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Council records $10 million in federal water grants; staff says funds reimburse prior work
Summary
The Edmond City Council approved a supplemental appropriation to record $10 million in federal grant revenue for water projects, $5 million each attributed to then-Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Stephanie Bice; city staff said the money reimburses previously spent project costs and was delayed by federal grant procedures.
The Edmond City Council voted unanimously June 9 to approve a supplemental appropriation that records $10 million in grant revenue for the city’s water resources program.
City officials told the council that the funds are not new spending but reimbursements for water projects already underway and that the money was secured over previous fiscal years via congressional project funding.
“$5,000,000 of these dollars actually came from the late senator Inhofe… and another $5,000,000 we were able to secure through our representative Stephanie Bice,” Casey Moore, director of management services, told the council. Moore said the federal grant process and combining multiple awards delayed final disbursement. Chris Knifing, director of water resources, described the grants as “community project grants through the EPA” and said the city had already matched and expended its portion while awaiting federal reimbursement: “we, 1, have spent the money and matched our portion, and then 2, that we're taking in the dollars as part of the grant revenue.”
Council members asked why the city must increase its budget to accept money it has already spent. Knifing and Moore said the accounting reflects federal grant bookkeeping and the council’s grant policy; Knifing noted the EPA required additional environmental permitting and other steps that extended the timeline. Moore and council members said the item illustrates broader budgeting and accounting challenges the city is reviewing as part of a planned budget reform effort.
A motion to approve the supplemental appropriation passed 5-0.
The council did not identify specific projects to which the $10 million will be applied during the meeting; staff described the money as intended for ongoing water plant work and other water projects.
