Will Lakewood Lose CDBG Monies?

[Bridget Conant]

I hope everyone would agree how critical this funding is to Lakewood, and to the low- and middle-income residents it aims to serve.

We should also bear in mind that the Trump administration has designs on eliminating the CDBG program altogether: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 378871001/

I’m no fan of Trump, but posting a year old article to induce panic and deflect from the issue at hand is rather ridiculous. In fact, the Omnibus spending bill passed in March 2018 and signed by Trump INCREASED CDBG funding by 235 million dollars.

https://www.novoco.com/notes-from-novog ... nding-bill

Here’s a more recent one for you, regarding the FY2019 budget: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/13/58525569 ... uts-to-hud

“[The budget] eliminates the Community Development Block Grant which local governments can use at their discretion to address a variety of community and infrastructure needs.”

Not sure how this is deflecting - seems quite on point. In any event I agree that we should strive to remain an entitlement community and that CDBG funding is critical.

Dan, Dan, Dan.....

Every year the talk is “eliminate the mortgage deduction, eliminate this or that.”

It’s talk. It’s bargaining. It’s sonething that may never happen. It’s 2019.

Let’s see how it plays out.

I’m more worried about how this city seems to be so entirely blasé when it comes to revenue. Is it because they figure they can just stick it on us stupid taxpayers yet again? I mean, it’s not coming out of THEIR pocket so what do they care? They couldn’t be bothered to apply for the Enterprise Zone money.

[Jared Denman]

I don't care so much about any government getting less money. I'm more concerned about how it's spent. Here's how the City of Lakewood used $1.8 million. Wonder if any of that ended up in LakewoodAlive!

CDBG 2016.jpg (144.88 KiB) Viewed 3793 times

[Jim O'Bryan]

We are talking a difference of two thousand people here. Jim even gave us the number of those that are children, 500 or so. So what are the housing units that they used to live in being used for now? They didn't disappear so an effort to renovate and populate those units would be beneficial, plus the new units under construction. If not for the Trump Administration, we could be doing more with refugees and they would count in the population census.

Dan

That is not 500 less children in the city, that is 500 less in Lakewood Public Schools. That could come from reduced residents but also comes from more parents sending their children to LCA, Motessori Schools and other private and religious schools.

Jared

Here is the problem, LA V2 are working their asses off painting homes, building parks, cleaning up the city, education home owners how to keep value in their homes, etc.

LA V1, was a very different animal.

.

[Jim O'Bryan]

From deep within LakewoodAlive recent archives...

All CDBG is restricted to housing outreach and paint. 51% of LakewoodAlive clients must be at 80% area median income or less. About 85% of LA clients hit this threshold. LakewoodAlive also raise funds from other sources so not wholly dependent on CBGD.

They are also looking for donations and more volunteers, and this group headed up by Ian Andrews are really doing a great job.

You can join, and or donate at: http://www.lakewoodalive.org/support-us/

I am sure they appreciate you support and help in advance.

.

[Mark Kindt]

I hope everyone would agree how critical this funding is to Lakewood, and to the low- and middle-income residents it aims to serve.

We should also bear in mind that the Trump administration has designs on eliminating the CDBG program altogether: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 378871001/

I’m no fan of Trump, but posting a year old article to induce panic and deflect from the issue at hand is rather ridiculous. In fact, the Omnibus spending bill passed in March 2018 and signed by Trump INCREASED CDBG funding by 235 million dollars.

https://www.novoco.com/notes-from-novog ... nding-bill

Here’s a more recent one for you, regarding the FY2019 budget: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/13/58525569 ... uts-to-hud

“[The budget] eliminates the Community Development Block Grant which local governments can use at their discretion to address a variety of community and infrastructure needs.”

Not sure how this is deflecting - seems quite on point. In any event I agree that we should strive to remain an entitlement community and that CDBG funding is critical.

Dan, Dan, Dan.....

Every year the talk is “eliminate the mortgage deduction, eliminate this or that.”

It’s talk. It’s bargaining. It’s sonething that may never happen. It’s 2019.

Let’s see how it plays out.

I’m more worried about how this city seems to be so entirely blasé when it comes to revenue. Is it because they figure they can just stick it on us stupid taxpayers yet again? I mean, it’s not coming out of THEIR pocket so what do they care? They couldn’t be bothered to apply for the Enterprise Zone money.

Let me elaborate on a few of the points highlighted in blue above.

Once again, Ms. Conant hits the nail on the head. Each of us is attempting to gauge when the next local tax increase is coming our way and all the previous decision-points that led there.

1. We can start with trying to understand why the City of Lakewood was not eligible to become an Opportunity Zone under the newly-enacted federal tax legislation in 2017. Certainly, our low income metrics are high enough. Those metrics are described in all of the community health needs assessments that have been done on 44107. Lakewood's failure to participate in this program means that, in comparison with those communities that are eligible, Lakewood will be a less desirable place to invest. Investments made in Lakewood will not enjoy special (favorable) capital gains tax treatment.

2. We can start with trying to understand why the City of Lakewood may lose its automatic federal eligibility to receive Community Development Block Grant funds as its population declines below certain threshold numbers.

3. We can start with trying to understand why the City of Lakewood chose to abandon certain public revenue streams under contract(s) with major area non-profit corporations and in doing so increased municipal costs for EMS services and other public safety costs.

4. We can start with trying to understand why the City of Lakewood decided to donate a public asset (the former hospital site) worth a minimum of $5,200,000 along with millions of dollars in site preparation costs to a private company.

5. We can start with trying to understand both why and how much the City of Lakewood plans to spend in public funds to provide financial, economic, or tax incentives to future occupants of One Lakewood Place.

With respect to points 3, 4, and 5, we can ask ourselves whether future local tax increases are merely future payments to cover the costs of prior public subsidies to private parties.

[Mark Kindt]

The Trump Administration is not to blame for the public policy failures of our local elected officials, particularly the city administration and the 2015-2016 city council. Mr. Trump was not sworn in as President of the United States until January 20, 2017.

The public documents that I review and study on local issues are all dated well before that date. The municipal reform that we need and that has begun is entirely local. For at least the past five years, we have seen an extraordinary failure of leadership here.

If the city administration had any concern for its low-income and middle-income residents, then it would not have closed the community hospital, transferred its assets to private foundations, and abandoned valuable (and much needed) public revenue streams.

If the city administration had any concern for its low-income and middle-income residents, then it would not have ended approximately $7,000,000 in annual charity care to the community.

If the city administration had any concern for its low-income and middle-income residents, then it would have embraced the proposed partnership with the Metro Health System to re-position and invest a $100,000,000 in our community hospital.

Council member O'Malley's vote on May 7th was a vote in favor of the continuing implementation of this public policy disaster -- authorizing the negotiation of a contract that will result in the demolition of the hospital and a taxpayer giveaway of the hospital property (!)

From reviewing public documents, following the Build Lakewood media initiatives, the city's own public relations efforts, and the city's own annual reports, what do we know?

We know, we all know, that the city administration is focused on public financial incentives or tax incentives to developers, businesses, and certain higher income residents.

Let's not give mere lip service to the low-income and middle-income residents. They have to spend literally years trying just to get a basketball court.

When the new monster beer garden is complete and open, we will know exactly how average residents are treated. --With disregard.

Time-and-time-again, the legitimate concerns of average residents are sacrificed to the gods of economic development. The posts on the Observation Deck are a long and sad record of this.

Again I say, thank you fellow Democrats!

[Dan Alaimo]

Echoing what a few people have said here, this administration seems allergic to non-tax revenues.