Counties scramble after state recalculation of veterans‑service grants; legislators press agency to extend amendment deadline

County veterans service offices told a legislative subcommittee they were blindsided when the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs recalculated the County Veterans Service (CVS) grant fund and asked counties to amend signed grant agreements.

At the hearing, Rochelle Breeden, chief financial officer for the department, said the agency projects fund balances a year in advance and that participation and utilization increased — from roughly 35 counties previously to about 70 counties — which changed the forecast and reduced the available fund balance. Breeden described the variation as the result of increased participation and higher execution of awarded dollars, and said the department is reviewing internal processes to prevent recurrence.

Director Brian Love of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency told lawmakers the department notified county partners as soon as staff discovered the shortfall and then held an information session and subsequent meetings with counties. Love said the agency is meeting directly with county veteran service directors and trying to help with recalculations and amendments.

County veterans director Amy Pocan, who represents Ingham and Clinton counties, said counties received allocation numbers in May that they understood as firm and that they did not receive notice the May numbers were projections. “We received allocation numbers back in May… the allocations had always been told that these are the actual numbers we would be receiving,” Pocan said. She told the subcommittee that counties had already executed contracts, scheduled vendors and planned programming on the basis of the allocations and that the recalculation left some counties facing cuts that eliminate outreach, emergency assistance and training reimbursements.

Committee members asked the department to extend the department‑set deadline to submit grant amendments. Director Love acknowledged the deadline for amendments was self‑imposed by the department and said staff would work with any county that missed the deadline on a case‑by‑case basis. Under pressure from lawmakers, agency representatives agreed to consider an extension and, after discussion on the record, said they would “work with each county who did not make the deadline” and that missed submissions would not face penalties for a short delay.

Lawmakers pressed for additional remedies. Representative Rogers urged the department to present options to make affected counties whole for FY 2025, saying counties had already budgeted and started spending based on the allocations. Several lawmakers described the short notice and the requirement to amend legally executed agreements mid‑year as an untenable administrative burden for counties. Tim Poxton of the American Legion and the Michigan Veterans Coalition testified that lost grant money had forced nonprofits and veterans‑service organizations to reduce staff and services.

Department officials and county representatives agreed to continue meetings and to work on clear communications and finance‑process reforms. The department said it had formed a finance work group and that the CFO and county‑grants teams would meet regularly until the process was corrected.

Ending: The department said it would meet with affected counties, consider extending the amendment deadline, and return to the discussion with proposals for process changes; several legislators asked the department to return with options to restore funding to counties that already began spending under the initial allocations.