Federal funds: principles or practicality?

An interesting conundrum confronts Yorba Linda's five elected City Council members – all self-identified as conservative Republicans – whenever they make decisions involving acceptance of Federal funds for local needs and priorities.

Should they take a principled stand that reflects their political orientation or act in a more practical manner and take the taxpayer cash before it's allocated to another community?

That's a judgment council makes each year regarding the 50-year-old Community Development Block Grant program run by the federal Housing and Urban Development Department for 1,209 state and local governments.

The program, proposed by President Richard Nixon in 1971 and initiated under President Gerald Ford in 1974 with bipartisan Congressional support, will return $197,653 in tax revenue to Yorba Linda for the 2014-15 fiscal year after acceptance of the city's “action plan.”

The plan, approved on a 4-1 council vote, is due Aug. 15. The four “yes” votes from John Anderson, Gene Hernandez, Tom Lindsey and Mark Schwing came with individual reservations indicating some were “philosophically opposed” to the program.

But practicality won, as council favored getting back some tax money residents send to Washington. Craig Young, who cast a first-ever council vote opposing participation last year, again demurred, citing “over-regulation” and “unintended consequences.”

This year's allotment, down 7.5 percent from last year's $212,515 and 49 percent from 2010-11's $294,551, will be spent on neighborhood improvement, senior nutrition, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and administration.

The neighborhood improvement total of $75,000 will provide up to 12 grants to qualified low- and moderate-income homeowners for “general property improvements and repairs to meet local codes, standards and ordinances,” according to a report from staffer Pam Stoker.

A maximum 15 percent allowed for public services for low- and moderate-income residents will be spent on a hot-lunch program for about 500 seniors at the Community Center, noted Stoker, the city's economic development manager.

The $29,648 is for operational costs in serving meals provided by the non-profit SeniorServ agency with other funding. Lunch starts 11:15 a.m. Wednesdays and 11:30 a.m. other weekdays, with a suggested $3 donation for 60 and older and $5 fee for under 60.

The $53,475 for disability compliance will be spent on providing accessibility at another city facility, a follow-up to three others made compliant under previous grants. And a 20 percent maximum, $39,530, will be spent on administration and planning.

In noting the “precipitous decline” in annual grants, the 31-page action plan stated: “When combined with the loss of the Redevelopment Agency and uncertain future of the Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Fund, the city's financial ability to fund community development activities and affordable housing projects has been undermined.”