Department seeks input from low, moderate-income citizens

Fill in the blank: “I didn’t know you did _____.”

For more than 20 years, the City of Murfreesboro, through its Community Development Department, has been filling in that blank for the low- and moderate-income residents of Murfreesboro. After 20 plus years of doing, we still find ourselves responding to that blank.

We want you to know what we do in Community Development if only because it’s your money and you have a right to know we’re spending it wisely for the greater good of our community. We hope you will take to time to watch a video tour that has begun airing this week on City Channel 3. We invite your comments.

Our funding comes to us directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the form of an annual Community Development Block Grant and our mandate is to use our money to provide safe, decent housing, provide a suitable living environment and expand economic opportunities. That’s a fancy way of saying, “We do housing - and more.” Not just any housing, though.

We can help an income-eligible family buy its first home. We can help an income-eligible homeowner with major repairs. In an extreme case, when rehabilitation is not feasible, we can even knock a house down and replace it.

We recently tore down a house which had been part of Murfreesboro’s housing stock since 1905. The house was barely habitable. An inspection noted over 25 conditions considered substandard. Had there been building codes when the house was built, it wouldn’t have passed. If the old, substandard house held up for over 100 years, how long will the new one be a valuable part of Murfreesboro’s housing stock?

You see, while we’re helping individuals, we’re also making an investment on your behalf in the future of this city. Every new homeowner, every rehabbed house is adding value to this community’s quality of life.

And we don’t just do houses. The regulations allow us to devote up to 15 percent of our funding for public service grants. In the coming fiscal year, Primary Care and Hope Clinic will be able to operate its satellite clinic at Franklin Heights two days a week instead of one because of CDBG money. The Families That Read Succeed family literacy program that was successfully piloted this year in part with CDBG money will be able to reach even more families because of your CDBG investment in the community. Altogether nine nonprofits will be offering new, innovative projects using the $97,000 or so we are allowed to invest. We had to decline funding for 11 other very worthy projects simply because we didn’t have enough money to go around.

That brings us to the same place most discussions of programs designed to meet needs come to – money. Murfreesboro is set to receive $623,444 next fiscal year. Six years ago that number was more than $100,000 higher. On Thursday the Mayor and Council passed a resolution urging our Congressional delegation to resist further cuts to this valuable program as the budget for FY 2009 is prepared. I urge you to contact Rep. Bart Gordon and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker to add your support to this position.

John Callow has been Community Development Director for the City of Murfreesboro since 2006. He may be reached at jcallow@murfreesborotn.com or by calling 615-890-4660.