Board discusses creating remote grants specialist role to pursue federal water and sewer funds

Board members discussed the idea of creating a remote grant‑assistance position at the April 21 work session. Mayor Matthew Fitterer and staff framed the proposal as a way to widen the applicant pool for candidates with specialized federal grant experience — some of whom are currently available following federal workforce changes — and to increase the city’s capacity to pursue large water and sewer grant opportunities potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Staff said the city’s existing grant staff (a staff member on Missy Stahl’s CIP team) will continue routine grant work; the proposed remote hire would focus on major water and sewer grant opportunities tied to the large plant expansion program. Board members asked about whether the role would pursue state-level grants in addition to federal dollars; staff said the position could pursue both but would be primarily targeted at federal opportunities because those represent the larger funding buckets.

Board feedback: Vice Mayor Linville asked staff to prepare a short analysis explaining what additional grants the position would make the city eligible for and to estimate the likely return on investment. Alderman Davis asked that the role not be limited strictly to water projects, noting there are other grant opportunities across the city. Alderman Fuquay and others expressed support, citing prior advocacy for similar capacity.

Next steps: Staff indicated they will assemble a job- and budget-description and aim to include a request in upcoming budget discussions. Mayor Fitter asked staff to provide budget implications and targeted grant types prior to the capital budget discussion this week.

Speakers quoted in this article are recorded in the meeting transcript at the times cited in provenance.