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Fourteen municipal projects across Erie County included; county investment leverages local funding
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced the selection of 14 municipal projects for inclusion in the Erie County Consortium 2021 Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) application. The application, which will be submitted to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for approval, recommends a total Erie County expenditure of $1,771,954 for the projects, an investment that will leverage $3,449,881 in local funds and in-kind resources.
“The Community Development Block Grant awards are meant to spur communities to invest in projects that improve the infrastructure and quality of life in our cities and towns. These funds, leveraged with other funding secured by the municipalities involved, provide the impetus for improvements all around Erie County,” Poloncarz said. “In addition to municipal projects that will benefit our communities, this funding provides critical support to the Rural Transit Transportation Service, providing needed mobility and connectivity to county residents in outlying areas. These grant awards are wise investments that strengthen Erie County, and I look forward to these projects’ completion.”
The Erie County Consortium consists of 34 municipalities, generally located outside of the City of Buffalo and the first-ring suburbs. The City of Buffalo, along with the towns of Amherst, Cheektowaga, Hamburg and Tonawanda are not consortium members and receive their own grant funding directly from the federal government to fund projects in their respective municipalities.
The selected consortium projects are targeted toward a variety of building, and public infrastructure improvements that primarily benefit low- and moderate-income residents. The 2021 projects include:
The projects were recommended for funding by a 16-member selection committee, including 13 supervisors and mayors from consortium communities and three members of the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning. The committee reviewed a total of 29 projects seeking $3,423,604.38 in federal assistance.
For more information on the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning, visit http://www2.erie.gov/environment/.