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Grants team flags statewide and federal funding uncertainty; county reviews sustainability of grant-funded positions
Summary
The grants administration team presented FY24–FY25 grant activity, reporting $62.3 million awarded in FY24 across 57 grants and noting 61 grant-funded personnel; staff warned of potential state funding cuts in FY26, program sustainability concerns and the fiscal risk of converting grant-funded positions to general‑fund obligations.
El Paso County’s grants administration team updated the commissioner's court on May 15 about grant activity, staffing funded by grants, and fiscal risks tied to potential reductions in state and federal funding.
Leticia (Letty) Vizcaino, grants manager, said that in the Oct. 1, 2023–Sept. 30, 2024 period the team submitted 75 grant applications and received 57 awards totaling roughly $62.3 million. She said FY24 grants supported 61 grant-funded positions (about $13.3 million in personnel costs across funds) and that, as of the presentation, 32 of those grant-funded positions were vacant (representing roughly $3 million in unfilled grant-funded payroll).
Vizcaino and the team highlighted that the county currently administers dozens of federal and state grants across many departments. They warned of a projected reduction in available state grant funding for FY26 — statewide funding that had been about $45 million in FY25 could fall to an estimated $24 million in FY26; El Paso County currently receives about $9.2 million in state grant awards (with roughly $5.0 million used to cover personnel), staff said. The grants team said it will monitor the state budget and update the court as that process proceeds.
Staff reviewed grants placed on a county "sustainability" plan (grants whose funding declines annually and which require county match or alternative funding). Vizcaino said the total county match exposure for certain sustained programs could reach roughly $2.2 million by the end of FY26, and she warned that conversions of grant-funded staff to general-fund obligations would create ongoing budgetary pressure if grants are not renewed.
The team identified several grants that have received notice they may not be funded in FY26 or FY27 and said departments are actively negotiating or seeking reconsideration with funders. Examples noted included a $169,350 grant (ending Aug. 2025), a Texas Veterans Commission award of about $300,000 (ending June 2025) and a federal Bureau of Justice Assistance award of about $460,000 (ending Aug. 2026). Vizcaino said the grants office is working with department leaders and Human Resources to prepare contingencies if awards are not renewed.
Court members asked for clearer return-on-investment criteria for pursuing grants and for ongoing quarterly monitoring of grant status, metrics and match obligations. County Administrator Betsy Keller and other court members supported the grants team’s plan to develop ROI criteria and to improve tracking so the court can assess fiscal risk before committing to match obligations.
What comes next: Grants administration will continue monitoring state and federal solicitations, develop draft ROI criteria for grant acceptance decisions, provide quarterly updates on grant risk and match exposure, and work with HR and budget staff to prepare contingency plans if major awards lapse.
