Funding for individuals/households
Metro HRA rental assistance
Housing choice vouchers assist households with low incomes to find affordable rental housing in the private market. Metro HRA administers 6,500 housing vouchers throughout Anoka, Carver, and most of suburban Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
Grants and funding for organizations and municipalities
Livable Communities grant programs
Cities and townships that participate in the Livable Communities Act program are eligible for funding to clean up polluted sites for redevelopment, create affordable housing, and link different land uses with transportation. The program is voluntary and provides incentives that leverage partnerships and resources to help communities achieve their regional and local goals.
Parks grants and funding
The Council allocates state and regional funding to buy land and develop facilities for regional parks and trails. We also distribute state funding for the overall operation and maintenance of the parks system and for some parks programming. Our key partners are the 10 park agencies in the seven-county metro area that operate regional parks and trails.
Transportation grants and funding
Through our Transportation Advisory Board, we help fund locally initiated highway, road, transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and other transportation projects. We allocate about $200 million in federal transportation funds for these purposes every two years.
Wastewater and water quality grant programs
We allocate state funding to cities and townships to reduce the amount of groundwater and stormwater runoff that makes its way into the wastewater system. We provide grants to local governments for water conservation efforts and innovative stormwater management projects. And we support industries that undertake onsite wastewater treatment.
Comprehensive Plan Updates: Local Planning Assistance grants
The Council recognizes that updating local comprehensive plans requires significant time, knowledge, and resources from municipal partners. This responsibility falls most heavily on the region’s least populous cities and townships. The Council is offering direct planning assistance grants to aid some of the region’s smallest and most resource-limited communities with their Imagine 2050 Comprehensive Plan Updates.
Community Tree Planting Grants
The Council provides funding to communities to improve their tree canopies on public land. These grants, funded by the State of Minnesota, support projects planting trees for environmental benefits, removing and replacing ash trees, and increasing canopy diversity and resilience.