Dane County residents encouraged to weigh how to spend federal funds

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The City of Madison’s Community Development Division in conjunction with Dane County is seeking the public’s help to share how they would like to see federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

According to Madison officials, the feedback received in the survey will help the City and County put together its next 5-year consolidated plan for HUD, outlining how we plan to spend the federal dollars in 2025-2029.

The plan is a requirement in order to get the federal funding, officials noted.

You can find a link to the survey and a breakdown of examples of how HUD funding was spent in the last year by clicking here.

According to officials, in 2023, Madison utilized approximately $10 million in federal funding to support initiatives centered around affordable housing, neighborhood centers, support for new small businesses, job creation, and efforts undertaken by a local service network to reduce homelessness in our community. These federal funds are often paired with City and State funds to maximize their impact.

Madison officials outlined a summary of what they said was accomplished with the 2023 funds.

• Madison used $366,000 of federal funds, along with nearly $1 million in City funds, to support a network of 15 neighborhood centers. These dollars went towards center operations which, together, supported nearly 32,000 unique residents last year.
• Madison invested more than $7.1 million in federal funds and $4.2 million in City funds to construct or rehabilitate more than 830 units of affordable housing.
• Madison invested $1.4 million in federal funds to help more than 150 homeowners make repairs needed to ensure their homes remain safe and healthy places to live.
• Madison combined $1.8 million of federal funds with $140,000 of State funds to provide financial assistance to 44 families that enabled them buy their first homes.
• Madison combined $238,000 of federal funds, $2.1 million of City funds and $740,000 of State funds to support a network of local service providers that helped more than 2,800 individuals who were experiencing homelessness and housing instability.
• Madison invested nearly $365,000 in federal funds to help create or grow more than 1,400 small businesses in Madison.

“There are a number of ways you can share your thoughts and priorities with us as well as keep up to date on the Consolidated Plan process,” Madison officials noted.

• Take a 10 minute survey
• Listen to this recording at https://www.lamovidaradio.com/.
• Email directly at [email protected]; and
• Visit the webpage to stay up-to-date on the process.