CDBG Citizen Participation Plan 2026
PURPOSE AND INTENT
It is the purpose and intent of the Citizen Participation Plan to encourage participation of a wide spectrum of citizens in the development and implementation of Washoe County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application funded by the State of Nevada CDBG Program. Low-income residents, service providers, and other users or beneficiaries of this funding are encouraged to assist in the identification of grant projects and community development needs.
GEOGRAPHIC AREA
Washoe County is eligible to apply to the Nevada State CDBG Program for projects located in the unincorporated portion of the county, those areas that are not in the City of Reno or City of Sparks. The City of Reno and the City of Sparks each receive entitlement CDBG awards and are not eligible areas for a State of Nevada CDBG Program application.
The Nevada CDBG program excludes Reno, Sparks, Carson City, Las Vegas, Henderson, and Clark County, all of which are entitlement communities and receive their own CDBG funds directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
GOALS
The Citizen Participation Goals of Washoe County are:
- To provide citizens with the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the planning process by providing adequate and timely information about the range of activities that may be undertaken by Washoe County through the Nevada CDBG program.
- To solicit the involvement of low- and moderate- income residents most likely to be affected by the CDBG program and engage in reasonable efforts to solicit the involvement of citizens.
- To provide citizens with an opportunity to express needs and preferences about proposed activities and provide citizens with the opportunity to assess and submit comments on all aspects of proposed CDBG projects.
- To provide technical assistance to groups that are representative of low- and moderate-income people requesting assistance in developing proposals.
- To provide a timely written answer to written complaints and grievances.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PLANNING AND ALLOCATION PROCESSES
Each year Washoe County conducts three CDBG public meetings during the CDBG application process. The public is invited to participate by providing ideas, comments and suggestions concerning potential projects. All three public meetings will utilize the current Washoe County methods for electronic and in person public comment. The public meetings will be held at the Washoe County Complex, 1001 E. Ninth Street, Reno Nevada. Specific room details will be noted in the meeting notice postings.
Notice of the CDBG public meetings are to be posted in a minimum of three prominent places and disseminated to local non-profit agencies serving low- and moderate-income individuals. Additionally, notice of the meeting is provided to governmental entities that serve the eligible geographic areas
CDBG Program Coordinator and Citizen Participation Coordinator
Washoe County’s CDBG program is coordinated by the County Grants Administrator or their designee in the County Manager’s Office, 1001 E. Ninth Street, Reno, Nevada. They will also act as the County’s Citizen Participation Coordinator and are responsible for carrying out the activities defined in this plan.
Public Meetings
As described below there will be at least three public meetings held at two different stages of the program process to obtain citizens’ views and to respond to proposals. Together, the meetings will address community development needs, development of proposed activities, and review of program performance. Public Meetings shall be at locations which are ADA accessible and convenient to a large segment of the community’s low-income population.
In response to the state’s Citizen Participation Plan guidelines, the scheduled public meeting shall be posted with at least 14 days’ notice and will be posted in a minimum of three prominent places. The notice shall include the date, time, place and purpose of the public hearing as well as where and how interested persons can receive more information. The County will include the Nevada Relay number at the end of the public hearing notice. When the County anticipates or are informed with adequate notice that a significant number of non-English speaking or hearing-impaired persons will attend the meeting, they shall take reasonable steps to arrange to have an interpreter at the meeting.
Washoe County has selected to post public hearing notices at the Washoe County Administration Building, the 8 main Washoe County Library locations, the Washoe County Courthouse and Sparks Municipal Court. A notice of the public meeting shall be mailed to any person who requests such notice either verbally or in writing.
Meeting #1 Informational
These meetings are open public meetings where residents are provided with information on the range of activities that may be undertaken by Washoe County through the Nevada CDBG program, the kinds of activities previously funded in the community, and the level of funding available to carry out these activities. Additionally, information is provided on past grant performance, the status of any existing CDBG grants, and the CDBG grant application and selection process.
During this meeting instructions are given to submit project suggestions to Washoe County that will be discussed and encourage public participation for feedback at Meeting #2 Proposal Review.
Meeting #2 Proposal Review
These meetings are open public meetings in which the list of proposed projects will be evaluated for the minimum requirements per CDBG guidelines, prioritized and selected for submission to Nevada CDBG for Eligibility Determination by the stated deadline.
All eligible proposed projects will be invited to move forward to application development.
Meeting #3 Project Recommendation
The third public hearing shall be conducted in conjunction with a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) following the Advisory Committee’s review and recommendation of project rankings. The purpose of this hearing is to provide the public with an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed projects prior to final selection and authorization for application submission.
This hearing is intended to ensure maximum citizen participation in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) planning and application process by providing transparency regarding project evaluation, prioritization, and selection. Public comments received during the hearing will be considered by the Board of County Commissioners before final action is taken on the projects to be submitted for consideration.
Applications:
Each year Washoe County will identify one or more projects to be submitted to the State of Nevada CDBG Program for competitive review. The maximum number of applications submitted to the State CDBG Program, by each eligible jurisdiction, is determined by the Nevada CDBG Program at the Annual Application Workshop in April or May.
The selection process to determine the County’s application(s) begins with notice of the CDBG public meeting, and technical assistance to interested parties.
This coordination includes technical assistance to the community to become knowledgeable about the CDBG program and contribute ideas to address community needs. Proposals are submitted to the County, and applications are evaluated by the Washoe County CDBG Advisory Committee.
Washoe County CDBG Advisory Committee
The Washoe County CDBG Advisory Committee is comprised of the Director of the Finance Department or designee, the Director of Community Services Department or designee, and a Community Representative, identified by the County Manager or designee. The members evaluate and score each application on the following criteria: Need for the Project; Project Description/Design; Project Benefit; and Project Readiness.
The Washoe County CDBG Advisory Committee reviews potential projects for recommendation, creates the priority ranking of each, and is submitted to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) (the 3rd public meeting) for consideration and approval to be submitted as part of the county’s CDBG application.
Following the recommendation of the Washoe County CDBG Advisory Committee, the third public notice is published in the Reno Gazette Journal: a) describing the projects that are being considered potential CDBG funding requests, (b) the amount of funds that will be requested for each project and (c) the availability of a description of past performance, and (d) where the applications and past performance descriptions can be reviewed.
A thirty (30) day comment period will be provided prior to the recommended projects being considered by the Board of County Commissioners.
Not less than 14 days after the date on which the third Public Notice is published—beginning on the day following its posting, the third public meeting will be held in conjunction with a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners. At this meeting, the County Commission will review the recommendations of the Washoe County CDBG Advisory Committee, address all comments received, recommend any changes to be made to the application(s), and finalize the application(s) to be submitted and the priority ranking of the applications
In mid-February (State timeline) the project applications approved by the Board of County Commissioners are submitted to the State CDBG Program for review, evaluation and allocation consideration. This is a competitive process. Washoe County’s project will compete with projects from the other 15 eligible rural counties and 11 eligible rural cities in Nevada.
State CDBG Allocation Process:
CDBG project applications are submitted to the State of Nevada CDBG Program. Applications are reviewed by staff for eligibility, completeness and quality. Applications are then passed on to the State CDBG Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee holds one public hearing each year in March/April(depending on when Congress passes a budget) to review, evaluate and rank grant proposals. The State CDBG Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the GOED Executive Director once approved, CDBG staff send recommendations to the Governor for final review and approval. Grant agreements with Governor’s final award letter are sent in June/July.
ACCESS TO RECORDS
Copies of programmatic information including project applications, records on past use of CDBG funds, and performance reports can be obtained by contacting the County Grants Administrator.
COMMENTS, OBJECTIONS, COMPLAINTS
Comments, objections or complaints from citizens related to any aspect of the CDBG program should be filed in writing with the following:
County Grants Administrator
Washoe County
1001 E. Ninth St.
Reno, NV 89502
Additionally, comments may be provided verbally at one of the public meetings.
Persons filing complaints shall be specific, noting the nature of the complaint and requested resolution of the problem. All complaints which are signed and which provide a return address, will be responded to in writing within 15 working days, when practical. When the resolution proposed is not accepted, an explanation for not accepting the proposed resolution will be provided.
Approved by Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development CDBG Program August 2026