Bangor City Finance Committee members on Oct. 20 were briefed on federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) funding for the final year of a five-year grant and were told the resolve to accept and appropriate funds that will go to City Council next week will include additional pass-through food dollars.

"This is WIC funding for year 5 of a 5 year grant. So we just received the allocation letter about a week ago," staff member Jen Gunterman said. "We received word today that the resolve that will go to city council next week will actually have an additional about $2,100,000 on it, and those are pass through funds for WIC food." Gunterman said the state provides funds to operate the local program and also passes through separate funds that pay for WIC food.

The resolve as drafted for the committee meeting listed $832,331 for the program. After discussion, staff stated the full amount that will appear on the resolve before the City Council is $3,045,785. A committee member briefly questioned whether the larger figure included both program operations and pass-through food dollars; staff confirmed it does.

A motion to amend the committee's paperwork to reflect the updated amount was made and seconded at the meeting. The transcript records the amendment motion and second, and that staff will present the resolve to the City Council next week; the transcript does not record a roll-call vote on the amendment or a final committee tally on the amended text.

Councilor Dean asked about timing and next steps; staff said the WIC grant is issued in five-year blocks and that the city expects a new request for proposals in 2026. "So this was what we expected as part of. Great question," Gunterman said in response to timing questions.

No formal budget ordinance or contract numbers were cited in the committee discussion recorded in the transcript. The committee directed staff to include the additional pass-through funds on the resolve to be considered by the full City Council.

The City Council will review the resolve next week; final appropriation and any formal vote will be recorded in council minutes.