Community Development

You have a right to live where you want to live. The Fair Housing Amendments Act specifically prohibits discrimination in any area of housing because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap/disability or familial status.

The Ohio – Landlord Bill, effective November 4, 1974 applies to most landlord-tenant relations and governs most rental agreements, whether written or oral.

We have informational brochures for Tenant-Landlord Laws. Please call the local contact for information.

If you feel you have been discriminated against, document the date of the alleged violation(s), write a summary of what happened and contact one of the following agencies:

Muskingum County:

Community Development Director: (740) 455-7193

Ohio Civil Rights Commission:

(800) 278-7101

HUD Fair Housing Complaints Hot Line:

(800) 424-8590

The Water and Sanitary Sewer Program provides grants to small, needy communities in rural areas of Ohio as they work to comply with Environmental Protection Agency mandates. The goal of the program is to create a safe and sanitary living environment for Ohio citizens, through the provision of safe and reliable drinking water and proper disposal of sanitary waste.

Eligibility: Non-entitlement counties, cities and villages. Counties must apply on behalf of townships and unincorporated areas. Cities and villages are limited to one grant award per program year. Counties are limited to two awards per program year.

For more information about this program, please contact Kyle Dunn.

Each year communities receive funds from the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Community Development program. This program was established with the passage by Congress of Title I of the Community Development Act of 1974. The CDBG program, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides funds that are used for a variety of activities which primarily benefit low and moderate income residents of the community.

All CDBG funded activities must meet at least one of three national objectives:

• primarily benefit low and moderate income persons
• eliminate or prevent slums and blight
• meet other urgent local community development needs

Muskingum County, Ohio, receives an allotment of funds annually. The County receives applications from local townships, villages and non-profit organizations beginning in January of each year. The Community Development Director reviews applications for compliance with CDBG requirements and presents applications to the Board of County Commissioners.

The Board of County Commissioners determines which projects will be applied for. The grant application is prepared by the Community Development Director and submitted to the State of Ohio before the deadline, which is typically in mid-June.

Projects that are eligible include (but are not limited to) water, sewer, handicap accessibility at public buildings, sidewalks, street improvements, parks, and community centers. For a complete list of eligible projects, please contact the Community Development Director.

Muskingum County’s CDBG program cannot be successful without the input and assistance from citizens and local elected officials. Townships, Villages and local non-profit groups may apply for CDBG funds. The links below will provide the information that you will need to apply for your project.

Keep in mind that your project must meet one of the three National Objectives:

• primarily benefit low and moderate income persons
• eliminate or prevent slums and blight
• meet other urgent local community development needs

It has been determined that the following groups of people are determined to be low-or-moderate income and projects that benefit these groups would meet the LMI National Objective without an income survey: abused children, elderly persons, battered spouses, homeless persons, severely disabled adults, illiterate adults, persons living with the disease AIDS, and migrant farm workers.

Notes on Income Surveys: The time span in which an income survey must be complete in order to be considered valid is 3 months. All households in the project area must be surveyed within a 3 month time frame or the survey cannot be used.