GEORGETOWN — It’s Community Development Block Grant application time.

Amid a pandemic, Sussex County is again seeking its annual chunk of federal funding administered through the state and specifically earmarked to assist low- to moderate-income households with housing rehabilitation and related needs.

Tuesday, Sussex County Council welcomed the county’s community development and housing director, Brad Whaley, for an update and overview of the program, which preceded the public hearing linked to the application and council’s backing of it.

Over the last five years, the county received just over $8.8 million in CDBG funding. That enabled the county to assist 759 households and 1,596 residents.

For fiscal year 2021, about $2.2 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding in total is anticipated to be available for Sussex and Kent counties. Because Sussex County is not considered an entitlement, HUD funding is administered through the Delaware State Housing Authority.

This year, Sussex County Councilman John Rieley believes need may be magnified.

“I anticipate that, because of COVID and people being out of work for extended periods of time, I would anticipate higher demand in the near future because, at some point, they are going to be lifting restrictions on evictions, and there is going to be other changes as this pandemic begins to conclude,” said Councilman Rieley. “I think that means that your department is going to have its hands full. So I would personally (be) very supportive of being very accommodating to your requests.”

CDBG projects encompass home rehabilitation both inside and outside, roof repair, structure demolition and, in allowed cases, sewer/water hookups. Mobile homes are included in rehab work.

Mr. Whaley’s presentation Tuesday marked his 11th public hearing during the application period, following previous hearings conducted by local municipalities the county serves.

“We work with individual towns. We do a grant application for them, and we administer it if the funding is awarded. We also do a countywide application, which is for residents outside the municipalities,” said Mr. Whaley. “We’re much like a construction management company. We’re managing housing rehabs … inspecting, putting the bid process together. We hold monthly bid meetings. We have local contractors come in, and we award the job to the lowest bidder.”

Since fiscal year 2013, Sussex County Council has annually augmented CDBG funding with emergency funds, which have ranged between $100,000 and $300,000. These funds are primarily used to assist eligible households experiencing no running water, no heat, a need for accessibility for the disabled, a leaking roof or electrical and/or plumbing issues.

“We have issues where elderly people will have a medical issue that they weren’t expecting that kind of blindsides them, and they need some handicap-accessibility issues done to the house,” said Mr. Whaley. “This (county emergency fund) has been very practical. I can’t even stress how valuable this has been. Actually, other entities have copied the council’s program.”

The county’s housing department prioritizes county emergency funding for individuals with disabilities, those 65 or older, veterans and households at or below 30% area median income.

For fiscal year 2021, the county’s emergency fund contribution is $250,000, which has assisted 81 households.

Council members applauded the efforts of Mr. Whaley, as well as Housing Coordinator and Fair Housing Compliance Officer Brandy Nauman and their staffs.

“The first thing: Brad, I think you, Brandy and the rest of your group do a great job,” said County Council President Michael Vincent. “We hear comments all the time (from) the public that we’ve helped. Keep in mind, the people we are helping are those who are certainly not of the high-level income of some people of this county. They are very low-income people; they need help. They’ve got some serious issues, sometimes, that you are able to fix for them. I am glad that we over the years have been able to give you some emergency funding.”

Councilwoman Cindy Green agreed.

“I want to commend you for the work you do, and I certainly will be in full support,” she said.

Councilman Rieley said he is happy with the work of the department.

“Two years ago, when I first got elected to council, I was aware that we had a housing department. I was somewhat vaguely familiar with what you did,” he said. “But in the two years since then, I have learned more in-depth of just what all you do because of you coming here and educating us. I appreciate that. I am so impressed.

“I am a pragmatist. I tend to look at the money aspect of it,” he continued. “I do believe that we have a moral duty to continue this program, and I think we do a lot of good. That’s part of the reason we are here as elected officials. But from a pragmatic side, I think what you do is very cost-effective. Because affordable housing is a key issue for me, I think there is not a program that we fund that is more effective in promoting the affordable stock in Sussex County.

“I think if we can maintain what we have, it is so much more cost-effective than trying to go out and create new affordable housing. In my mind, I would support even significantly more funding for this department, with the caveat that you would be able to use it efficiently.”

Income guidelines
Qualifying CDBG area median income guidelines for moderate-income (80% of AMI) are $42,500 for one household member and $60,700 for a family of four. For low-income (50% of AMI), it’s $26,000 for one person and $37,950 for four.

To qualify for housing rehabilitation, the property must be owner-occupied and insured or insurable, and taxes must be current. Also, the homeowner must agree to a lien placed on the property. If the rehab work is under $15,000, it’s a five-year lien; $15,000 or more, then it’s a 10-year lien on the property.

“This protects the funding. It’s just, we don’t fix the house up, and then someone turn around and sell it, and funding didn’t go to do what it was supposed to do,” said Mr. Whaley, noting that the home can be sold to “another resident that qualifies by our income level. But if it is sold to someone with a higher income level, a portion of that funding has to be repaid.”

Fiscal year 2019 in review
Because the CDBG cycle runs from summer to summer, the fiscal year 2019 program was completed in June. For that year, Sussex County received $1,610,142 in CDBG and Home Program funding. That assisted 151 low- to moderate-income households.

Of those 151 households:
• 80% had incomes below 50% AMI, and 54% had incomes below 30% AMI.
• 65% were elderly-occupied.
• 64% had disabled residents.
• 63% were female-headed households.
• 58% were minorities.
• More than 70% of these projects were completed by companies that qualify under Section 3 and/or women, minority and veteran business enterprise designations.

“HUD tracks this funding in two ways,” said Mr. Whaley. “We know it helps the residents. And some of those contractors have employees that are actually in the income level that qualifies for CDBG assistance. So it does have a broad, sweeping impact across the board.”

To contact the Sussex County Community Development Department, call 855-7777.