ANDERSON COUNTY -- The Anderson County/City Home Consortium will sponsor a public meeting to inform area residents about $1 million in grants funds that is available for housing rehabilitation. This round of grants can only be used to bring owner-occupied structures up to code within the unincorporated areas of Anderson County or within the City limits of Belton. Owners must also meet low-to-moderate income guidelines.

The public is invited to attend an information meeting, set for June 12 at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center of Anderson. Applications will be available via the County’s Web site (www.andersoncountysc.org), Anderson County Historic Courthouse, Belton City Hall, all branches of the Anderson County Library System, or the Appalachian Council of Governments Web site (www.scacog.org).

The first round of applications will be accepted from June 16 through July 31, 2008 by the Appalachian Council of Governments, ATTN: David Acker, PO Box 6668, Greenville, SC 29606. You can also contact David Acker at (864) 242-9733 for application and general information about the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program.

The Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds are non-competitive federal dollars given to local housing consortiums by HUD (the Housing and Urban Development). The local housing consortium began in the fall of 2007, and consists of three partners: Anderson County, City of Belton and City of Anderson. HOME funds require a 20 percent local match, which has been met by the consortium partners.

The City of Anderson will announce a separate application process for their portion of the funding.