Marcellus Mayor John Curtin heard back from Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle after writing her a letter of support for the federally funded, county administered Community Development Block Grant program.

“[Community Development] grants have been most instrumental in helping to improve the lives of our residents by upgrading and modernizing village infrastructure,” Curtin wrote in a letter dated March 10. “It is money that has been very well spent and includes … an investment by the residents themselves.”

In her response, dated March 14, Buerkle thanked Curtin for sharing his concerns on funding for the program, which awards matching grants to communities that are eligible based on income level.

“Every federal program is a candidate for scrutiny,” Buerkle wrote. “However, I understand that in these difficult economic times, the CDBG program has played a critical role for localities such as Marcellus. That is why I voted against cutting an additional $100 million from the CDBG program during the recent consideration of Continuing Resolution amendments.”