On Thursday, November 16 NACCED’s Executive Committee visited the nation’s capital for its annual end-of-year meeting with industry leaders. Executive Committee members in attendance were NACCED Board President Linda Jenkins (LA County, CA), Vice President David Sacks (Henrico County, VA), Secretary/Treasurer Jennifer Daniels (Arlington County, VA), and NACCED Representative to NACo Mary Keating (DuPage County, IL).
The team met with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials Claudia I. Monterrosa, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs with the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) and Savin Ven Johnson, Deputy Director of the Office of Block Grant Assistance (OBGA). Monterrosa and Ven Johnson provided an overview of HUD’s planned 2024 celebration events for the 50th anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.
HUD kicks off recognition of the CDBG 50th anniversary in February with the launch of an official anniversary branding campaign to coincide with HUD-sponsored events running through the end of the year. Community Development Month will take place in April, showcasing advocacy and awareness campaigns from NACCED and industry partners followed by a CDBG tie-in for National Homeownership Month in June. An official CDBG anniversary event is planned for August which will be held at HUD headquarters in D.C., to be attended by senior ranking federal leaders. The focus of the program is to highlight both past successes of the program, and its future impact.
Save the date: NACCED is hosting a CDBG 50th anniversary briefing during its 2024 Legislative Conference on Thursday, February 8 from 2:00-3:00pm on Capitol Hill and will lead CDBG Coalition efforts to assist in HUD’s landmark program’s recognition throughout the year.
Following the meeting with HUD, NACCED met with Carol Wayman, Senior Policy Advisor on finance, housing and community development for U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). Senator Cortez Masto is preparing to introduce legislation to reauthorize the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). NACCED supports the legislation, which would include provisions such as higher funding authorization levels and increased administrative caps. NACCED Executive Committee members took the opportunity to both voice support for the bill and offer feedback on HOME improvement opportunities from grantee perspectives.
Wrapping up the day, NACCED met with Matthew Chase, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the National Association of Counties (NACo) and NACo Legislative Director of Community, Economic & Workforce Development, Mike Matthews. Chase and Matthews discussed with NACCED current and future priorities including Community Project Funding effects on CDBG appropriation formulas, NACo Housing Task Force findings, U.S. Census Bureau entitlement community creation processes, home affordability costs of private equity purchasing, open land sales to data center developments and county government relationships with homebuilders. NACCED and NACo look forward to continuing their strong partnership into 2024 in both membership education and advocacy.
On the second day of the meeting, Friday, November 17, the Executive Committee met at NACCED’s office to review draft plans for 2024, including the budget, strategic plans, committee work plans, and more. These draft documents will now move to the full Board of Directors for approval in early December.
NACCED is grateful for all our important partnerships here in Washington, DC, and the work of our Executive Committee and Board leadership. We look forward to a productive 2024!
