Richland County seeks public input on federal grant spending

A virtual public hearing May 19 will allow residents to give input on an end-of-year report that details Richland County’s use of federal funding to aid low-to-moderate-income residents.

The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) evaluates the county’s progress toward the goals and objectives of its Consolidated Plan. The report details activities funded by Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

For the 2019-20 fiscal year, Richland County received $1,519,657 in CDBG funding and $676,580 in HOME funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

• CDBG funding includes support for Operation One Touch, which helps low- and moderate‐income residents with household repairs, as well as funding for Public Service Grants.
• HOME funding includes support for the county’s Homeownership Assistance Program and Richland Rebuild, a housing rehabilitation program.

The county’s Community Planning and Development Department is hosting the required virtual hearing to gather feedback on the report before it submits the report to HUD.

To attend the hearing, which begins at 5:30 pm May 19 and is open to the public via Zoom, email a request for the meeting link to [email protected].

Richland County encourages residents to review and comment on CAPER. To view the document, visit www.richlandcountysc.gov, navigate to Community Development, and then to the Housing & Urban Development webpage.

From May 5 to May 20, public comments can also be submitted outside of the virtual hearing in two ways:
• Mail: Richland County Government
• Community Planning & Development Division
• 2020 Hampton St., P.O. Box 192, Columbia, SC 29204
• Attention: Sara Scheirer, Grants and Community Development Manager
• E-mail: [email protected]

All comments will be forwarded to HUD. For more information, visit Richland County Community Development.