And for the first time, Gov. Mike Leavitt has officially recognized the importance of those funds to the state s communities. The governor has proclaimed the week of Apr. 16-22 Utah Community Development Week. Since 1982 in Utah, the Community Development Block Grant program has had a significant impact on our local economies through job creation and retention, physical redevelopment, and improved local tax bases, according to the governor. Community Development Block Grants are disbursed to the Utah Division of Community Development by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The division s CDBG program then distributes the money to each of the state s seven regional Associations of Governments.
Communities apply through their region s AOGs for grants for qualified projects.
The Community Development Block Grant Program is a model of success in federal aid programs and we believe Utah, which ranks number one in the nation as of March 1 in its timely expenditure of funds, is a model of success within the CDBG program, said Richard Walker, manager of the Utah CDBG program.