For the past two years, housing rehabilitation projects in Columbia have been decreasing.
Accordingly, the Department of Housing and Urban Development decided to recapture almost $50,000 in grant funding from the city. Even with new funding being cut, the city still has money from previous years for housing rehabilitation projects. Randy Cole, community development coordinator for the City of Columbia, said the HUD cut in funding will lead to fewer projects reaching completion.
“We’ll be able to do 1, 1 ½ less homes which is not a good thing. We would like to maximize as many homes as possible especially in a time where grant funds are being cut," Cole said.
Cole says the cut will have a negative impact, considering each project requires roughly about $35,000 to complete. However, Cole said the city is taking action to make sure there are not any cuts next year.