You asked if the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) requires towns to match 10% of each grant it awards to them and, if so, you wanted to know its authority for doing so.

DECD requires towns to match the grants it awards under three programs, but the amount of the match varies by program. Two of these are state-funded and their governing statues require a match. The other program is federally funded, and DECD imposes the match as a matter of policy.

MANUFACTURING ASSISTANCE ACT PROGRAM (MAA)

MAA grants fund large-scale physical development projects, and towns must match them because the law allows DECD to fund only a portion of a project's cost. The portion depends on whether the town is one of 17 state-designated targeted investment communities (TIC). DECD can fund up to 90% of a project's costs in these towns and up to 50% of those in the other towns. In both cases, towns must match the difference (CGS § 32-223 (c)).

DECD can cover a larger share of the costs when two or more towns propose a project. It can cover up to 75% of the cost for a project proposed by two or more non TICs. If a TIC and a non-TIC collaborate on a project, DECD can cover up to 90% of the TIC's share and up to 75% on the non-TIC's share.

MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PLANNING GRANTS

These DECD grants cover up to 50% of the cost of planning large-scale, multipurpose development projects. Towns can match the grant with in-kind contributions, including the time municipal officials spend working on the project (CGS § 8-190).

SMALL CITIES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM

DECD administers this federally funded program, which provides grants for improving infrastructure, rehabilitating homes, making business loans, constructing public facilities, and implementing other community development projects in towns with fewer than 50,000 people. Towns must annually apply to DECD for the grants, which it awards on a competitive basis.

DECD requires towns with more than 3,000 people to match 10% of the grants used to develop only public facilities, but it may waive this requirement upon request, DECD's legislative liaison, Joe Oros, stated. The requirement does not apply to grants used to fund other eligible activities.

DECD imposes the matching requirement as a matter of policy, not law. It does so because the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the program, evaluates state agencies on the extent to which grants to leverage money from other sources. DECD also requires a match as a way to spread the federal dollars among more towns, a practice adopted by at least nine other states, Oros stated.

JR: ro