Annual funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development comes to Lexington County through the state in the form of Community Development Block Grants, or CDBGs, and information on what exactly it is spent on is available to the public.

These grants are to be used to improve neighborhoods and make them more livable for residents in low- to moderate-income areas.

Youth employment opportunities for low- to moderate-income areas and demolition of dilapidated structures are among some of the most common activities these grants are used for.

“CDBG funds can be used to build community facilities, roads, parks; to repair or rehabilitate housing; to provide new or increased public services to County residents; or to fund initiatives that generate new jobs,” according to the Lexington County website.

The federal government defines what types of projects CDBGs can be used for, not the municipalities that receive them.

“Under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which governs the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), only units of general local government —towns, cities and counties—are eligible for CDBG funds,” according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce website. “Some local governments receive their own annual allocation of CDBG funds directly from HUD (the US Department of Housing and Urban Development). These ‘entitlement’ cities and counties are not eligible to apply for the State CDBG Program.”

In 2018, according to the state commerce department, unincorporated areas of Lexington County received entitlement funding and were therefore not eligible to apply for state CDBG funds. Parts of Charleston and Greenville, unincorporated parts of Horry, Richland and Spartanburg counties, the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, Hilton Head Island, Rock Hill, Spartanburg, Summerville and Sumter all held that entitlement status, too.

Public documents list the following 2024-25 Lexington County CDBG projects funded from that automatic $1.8 million in state CDBG funds:

1. $399,852 for Batesburg-Leesville’s valve enhancement project
2. $273,642 for Cayce’s sewer line rehabilitation
3. $298,201 for Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission’s Environmental Education Center deck renovation
4. $89,288 for Mission Lexington’s walk-in refrigerator and freezer
5. $70,000 for Mission Lexington’s refrigerator truck
6. $90,000 for Midlands Housing Alliance Transitions homeless shelter
7. $52,792 for Boys and Girls Club scholarships to attend Be Great Academy
8. $60,000 for Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission’s Afternoon Adventures
9. $25,000 for Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission’s athletic scholarships
10. $20,000 for Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission’s Palmetto Enrichment Program
11. $20,000 for Our Place of Hope’s Hope for the Mentally Ill
12. $25,000 for Palmetto Place Children & Youth Services Unaccompanied Youth Program
13. $41,500 for Communities In School of South Carolina for providing and brokering Public Service for Low-Income children in a school setting
14. $30,000 for Sistercare’s 24/7 Crisis Line Program
15. $10,000 for Minor Home Program

“Lexington County citizens are provided with opportunities at least twice a year to comment and make suggestions on CDBG-funded projects,” according to the county’s website. “The comments and suggestions received are reviewed and considered in making funding recommendations. County Council approves the CDBG budget and projects around May of each year.”