Income survey may bring grant funding

The City of Hill City is conducting a household income survey starting around Jan. 31 to potentially receive funding from the state’s Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBGP). 

“In order to qualify for it, your average household incomes have to be below a certain threshold depending on how many people are within your family unit,” said city administrator Brett McMacken. 

Typically financial records from census data are used to determine whether or not towns qualify. 

“According to that number, we don’t qualify, but we have the ability to do our own study and survey of our own residents,” said McMacken.

These numbers may prove more accurate than the current census data. 

The topic of doing a survey was brought up in years prior, but the Black Hills Council of Local Governments (BHCLG) said not to waste the time and effort. However, the City of Hill City is now being advised to try. 

“With the need for different projects like water reservoirs, sewer lines and updates to the wastewater treatment plant, we want to make sure definitively if we will or we won’t qualify for money out of this program,” said McMacken. 

The city has been working with BHCLG to put together a standardized survey program. Based on Hill City’s population, the city needs to complete 60 surveys. Using the city’s database, BHCLG randomly selected the addresses to begin surveying.

Since the return rate is often poor for surveys, more than 60 addresses were selected. However, the city has to work through the process one household at a time before moving down the list to preserve the randomization of the survey. 

It will arrive in the mail in an envelope from the City of Hill City and be addressed to the current resident to preserve name confidentiality. A cover letter will be included along with the survey. Both are in English and Spanish. 

The survey asks how many people in your family unit live in your household. Then, there is a dollar amount associated with each number, and you can mark whether your income is above or below that number. No specific financial information is required. 

It also asks a few questions about residency, ethnicity, whether the head of the household is single or married, if anyone is 62 or older in the household, if anyone is disabled in the household and the date the survey is completed. All told, it takes about five minutes to complete. 

Once filled out the survey can be mailed back to the city using the envelope included, which will be pre-addressed and have pre-paid postage. All return envelopes will be kept sealed until BHCLG tallies the data. There is also a tracking code included so the city knows which households returned a survey.

If a survey is not returned via mail, a city staff member or Economic Development Corporation (EDC) member will call the households. They can either take down the information over the phone or make a note if the household does not want to participate. If no one answers, a brief message will be left with a call back number. 

Finally, if there is no response via mail or phone, city staff or EDC members will make a site visit to the property and will have paper copies of the survey to fill out. If no response is received, the household will be crossed off the list and they will move on to the next household. 

Flyers with frequently asked questions and more information will be posted on the city website as well as at city hall, the post office, Hill City Public Library, Hill City Center and Krull’s Market. Recipients can also call city hall with any questions at 605-574-2300. 

Because of the randomization requirements, a lot of households will not receive a survey. However, McMacken said, “If we want to have access to this opportunity, we need everybody to participate.”

The goal is to collect 60 completed surveys by mid-March, at which point the city will end the survey process and turn the information over to the BHCLG. After that, BHCLG will run the tabulation and determine whether or not Hill City qualifies before submitting it to an official for concurrence. 

This will determine whether or not Hill City can qualify for the CDBGP. The city would still need to apply for grant funding. These grants are free money grants with no loans, bonded amounts or matching requirements so the funds could be used for a wide variety of municipal infrastructure. This could include things like wastewater facility upgrades, water reservoir upgrades, street repairs and recreational services. 

“We don’t have, currently, a specific project in mind for this. We just really want to put our foot in the door first,” said McMacken. “It’s nice to know whether we qualify.”