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Board approves federal funding guiding principles 4–1 after debate over executive orders
Summary
Washington County commissioners voted 4–1 to adopt federal funding guiding principles July 22 after a board member said the document failed to address conflicts between federal executive orders and state law. Commissioner Nafissa Fye cast the lone no vote and argued the guidance did not clearly exempt the county from executive orders she views as
The Washington County Board of Commissioners on July 22 approved a set of federal funding guiding principles intended to direct how the county negotiates and signs contracts that include federal attestation language. The measure passed 4–1 after a brief discussion in which Commissioner Nafissa Fye said the document did not address conflicts between federal executive orders and state or local law.
The item came before the board as a revised document (version 4) that staff said had been discussed in a work session earlier the same day. Chair Harrington presented the principles as a tool for implementing the board’s direction and asked for questions; none were raised that altered the final text. When asked, staff confirmed there were no substantive changes in the version distributed that day.
Commissioner Fye said she intended to vote no, telling the board she "would have really liked to see some verbiage ... around not adhering to laws that federal laws and state laws and executive orders ... contradict our own state and local laws." She said in part, "I will be voting no." Chair Harrington replied that the commissioner had had an opportunity to raise concerns during the work session earlier in the day.
After a motion and second, the board voted to adopt the federal funding guiding principles by a 4–1 margin. The board recorded no other changes to the document at the meeting; legal counsel and staff said the principles will guide staff and the county administrator in contract negotiations and implementation.
Ending: The measure was presented as an administrative framework and will be applied to future federal contract reviews as staff negotiate attestation language and compliance steps with state agencies and community partners. Commissioner Fye said she would continue to press for clearer language on conflicts between federal executive orders and state law.
