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Grant-and-aid account set at $84 million; staff warn of canceled awards and legal injunctions
Summary
Budget staff presented the city's grant-and-aid operating account estimate for 2026 at about $84 million, including $25 million held unallocated as an authority buffer. Health department cancellations and pending injunctions create revenue risk; staff said ARPA awards previously accepted are not re-listed in the 2026 account.
Sarah Osborne, budget and fiscal policy manager, briefed the committee on the proposed 2026 grant-and-aid account, explaining what the authority covers and where the administration sees risk.
Osborne said the 2026 grant-and-aid estimate is about $84,000,000, including approximately $25,000,000 held as unallocated authority to allow for unexpected awards late in the year. She noted that some large awards that affected prior budgets are not counted again in 2026 because ARPA and other multi-year awards already accepted by the city are tracked separately and not re‑entered into the 2026 allowance.
Canceled awards and injunctions: The health department has seen some grants canceled and others constrained by litigation and injunctions; Osborne said the administration is not counting those canceled awards as revenue for 2026. Police and fire reported larger spending authority this year largely because carryover and previously accepted awards were being spent; Osborne said some departmental lists are larger this year because departments included awards already accepted or under contract.
Unallocated buffer and risk posture: Osborne told the committee the larger unallocated buffer in 2025 reflected a historically unusual series of late awards. Administration staff said they reduced that buffer in 2026 to more typical levels but still provided $25,000,000 as a prudent contingency for new or late federal and state grants. She and Budget Division staff said they were monitoring the federal grant environment and would report new risks and award cancellations to the council.
Ending: The committee asked for a detailed list of canceled grants, and staff agreed to provide the departments' expected grants schedule, a list of awards under injunction, and a short memo summarizing the relative exposure of departments to potential grant losses.
