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League outlines options after state reduces funding for Local Administrative Adviser program
Summary
Board members heard examples of projects LAAs completed and discussed next steps after the state reduced program funding; staff said they will return to the board in April with recommendations.
Board members received a progress report on the Local Administrative Adviser (LAA) program and an overview of the state funding change that will reduce the program’s budget for the coming fiscal year.
Why it matters: LAAs provide technical assistance and grant‑writing support to small cities and towns that lack full‑time staff; board members said the program had already helped secure federal grants and support disaster response in several jurisdictions.
League staff described the current funding structure: for the two most recent years the state allocated $1,580,000 to the program. Of that, $1,200,000 went to regional Associations of Governments (AOGs) to fund LAA positions and the League retained $380,000 for program administration. Staff said the governor’s proposed reduction would lower the total to $1,080,000 for the next fiscal year and that the League and officers were working through options to sustain assistance to small communities.
A regional representative described concrete LAA achievements in Rural Region 6: grant assistance that helped Wales secure a CIB water grant; disaster support in Fountain Green after flooding; general plan assistance for multiple small towns; and coordination across county and municipal leaders. One speaker said a single LAA had helped a small municipality win a federal infrastructure grant exceeding $4 million — an amount that, the speaker said, exceeded the total state investment in the program to date.
Staff told the board they would meet with AOG directors and the governor’s office to explore whether the League should continue to administer the program, phase it out at the League level and move administration to the AOGs, or pursue other options. The League plans to present recommended next steps to the board at the April meeting.
