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City staff warns of temporary federal grant freeze affecting several Covington projects; King County sheriff hiring bonus reinstated
Summary
City staff said a temporary federal freeze on certain grant funds could affect local programs including the minor home repair program and projects tied to federal dollars, and that a federal-court action has temporarily paused enforcement of that freeze.
City staff told the Covington City Council on Jan. 28 that a temporary federal freeze on some grant-disbursement programs could affect several local projects, and that a federal-court action had at least temporarily paused that freeze.
Regan, speaking to council, said work is under way to assess impacts. He named the minor home repair program as one program affected and said Jenkins Creek Park has some federal funds attached. Regan also listed several capital-improvement projects by number in the meeting notes but did not provide full descriptive names for each in the oral report; he cautioned that some projects may already be complete and therefore not affected by funding holds. Regan said a federal-court judge in the D.C. Circuit issued a temporary stop to the freeze until Monday, but to be cautious staff is monitoring the situation.
Regan also told the council that the King County Sheriff’s Office pilot hiring bonus had been reinstated as a $25,000 hiring bonus this month to aid recruiting.
Separately, the city’s police chief reported that a Spartan-format drone helped capture a suspect in a drive-by shooting incident that occurred outside Covington; the chief said the drone was a useful asset for safe apprehension.
Councilmembers asked staff to continue monitoring grant-status developments. No funding decisions or changes to project scopes were approved at the Jan. 28 meeting.
