Regional Planning Commission flags reimbursement delays and FY26 uncertainty

Tammy Ogden, chief operating officer of the Regional Planning Commission (RPC), and Tucker Springfield, RPC finance director, presented the agency’s FY26 budget and warned that reimbursement timing can create apparent deficits in multi-million-dollar pass-through funds. "This budget is prepared assuming consistent operations and funding levels as the federal budget process is still ongoing," Springfield said, noting overall FY26 revenues of about $81.2 million and expenditures just under $83 million in RPC’s presentation. RPC staff emphasized the agency’s fund balance is largely obligated to program activity and that RPC’s administrative rate was estimated at 5.2% of operating costs, which staff described as competitive for federal grant applications. Springfield described several funds that often run temporary deficits because RPC performs work first and seeks reimbursement later; he cited the indoor climate/ICERT fund and other workforce-development pass-throughs where reimbursement timing created temporary negative balances in the presentation. For specific programs, RPC budget slides show an operating fund of roughly $37 million, an early-childhood fund of about $20.1 million (serving preschoolers and infants/toddlers under federal/state streams) and an ICERT fund of roughly $16.7 million, among others. RPC staff said vacancies and workforce challenges complicate program delivery in new or expanded programs and that federal pass-throughs and state-directed changes can alter program structures and budgets. No county action was requested; RPC staff said they would continue to monitor federal funding developments and adjust program administration as needed.