Garrett County commissioners adopt proclamation urging uninterrupted funding for Community Action programs
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Summary
The Garrett County Board of Commissioners read and recorded a proclamation supporting continuous federal funding for the Garrett County Community Action Committee, citing programs that serve roughly a quarter of the county and describing recent funding uncertainty that nearly caused layoffs.
Garrett County commissioners on Feb. 3 read a proclamation declaring the board’s support for uninterrupted funding of programs run by the Garrett County Community Action Committee, Incorporated.
The proclamation, read into the minutes by a commissioner, listed county services supported by Community Action including Head Start, Section 8 housing vouchers, meals on wheels, rental assistance, homeless services, utility assistance, emergency food and shelter, weatherization, first-time homebuyer assistance, transit, independent living, senior ombudsman services, congregate senior meals and senior home modification programs.
The proclamation said those programs bring $10,674,380 in federally funded assistance to Garrett County and asserted that more than 25% of the county’s roughly 28,000 residents benefit directly from the services. It directed that the signed proclamation be sent to the county’s state and federal legislative delegations. A representative of the Community Action agency accepted the document for the agency’s records.
Why it matters: County officials and Community Action leaders said interruptions in federal funding would quickly affect services for low-income residents and could force staffing cuts. At the meeting, agency leaders described a recent episode in which federal funding uncertainty briefly threatened large Head Start layoffs before funding for that program was restored.
Chris Mullitt, identified in the meeting as with Community Action, described the moment last week when the agency faced the prospect of laying off 80 Head Start employees and displacing about 200 children and families. "Last Tuesday was maybe the worst day of my life professionally," Mullitt said. He said public and political pressure restored funding for Head Start but left other program funding still uncertain.
Regina Gerhardt, identified as the agency’s vice president of operations, joined Mullitt in describing the operational risks when federal flows stop and thanked the commissioners for their support during the brief funding crisis.
Commissioners said they would forward the proclamation to state and federal lawmakers to underline local concerns. The proclamation text recorded at the meeting states the board "declares its full support for uninterrupted funding for the programs conducted by the Garrett County Community Action Committee, Incorporated" and notes it was made Feb. 3, 2025.
Ending: County staff said the proclamation will be added to the meeting record and forwarded to the county’s legislative delegations. Community Action leaders said they will continue outreach to state and national partners to protect program funding.
