Aurora City Council approves millions of dollars in funding for community organizations
The roughly $2.5 million in funding is being distributed to community service organizations for a variety of different uses, including housing projects, neighborhood revitalization, mental health, education and more. The funding mostly comes from the federal government, though some also comes from the city's tax on gaming.
The 2025–2029 Consolidated Plan, as well as a large portion of the funding, was approved as a part of the meeting's consent agenda, which is typically used for routine or non-controversial items that are all approved with one vote and without discussion instead of needing to vote on and talk about each individual item.
However, funding through the Quality of Life Grants program, which will provide around $910,000 for projects ranging from meeting people's basic needs to supporting mental health, was discussed and voted on separately.
Although it was still approved with a unanimous vote — with Ald. Edward Bugg, 9th Ward, recusing himself from both the discussion and vote — some aldermen took issue with what they said was falling funding through the program for the Aurora Regional Fire Museum and the Aurora Historical Society.
The two organizations requested a total of $145,000 in funding, but city staff only recommended $70,000, according to a presentation given by Aurora Community Services Director Chris Ragona at the Feb. 25 meeting of the Aurora City Council's Public Health, Safety and Transportation Committee.
Ald. Daniel Barreiro, 1st Ward, who retired from the city in 2021 as its chief community services officer, said the two groups used to be considered for funding separately, but now they are competing with other community organizations for funding through the Quality of Life Grants. For the next grant cycle, he would like staff to reconsider how the two organizations' requests for funding are treated, he said.
Ald. Michael Saville, 6th Ward, agreed with Barreiro, saying that the Aurora Regional Fire Museum and the Aurora Historical Society have been an 'important piece of the puzzle for economic revitalization in our downtown.'
Previously, the two organizations used to each receive $150,000, which then fell to $75,000, last year was cut to $50,000 and this year is reduced again to $35,000, Barreiro said.
While the city has been a good partner to these institutions, museums have limited opportunities for funding and are not able to scale back services in the way other Quality of Life Grant recipients may be able to, according to Barreiro. Plus, he said the two groups are already on a 'shoestring budget' and are having a hard time.
Mayor Richard Irvin said he agreed with both Barreiro and Saville, but that the reason funding has been falling is because the city's Hollywood Casino has been producing less and less tax dollars.
The Hollywood Casino-Aurora used to produce around $15 million a year in gaming tax dollars for the city, dollars that go both toward the Quality of Life Grants program and alderman ward funds, Irvin said.
Now, those tax dollars have dropped to around $5 million a year, but projections show that, with the casino's currently-under-construction future location near Interstate 88 and the Chicago Premium Outlets mall, the casino will once again produce around $15 million a year in gaming tax dollars for the city, he said.
Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, said he agreed with everyone but pointed out that the city just asked for more property tax dollars from its residents in December.
In total, out of the 83 project applications sent to the city, which combined represented around $9.6 million in requests, the Aurora City Council approved 63 projects at a cost of around $2.5 million from a variety of funding sources.
The city is expected to receive around $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant in 2025, according to Ragona's presentation at the Feb. 25 committee meeting. Of the 14 projects that would fit under this funding type, a total requested amount of nearly $2.3 million, 10 were selected to be funded, the presentation showed.
Organizations chosen for Community Development Block Grant funding included Hesed House, The Neighbor Project, CASA Kane County and Rebuilding Together Aurora, among others, a funding summary sheet included with Tuesday's City Council meeting agenda showed.
HOPE Fair Housing and Loaves & Fishes Community Services were also approved for a total of $150,000 in grants, with those funds coming to the city through the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program – American Rescue Plan, according to a staff report included with the meeting's agenda.
The 2025–2029 Consolidated Plan, which was approved alongside the grants and will guide the city's spending of federal funds on housing and community development for the next five years, looks to preserve and expand affordable housing in the city; make sure the city's existing housing stock is safe, healthy and accessible; give assistance to public services and improve access to amenities, officials said.
The plan's goals were intentionally left broad so that they could be flexible, according to past reporting.
Last December, Aurora asked for the community's input to help create the plan, which the city is required to create so that it can receive an estimated $8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over the life of the plan.
In addition to community input, the plan was also created using 'significant research and analysis' along with input from focus groups ranging in topic from housing affordability to senior assistance that were made up of representatives from 65 organizations.
A number of other plans and similar documents are set to work with the proposed 2025–2029 Consolidated Plan, including the 2025–2030 Affordable Housing Strategy, which was presented to Aurora City Council last year and is included in the Consolidated Plan.
City staff are currently working to design a homelessness strategy, which is expected to also work with the 2025–2029 Consolidated Plan but is expected to be unveiled later this year, Ragona previously said.
The city has also received around $3.5 million through a state grant intended to expand shelters, Ragona's presentation on Feb. 25 showed. Those funds will be used to partner with Hesed House, a homeless shelter, and Mutual Ground, a domestic violence shelter, on expanding and modernizing their shelters, he said at the time.
Ragona recently told The Beacon-News that those projects are still going through the approval process, and a formal approval by the Aurora City Council is expected later this year.
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Aurora, Illinois, considers doubling hotel tax
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