Butler will stop asking for federal Community Development Block Grant funding for code enforcement because increased paperwork is making the requests an “administrative nightmare.”

The state Department of Community and Economic Development, which administers the CDBG program for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has requested so much detailed information about code enforcement efforts during its ongoing review of the city's 2018 CDBG application that the city has decided not to request funding for it in 2019.

CDBG applications are prepared by the Butler Redevelopment Authority and approved by City Council.

At Thursday's authority meeting, Veronica Walker, acting executive director, told the board that the information being requested by the DCED is creating an “administrative nightmare” for the city.

City officials agreed not to request the $50,000 allocation it usually receives for code enforcement in this year's application, she said.

“This will be the last year that has code enforcement in the (CDBG) budget,” Walker said.

The DCED is asking the city to identify the Census tracks where enforcement work is conducted, the number of violations found, the number of court hearings code officials attend and monthly, quarterly and annual reports on citations that were issued, she said.

CDBG rules require the grant money to be spent in Census tracks where the income of residents meets HUD guidelines.

Compiling that information leaves code enforcement officers with less time to work in the field, Walker said.

City officials have to gather the information and give it to Walker, and she submits it to the DCED, she said.

The 2019 CDBG application will seek $50,000 more for street reconstruction and no money for code enforcement, Walker said.

After the meeting, Mayor Ben Smith said the $50,000 covered the salary and benefits of the code enforcement officer.

The city will pay those costs from the budget and there will be no reduction in code enforcement efforts because of the change.

“No more or less money is being spent, it's just which pocket it comes out of,” Smith said. “Everything is exactly the way is was. It's just less paperwork. Literally nothing will change.”

The 2018 CDBG application seeks $296,249, allocating $188,017 for street reconstruction and construction of new curb ramps for people with disabilities, $50,000 for the code enforcement officer's salary and benefits, $53,324 for authority salaries, auditing, planning and legal services and $4,908 for the final payment on the fire department's rescue/pumper truck.