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McLean County advisory group recommends $52,000 budget amendment to hire grants program manager
Summary
The county's Behavioral Health Coordinating Council recommended a budget amendment of $52,000 to fund a grants program manager from roughly July through the end of 2025, including salary, fringe, workstation and minor office build-out. The advisory group's recommendation will go to the County Board Executive Committee; the motion carried in the
McLean County's Behavioral Health Coordinating Council voted to recommend a $52,000 budget amendment to fund a grants program manager position for the remainder of 2025. The recommendation covers salary and fringe for a July start through Dec. 31, workstation costs and a small office modification, staff said.
The grants program manager role would author and manage RFPs and notices of funding opportunities, handle contract creation and monitoring, build local evaluator capacity and work with grantees to develop outcomes aligned with the Mental Health Action Plan. “An investment in a person who would be focused on getting these community projects out is a really valuable investment to make sure we are getting funds out efficiently, but also having a very close eye on quality and outcomes,” Merida, department head, said.
Advisory members debated tradeoffs. Some members supported hiring to increase the county’s capacity to issue and monitor grants and to get more dollars into the community. Others cautioned that a new permanent staff position would create legacy costs — the $52,000 near-term request represents the first-year partial-year cost of what would be a recurring personnel cost — and asked whether contracting or temporary support had been fully considered.
Merida said the position would not only administer emergent grants but would also create RFPs driven by BHCC priorities, manage evaluations and support grantee capacity-building. She described current workload: four active contracts, several planned RFPs and a total of roughly seven to nine contracts the new hire would manage once active projects move forward.
After discussion, the advisory group moved and approved a recommendation to the County Board to amend the budget by $52,000. The motion carried with three affirmative votes; the meeting record did not capture the mover’s full name or a formal recorded roll-call list of votes. Advisory members were reminded this body is advisory; the recommendation now proceeds to the County Board Executive Committee for approval.
What to expect: If the Executive Committee approves the amendment, county staff said they would begin recruitment, with the earliest likely start in July. Staff also committed to return with clearer documentation on department staffing, role responsibilities and how the grants manager would interact with existing programs and external consultants (for example, Dr. Beck on evaluation and outcomes monitoring).
