Adams County grant program for low-income communities in jeopardy
Dustin B Levy
Since 1985, more than $10 million has funded programs in Adams County to boost job opportunities for the homeless, teach children how to live healthier and make buildings more accessible for people with disabilities.
Community Development Block Grants, a decades-old federal program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has allocated funds to local projects in communities of financial need.
But now this resource could be in jeopardy.
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget calls for the elimination of this program that helps to finance public services and infrastructure projects. Trump plans to address some of this through his infrastructure initiative, which includes a $200 billion investment, according to the White House. Part of the plan emphasizes an investment in rural infrastructure.
Anne Thomas, the county grants coordinator who has overseen CDBG funding for almost 29 years, described the program as a benefit to taxpayers. The grants reduce the burden on citizens to come up with funding for municipal projects, she explained.
Since 1985, Adams County has allocated finances, through the state Department of Community and Economic Development, to more than 50 entities, including municipalities and nonprofits. The programs that receive the funds must meet the requirement that the project will serve a population that has more than half meeting low-to-moderate income standards.
Moderate income is determined to be 80 percent of the median income by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. For 2017, the median income for a family of four is $58,550.
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Thomas performs surveys every year for many of these projects for verification. Projects that cater to certain classes, like disabled or senior citizens, automatically qualify.
Adams County is an entitlement community, along with Gettysburg and Littlestown boroughs based on census data that shows a majority of the population meeting the low-to-moderate income standard. Gettysburg and Littlestown are the only municipalities that are allowed to individually request funding, but DCED has the county submit a single application.
Gettysburg typically receives about $110,000 and Littlestown receives about $80,000 each year. They have mostly addressed the installation of curb ramps in the respective boroughs. Between 2009 and 2015, Adams County's funding has averaged around $335,000 a year.
Losing these funds would be “hurtful to low-to-moderate income people,” Thomas said.
“They can be hurt either by not having the money to connect to systems (or) their municipal authority raising the rates to the point where they can’t afford to pay for their water or sewer rate,” she added.
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The funding for 2016 and 2017 applications will come through regardless of decisions at the federal level. If the program is cut, the funding will not go away until 2018, and the “true impact” will not be felt until 2019 or 2020, Thomas said.
“You know how government budgets go,” Thomas said. “We’re in the very, very preliminary stages.”
Still, the elimination of the program would likely mean increased fees to services as well as community facilities not being able to offer programs that serve lower income residents.
Nothing is set is stone, so Thomas suggests that people who want to keep the program get in touch with local lawmakers.
“I would suggest they contact their representatives and tell them what they think the value of keeping the program is,” Thomas said.
Here are three testimonies from beneficiaries of CDBG funding over the years:
Survivors, Inc.
Terri Hemrick, the president and CEO of Survivors Inc., a domestic violence shelter in Gettysburg, anticipates sleeping a little easier.
After applying for almost $16,000 in funding to upgrade the shelter’s electrical system in 2013, the renovation is close to completion. (Service organizations in Gettysburg or Littlestown have to come up with 13.5 percent of the funding.)
“I’ll not be afraid that the house will burn down in the night,” Hemrick said.
The old home, with knob and tube wiring, needed an electrical overhaul, Hemrick said. Often, a person in the shelter could not use a toaster in a kitchen while someone else uses a hairdryer in the bathroom without blowing a fuse.
Eliminating the CDBG funds will make it harder for nonprofits like Survivors to provide support for low-income and vulnerable people, Hemrick said.
“We’re looking to help people get back on their feet,” she said. “If this money is gone, that is eliminating a big piece that helps us do what we do.”
Possum Valley Municipal Authority
The Possum Valley Municipal Authority, which serves Bendersville Borough, Aspers Village and parts of Menallen Township, has exceeded all other county agencies with more than $1 million in funding from CDBGs.
Recently, that funding has been used to replace a 100-year-old water main through Center Mills Road. The project will enter its fifth and final phase next year.
“CDBG funding has been absolutely critical in getting this project done,” said Chad Smith, the authority’s office manager who has applied for the grants for more than a decade.
The antiquated water system meant customers would sometimes not have water at certain busy times of the day, Smith said. The system is used by churches, restaurants, the Mott’s plant and the WellSpan medical center in Menallen Township.
Now, the water pressure has improved and “will be good for generations to come,” Smith said.
About 90 percent of Possum Valley’s customer base falls in the low-to-moderate income range, Smith said. Without the funding, the authority would have been forced to raise rates “through the roof,” which people would not have been able to afford.
“President Trump has stated that he wants to renew the country’s aging infrastructure,” Smith wrote in a letter to The Evening Sun. “From our little corner that is exactly what we’ve been doing with CDBG funding, and it is helping a community that needs it more than most.”
Smith went on to say he hopes the Trump administration listens to perspectives from administrators and beneficiaries of the program.
Smith is concerned that losing the grant funding could drive people out of the area because of rate hikes. Eliminating the program, “when it has done so much good for so many .... would be a tragic action,” Smith wrote.
South Central Community Action Programs
CDBG funding has provided a significant lift for projects at South Central Community Action Programs, according to CEO Megan Shreve.
The nonprofit’s programs support impoverished individuals and includes a homeless shelter in Gettysburg. It has received more than $600,000 in funding from the CDBG program since 1985.
The funding has been essential in starting programs that the nonprofit can eventually sustain on its own. For instance, the SCCAP Cafe, a Gettysburg restaurant that doubles as a job training program in food services, was supported initially by CDBG money. The program has an 85 percent success rate of trainees getting hired as cooks at places like Ski Liberty and area hotels.
Another program that came from CDBG funds is Gleaning, in which volunteers collect produce from local growers who have excess. The fruits and vegetables are then distributed to food pantries and other areas to benefit low-income people who cannot afford quality food.
Programs like these are designed to help people become more financially stable and build better futures for their families, Shreve said.
Shreve called the potential cut of CDBG, and other HUD programs, “catastrophic.” Many of SCCAP’s services, like the homeless shelter and food pantries, could close.
About 10 years ago, SCCAP served 16,000 people, Shreve said.
“We’ve doubled our clientele with the same budget, and now we’re looking at substantial cuts,” she added.
As a result, SCCAP is looking to make use of every penny and hopes its volunteers step up if they lose funding resources.
“Advocate, donate and volunteer,” Shreve said. “We need you now more than ever.”
Top recipients of CDBG funding in Adams County from 1985 to 2014
- Possum Valley Municipal Authority: $1,130,396.46
- Bendersville Borough: $822,336
- HART Center in New Oxford: $682,918
- South Central Community Action Programs: $598,394
- Franklin Township: $561,894.72
- York Springs Borough: $528,903
- Littlestown Borough: $499,327
- York Springs Municipal Authority: $433,177.64
- Fairfield Borough: $325,044
For more information, visit the "Grants" page of www.AdamsCounty.us
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