The Town of Evans does not administer home assistance programs directly; however, town residents are eligible under Erie County's community development programs (rental rehabilitation, housing rehabilitation, first time home buyer, housing accessibility & mobile home repair), as Evans is an Erie County Consortium community. Southtowns Rural Preservation Company, a State-funded, non-profit community development corporation also serves residents in the Town of Evans and Village of Angola. Please visit the Community Development home page for Links to these programs and others.

The goal of the CDBG program is to develop programs to build stronger neighborhoods by providing decent housing, proper living areas, and economic opportunities for those with low and modest incomes. The Town of Evans has been very successful in securing grant funding under this program, particularly for improvements to the low-to-moderate income areas of town.

The Department of Community Development is funded primarily by grants from HUD:

• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
• HOME
• Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG)

The following municipalities comprise the CDBG Consortium: Cities of Lackawanna and Tonawanda; Towns of Alden, Aurora, Boston, Brant, Clarence, Colden, Collins, Concord, Eden, Elma, Evans, Grand Island, Holland, Lancaster, Marilla, Newstead, North Collins, Orchard Park, Sardinia, Wales and West Seneca; Villages of Akron, Alden, Angola, Depew, East Aurora, Farnham, Gowanda, Lancaster, North Collins, Orchard Park and Springville. The HOME Consortium includes the above communities, as well as the Town of Hamburg and the Villages of Blasdell and Hamburg.

Erie County usually holds a foreclosure auction twice each year. Auction and Foreclosure information can be found at http://www.erie.gov/ecrpts/auction.asp

Starting a business is a serious, and often costly, endeavor. Questions such as: legal structure, insurance, and federal and state tax structure, depends on the type of business venture you are considering. Fortunately, there are several agencies that offer free or low cost business assistance programs for new startups to learn the elements of business management. Please visit the Community Development home page for Links to these programs and others.

It is possible; however, the chances of a for-profit business receiving a grant are highly unlikely. These grants are usually for very specific purposes such as Workforce Training, Research & Development (R&D), and energy efficiency. For information on business assistance and incentives, please consult resources outlined in the Erie County Business Assistance Directory located in the Community Development document page.

Industrial Development Agencies (IDA) are public benefit corporations originally authorized by the Industrial Development Agency Act of 1969 and governed by the provisions of Article 18-A of the General Municipal Law. The Town of Evans does not have its own IDA; however, we are served the Erie County IDA. According to the authorizing statute, the purpose of an IDA is to promote, develop, encourage and assist in acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining or equipping certain facilities, thereby advancing the job opportunities, health, general prosperity and the economic welfare of the people of New York.