April 13, 2011

RE: Current Federal Fiscal Year CDBG and Budget Deal Details

Dear Mayor:

Early this morning, the House of Representatives’ leadership released H.R. 1473, the compromise agreement that averted a government shutdown last Friday.  The bill includes funding for CDBG at $3.34 billion.  The impact of these cuts will be felt in municipalities all around our State – and all around the Nation. However, given that original House bill (H.R. 1) had sought to cut CDBG to $1.5 billion, the only ‘good news’ is that things could have been worse.  Votes on H.R. 1473 will take place later this week. 
  
On behalf of Mayors Chris Bollwage of Elizabeth and Art Ondish of Mount Arlington, co-chairs of our CDBG Protection Task Force, we want to thank all of you who contacted your federal legislators on this vital issue. And on the behalf of all of you, we want to thank Mayors Bollwage and Ondish for their tenacious leadership.

And, as I’m sure you are aware, this compromise deals with federal spending in the CURRENT Fiscal Year. The harder work and the bigger fights – the Federal FY 2012 budget and the debt ceiling – are just around the corner. They are slated to begin later this week. With those fights on the horizon, we will ask Mayors Bollwage and Ondish to continue to lead New Jersey’s fight for increased CDBG funding.

The staff at the National League of Cities has provided us with a chart, which details funding levels for CDBG and several other programs vital to New Jersey municipalities. You can access that chart on our website at http://www.njslom.org/documents/041211-FY2011-Fed-FundingChart-HR1473.pdf .

We will do our best to keep you informed of all pertinent developments from the banks of the Potomac to the big bend in the Delaware.

If you have any questions, contact Jon Moran at 609-695-3481, ext. 121 or jmoran@njslom.com.
 
Very truly yours,

 

William G. Dressel, Jr.
Executive Director