Norwalk reallocates funds to create residential improvement program
Council member Margarita Rios asks the city community development director for clarification on the new Residential Rehabilitation Program during the city council meeting on Tuesday. (PHOTO BY VINCENT MEDINA)
NORWALK – The Norwalk City Council voted unanimously to amend the 2023 - 24 fiscal year budget and reallocate funds towards city infrastructure and a new Residential Rehabilitation Program during their meeting Tuesday evening.
John Ramirez, the community development director, proposed the unallocated $615,267 funds from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) be redirected toward the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to make repairs to the street, sidewalk, curb, gutter and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access ramps.
The general funds were initially intended for CIP, so Ramirez proposed the $600,000 be reallocated toward a new Residential Rehabilitation Program.
“While this is technically a simple funds swap, given it’s a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program, the procedures can be intricate,” Ramirez explained.
The proposed amendments aim to expedite spending to prevent funds from lapsing and being returned to the federal government.
The new Residential Rehabilitation Program will cover home improvement costs including accessibility upgrades, roof insulation, water heaters, windows and air conditioners for qualifying city residents 60 years old or older or non-ambulatory people.
Applicants would qualify for improvement grants once every five years.
As the new program is still in development, exact minimum and maximum grant amounts have yet to be determined. However, Ramirez estimates the grants will be approximately $5,000 - $30,000.
“Once we implement the program, and we start to do cost estimates with different contractors, we’ll be able to formulate a tighter budget for each of the provided services,” the community development director said.
Ramirez explained the program is separate from the One-Ways Neighborhood Rehabilitation Program.
Councilman Rick Ramirez expressed his concerns about the program’s accessibility due to the program’s income requirements, which might deter residents from making home improvements.
“In today’s economy, people are just trying to survive paycheck to paycheck,” the councilmember said. “With these guidelines, many might not even consider renovating their homes.”
Councilmembers Jennifer Perez and Margarita Rios empathized with Ramirez but acknowledged the city has no control over state and federal income requirements.
Rios encouraged staff to find a new way to help families make home improvements where the income threshold is not an issue.
“If we have homeowners that could be a young family that don’t qualify because of the income threshold, but they’re, they’re eager to make some improvements to their home, let’s see if there is something else we can potentially offer,” Rios said.
Ramirez acknowledged the concerns and promised to review the income limits.
“John, thank you for having open dialogue with us to really look at how we can customize this program for our city and our residents,” Perez said. “There’s a lot of things that you’ve added that we have talked about and I’m very excited to see them there.”
The council voted unanimously to approve the amendment and reallocate the funds and expressed more information on the Residential Rehabilitation Project would be available before it goes into effect.