirect effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic and to mitigate future risks.

Utah’s Small Cities CDBG program received $10,849,348 in CDBG Coronavirus funds to respond to the pandemic. Funds were used to retain jobs, support economic development activities such as direct financial assistance to businesses, public improvements such as the development and improvements of public facilities, street improvements, water and sewer improvements, multipurpose community centers, and expand broadband in an underserved area.

The Housing and Community Development Division of the Department of Workforce Services (HCD) administers the state’s Small Cities CDBG program, working with Associations of Governments to hold public meetings and hearings across the state to obtain citizen input on community needs.

For additional information, please visit: https://jobs.utah.gov/housing/community/index.html

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