DOH - 2026 Small Cities CDBG Application

Connecticut's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, also known as the Small Cities Program, provides funding and technical support for projects that achieve local community and economic development objectives. The Small Cities Program principally benefits low-and moderate-income persons. This program is only available to Connecticut towns and cities with populations of less than 50,000. Funding for the Connecticut CDBG program is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the guidelines of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. Eligible Activities must meet one of the following CDBG program National Objectives: benefiting low and moderate-income persons, eliminating slum and blight or addressing an urgent need. The primary focus of the CDBG program is to benefit low-and moderate-income persons. The Connecticut CDBG program receives and distributes over thirteen million dollars each year. Since the state took over the administration of the CDBG program in 1982, over $325,700,000 has been invested in Connecticut communities. Communities participate in a competitive application process annually for CDBG funds to implement their proposed community and economic development projects. TO DOWNLOAD ALL APPLICATION EXHIBITS, CLICK THE BLUE 'DOWNLOAD' BUTTON AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE

Funding for the CDBG Program is provided to the State of Connecticut by HUD under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended.

The 2026 Application Form and required supporting documents MUST be submitted/uploaded by 11:59 PM EST on August 28, 2026. Failure to comply with submission requirements could render an application ineligible. Submission deadline extended to September 11, 2026 (11:59 PM) ****************************************************** **Phased Projects** Submission *90% D&S for Phased Projects due October 31, 2026 Submission *CONNAPP for Phased Projects due October 31, 2026 (CHFA Portal)

To be eligible for CDBG assistance, projects must meet the following minimum requirements: • The lead applicant must be a non-entitlement city, county or incorporated town that possesses the legal capacity to carry out the proposed program. • The lead applicant may contract with a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization to carry out the activities of an eligible project, provided that the organization can document its not-for-profit status with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. • The proposed project must meet a national objective and be an eligible activity under the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Act. In general, the project must either:  benefit an area or clientele whose population is at least 51% low- and moderate-income  aid in prevention or elimination of slums or blight • Applicant must provide certification of compliance with citizen participation criteria. • Applicant must identify how the project is consistent with the goals and strategies of the Consolidated Plan. • Applicant must submit a Fair Housing Action Plan that complies with DOH’s guidelines/policies. • Applicant must be in compliance with all existing DOH agreements and cannot be in default under any CHFA or HUD-administered program. • Applicant must be in compliance with established expenditure rate requirements:   • Applicant must be in compliance with established expenditure rate requirements for the Current Year of 2026: o Grants for the year immediately preceding the current year must be 10% expended by the last business day of April of the current year. A blanket program waiver will be provided for this requirement o Grants awarded two years prior to the current year must be 50% expended by the last business day of April of the current year. A blanket program waiver will be provided for this requirement o Grants awarded three years prior to the current year must be 100% expended, have a Pre-closeout Certificate, and submitted the Final Semi-Annual Report by the last business day in April of the current year. o Grants awarded four years prior, or longer, must have been closed out with a Certificate of Completion by the last business day of April of the current year. DOH may issue a waiver to this requirement on a case-by-case basis. Please note, no more than two open grants are allowed per applicant. • Applicants “terminated for cause” in the last 5 years are ineligible. • Any CDBG Program Income accumulated from a previous CDBG grant must be committed for use according to an approved Program Income Reuse Plan before another CDBG grant will be approved. Additional information regarding Program Income and Program Income Reuse Plans can be found in the CDBG Manual.

The awards will be announced by January 31, 2027, through a press release. Grant Services will contact each community after the announcement to start the next steps in the granting process. Applications that are not funded will receive a rejection letter.

Small Cities Staff Miguel Rivera, Director - 860-270-8012 - Rivera.Miguel@ct.gov Dominic Carew, Project Manager - 860-270-8164 - Dominic.Carew@ct.gov Lilia Kieltyka, Project Manager - 860-270-8023 - Lilia.Kieltyka@ct.gov Jerome Mihm, Project Manager - 860-270-8097 - Jerome.Mihm@ct.gov Lucille Vaughan, Project Manager - 860-270-8195 - Lucille.Vaughan@ct.gov Joseph Vasquez, Housing Specialist I - Joseph.Vazquez@ct.gov Danny Reyes, Housing Specialist I - Danny.Reyes@ct.gov Conor Quinlan, Housing Specialist I - 860-270-8054 - Conor.Quinlan@ct.gov Madison Sztaba, Connecticut Careers Trainee - 860-270-8198 - madison.sztaba@ct.gov Ivette Delgado, Administrative Support - 860-270-8114 - Ivette.Delgado@ct.gov Fair Housing/Civil Rights Staff Michael Santoro, Director - 860-270-8171 - Michael.Santoro@ct.gov Beth Generali, Fair Housing Support - 860-270-8121 - Beth.Generali@ct.gov Architectural/Engineering Staff Paul Jorgensen, Manager - 860-270-8011 - Paul.Jorgensen@ct.gov Simeon Stevens, Architectural & Tech Support - 860-270-8129 - Simeon.Stevens@ct.gov Stephen Dupre, Construction Specialist - 860-270-8109 - Stephen.Dupre@ct.gov Arlind Poro, Construction Specialist - 860-906-8556 - Arlind.Poro@ct.gov Eugene Choi, Building Construction Specialist - Eugene.Choi@ct.gov Mithila Chakraborty, Environmental Analyst - 860-270-8230 - Mithila.Chakraborty@ct.gov