County Planning & Development Project Manager Carmen Johnson cautioned that declining population in Kittanning could lead to losing federal funding of projects in the future.
Kittanning Borough Council was cautioned last night that its status as an entitlement community is in danger of being eliminated.
An entitlement community receives regular annual funding through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). In order to be an entitlement community, the borough must maintain more than 4,000 residents.
A recent American Community Survey showed the borough’s population is declining and estimated the current total population at 3,825.
If Kittanning loses its entitlement status, it would have to file applications that would compete with other municipalities in the county for funding rather than receive guaranteed funding each year.
Armstrong County Planning and Development Program Manager Carmen Johnson told council members that they have until the 2020 census to get a correct count of borough residents that will hopefully show more than 4,000 people.
“It is very important that census forms, that have started to be mailed out, be completed and returned by borough residents,” Johnson said.
Johnson also suggested the Borough obtain information from the Census Bureau and compare it to 9-1-1 records to make sure no properties have been unidentified in the sampling.
The survey also showed that Kittanning now has a population that has 54.25% that is low to moderate income. This will enable the borough to apply for funding that can be used borough-wide rather than only blocks whose residents are low income.
“If you do something in downtown area, then it qualifies for whole borough. It benefits the borough.” Johnson said.
CDBG funding can be used for housing rehabilitation, public services, community facilities, infrastructure improvement, development and planning.
Johnson will hold a public hearing on how to use 2019 CDBG funds on Monday, May 6, at 6:30 PM, prior to the regular May council meeting in Council Chambers. Residents are welcome to attend and offer input to projects they would like to see implemented.