When the Scottsdale Human Services Advisory Commission sought to hear public feedback about how to spend $1.2 million in federal funding, the group was met with silence.

Scottsdale receives over $1 million in Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and how those funds are spent was discussed at regular meetings of the Human Services Advisory Commission, which met on Feb. 9. However, when commission members opened up the meeting for public comment about the funding, no members of the public were present to offer their thoughts, something Community Development Supervisor Mary Witkofski said she found disappointing.

“I really wish people would [comment]. It’s an opportunity for people to say, ‘this is a project I would like to see,’ for us to consider,” said Witkofski when asked about the lack of public testimony. “I’m open to ideas and suggestions so that we can improve the community.”

The city of Scottsdale receives the Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The estimated allocation of funds for the 2023-24 fiscal year is $1,190,264. For many years the CDBG has benefited low- and moderate-income Scottsdale families through top-priority projects such as emergency housing assistance, crisis case management, and homeless supportive services and shelters.

“Every ZIP code in Maricopa County, including those that are in the city of Scottsdale, has individuals that are living in poverty or below a certain income level, as established by the national guidelines. So we do have vulnerable populations everywhere, including here,” said Mary Jung, member of the Human Services Advisory Commission. “As people get older they may have limited income. We have a diverse population, so along with that comes individuals of all income levels.”

Public testimony will come in the form of proposals for non-profit funding award allocations. These are considered part of the “Public Services” category of the CDBG Annual Action Plan, which generally receives about 15% of the funds. Proposal videos for non-profit allocations will be presented in an upcoming meeting on Feb. 23. These proposals were submitted last fall.

“In two weeks we’ll be back to hear from agencies seeking CDBG funds, endowment funds and a couple of other funding sources that we have,” said Neal Shearer, chairman of the Human Services Advisory Commission. Shearer added that lack of funding is an issue every year. “We are lucky if we have funding reflecting a third of the proposals being requested. We need more funding from every source.”

The amount of CDBG funding that the city receives annually does not fluctuate much.

“Money is, on average, pretty steady in terms of how much we get,” said Witkofski. “The more you spend, the more you get.”

While there is no shortage of agencies that aim to help low- and moderate-income Scottsdale citizens, scarcity of funds prevents them from doing so.

Former approved non-profits include groups such as Family Promise, an emergency shelter program; Phoenix Rescue Mission, outreach and navigation for individuals experiencing homelessness; and mentoring program, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Arizona.

There will be an open 30-day public comment period beginning in late March before the CDBG Annual Action Plan is finalized. A draft of the plan will be posted to https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/ around that time.

Witkofski added, “People are welcome either to attend the meeting, email me or call me with suggestions and ideas.”

Editor’s Note: Peter Cirocco is a student reporter at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.