Region XII Council of Governments received approval to participate in the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program last May. Previously, communities would apply for the program, but in this round, they did it at the county level in order to open it up to more applicants. The original program was for five homes that included a new provision providing 50 percent down-payment assistance as required by the lender with a total of $211,500 available for those five home buyers. This also includes up to $3,500 for closing costs as well as expenses related to lead-based paint abatement, tech fees and property inspections. This past week, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors got some good news on how this initiative is proceeding. Auditor, Kourtney Irlbeck, says they were contacted about the success and a proposed change.
Irlbeck adds there will be no change to the administrative budget and no request of additional money from the county. Supervisor, Rich Ruggles, says the county was only asked to invest in the advertising fees at the time the program launched.
Chair, Gene Meiners, says this is good news for all involved but he would like to see it distributed more throughout the county.
Meiners adds the success is even more impressive because of the shortage of houses in the region for sale. The board unanimously approved increasing the number of participants in the CDBG program by four. More information and applications are available through the contact points included below.
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For more information or an application, contact Region XII Housing Program Coordinator, Karla Janning:
Phone: 792-9914
Email: kjanning@region12cog.org.
