COVID-19 Outreach Funding

On March 27, 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Public Law 116-136, to directly address the impacts of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.  As part of the CARES Act, Congress appropriated $5 billion in Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds.  Of this amount, the U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has immediately allocated $2 billion, based on the fiscal year 2020 CDBG formula.  The remaining $3 billion has yet to be dispersed by the HUD; however, the additional funding will be allocated on need, using best available data, in the following tranches, or portions:

• $1 billion will be allocated States and insular areas within 45 days of enactment of the CARES Act
• $2 billion will be distributed to states and local governments at the discretion of the HUD Secretary

The City of Victorville has been allocated $810,528 in the first allocation of CDBG-CV funds.  These funds are supplemental to the annual allocations of CDBG funds the City receives and shall specifically be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.  On May 19, 2020, the Victorville City Council amended the 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan and committed the subject $810,528 in CDBG-CV funding to Community Outreach, Business Outreach, and Homeless Disaster Response programs that are available to various non-profit, for-profit, and City entities and are briefly described as follows:

Community Outreach Program - A reimbursable grant of up to $10,000 for eligible non-profit organizations and City entities.  Grants are required to provide direct, front-line service programs to respond to community need arising from COVID-19.  

Small Business Assistance Grant - Grants up to $15,000 to businesses within Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Target Areas designed to assist business avoid job loss, enable job retention, provide technical assistance, etc.

Homeless Disaster Response - A grant to the reimburse costs incurred by the City to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus in the homeless community.

In order to quickly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and enable the expedited use of CDBG-CV funding, the City of Victorville utilized processing waivers provided by HUD that allowed for a reduced public comment and citizen participation process.  The use of these waivers allowed for amendments to the following governing documents and allowed the City of Victorville to quickly establish the outreach programs noted.

Amended Citizen Participation Plan

Amended Consolidated Plan

Amended 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan

If you need additional information, please contact the Development Department at (760) 955-5135 or by email at planning@victorvilleca.gov.