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DuPage leaders briefed on OMB memo halting federal disbursements; county prepares payroll and program contingency plans
Summary
DuPage County staff briefed the County Board on Jan. 28 about a federal Office of Management and Budget directive that halted federal disbursements pending further guidance and described steps to protect payroll and essential programs.
DuPage County staff briefed the County Board on Jan. 28 about a federal Office of Management and Budget directive that, as communicated to county staff, halted federal disbursements pending further direction from the federal government.
Nick (county staff) told the board the OMB memo directed agencies to stop disbursements starting at 5 p.m. on the day the memo issued; he described a rapidly changing situation and recommended contingency planning. He said the county’s most immediately affected departments are the Department of Community Services, WorkNet DuPage, and the Regional Office of Education, and that staff are discussing whether temporary emergency payments will be needed to cover payroll while federal reimbursements are suspended.
Mary Keating (Community Services) told the board her department operates primarily on federal reimbursements and that “our payroll of around $300,000 to $350,000 every two weeks” is drawn down and reimbursed from state and federal sources. Lisa (WorkNet DuPage) said WorkNet is “basically a 100% federally funded” program; she said WorkNet’s biweekly payroll is approximately $90,000–$100,000 and that the program issues training vouchers for participants that could be paused if guidance does not arrive.
Janelle Chadwick, Executive Director of the DuPage Care Center, said Medicaid reimbursement is a major revenue source for the county’s long‑term care operations and that a federal pause could have “a big effect” if Medicaid draws are interrupted; she reported the federal/state reimbursement structure for the center includes a federal portion of approximately $70 per Medicaid recipient per day.
County staff outlined a set of short‑term actions: (1) finance and the county executive will work with affected departments to use departmental reserves where available; (2) the county will consider using contingency funds or an emergency procurement to bridge payroll if reimbursements remain suspended; and (3) programmatic payments distributed to nonprofits and subrecipients may be paused, with priority retained for legally mandated services such as the jail, public safety and statutorily required programs. The county said it will notify the board before taking emergency actions and will seek ratification at the next meeting.
Why it matters: county social‑service operations and workforce programs rely heavily on federal pass‑through funds and reimbursement grants. A pause in federal disbursements can create immediate cash‑flow pressure on payroll and on funding that the county passes through to nonprofits and municipalities.
Next steps: county staff said they will continue to monitor guidance from federal and state agencies, coordinate with the chair for any emergency actions to cover payroll, and update the board as the situation evolves.
