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Committee approves resolutions asking county board to seek reinstatement of two federal grants
Summary
A Sawyer County committee voted to forward two resolutions to the full county board requesting reinstatement of federal grant funding for the Building Bridges program and for a program tied to the Institute of Intergovernmental Research; members discussed budget gaps and the need for a dedicated grants resource.
A Sawyer County committee voted to send two resolutions to the full county board requesting reinstatement of federal grants that were cut in recent funding rounds. The resolutions asked that the county pursue restoration of funding for the Building Bridges program and for the program described in committee materials as related to the Institute of Intergovernmental Research reaching rural funding.
The committee approved the resolutions after brief discussion. The motion to approve the Building Bridges resolution was made by Mark Hellwig and seconded by Mister Spitzky; the committee carried the motion and will forward the resolution to the county board. The committee made a similar motion, also carried, to request reinstatement of the Institute of Intergovernmental Research-related funding and will send that resolution to the board as well.
Committee members and staff raised immediate concerns about how the loss of those grants would affect county programming and the county budget. Members said both grants had been intended as expansions or supplements rather than baseline funding; without restoration, the committee was told these expansions would not proceed. Committee members discussed short-term uses of existing opioid-related funds but agreed those pots would not sustain the proposed expansions over time.
Several members urged the county to consider a more proactive grants strategy. One committee member described a tribal grants office as a model — a centralized staff resource that tracks opportunities and helps departments apply — and suggested that even a single dedicated grants officer could increase the county’s ability to find discretionary and formula funding across departments.
The committee also accepted an editorial change requested by Judge Smith to one resolution: to spell out the acronym MOUD as “medications for opioid use disorder” where it appears. That clarification will be included when the resolutions are transmitted to the county board.
Committee members noted the county’s 2025 budget process is imminent and suggested raising the issue publicly and with the board during the budget cycle so that gaps created by the federal cuts do not disappear without consideration.
