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City budget office to launch grants management software; warns of federal grant uncertainty
Summary
Julian Freund, director of the Office of Management, Budget and Grants, presented a plan to adopt eSIVIS grants software with a July go‑live and warned council members about recent federal directives and court actions that briefly interrupted grant drawdowns for some programs.
Julian Freund, director of the City of Hartford’s Office of Management, Budget and Grants (OMB&G), told council members the office will deploy new grants management software and increase technical assistance to HUD subrecipients while noting possible risks to future federal funding.
Why it matters: Hartford receives and administers federal formula grants (CDBG, ESG, HOPWA) and numerous other awards that fund services and positions across city departments and nonprofit partners. Changes in federal grant rules or appropriations can affect program continuity, staffing and city finances.
Freund said the department selected a grants software, eSIVIS (vendor UNA), installed it and integrated it with the city’s financial system (Munis). "We have installed the software and developed the interface with the Munis Financial System... and we are targeting July for a go live date," he said. The office is building the grants database and expects additional in‑house end‑user training before launch.
The grants office administers HUD formula grants — community development block grants (CDBG), emergency solutions grant (ESG) and housing opportunities for persons with AIDS (HOPWA) — and provides technical assistance and compliance oversight for subrecipients. Freund said the team had filled two key vacancies in FY2025, the grants senior project manager and a management analyst, and that the department is recruiting a community project coordinator (initially ARPA‑funded, to be moved to the general fund once ARPA funds are expended).
Freund summarized recent federal developments that briefly interrupted distributions to some recipients. He described a January 25 directive from the federal Office of Management and Budget that asked agencies to review awards for consistency with broader administration priorities; multiple court challenges and restraining orders followed and, according to Freund, drawdown portals reopened within days. He said some public‑health grant stop‑work notices from the state also have been blocked by court action and that the city has not yet experienced a sustained clawback of awards in hand.
"Those are the grants that were the subject of the memorandum that came out of the federal office of management and budget on January 25," Freund said, describing subsequent litigation and temporary pauses in funding. He urged vigilance: staff will continue monitoring federal guidance and work with legal counsel and grantors to protect awarded funds.
Cheryl Horowitz, director of Central Grants Administration, told council members the current consolidated planning year for HUD programs is more intensive than prior years and described timing constraints: HUD expects jurisdictions to submit a national estimate around mid‑May and, historically, HUD takes about 45 days to act on plans. Horowitz said the department has built a 3% contingency cut into this year’s planning because allocations remain uncertain and the region may receive a different share than in prior years.
Freund and council members discussed the department’s other priorities: seeking a new budget software solution for modeling and document production, exploring shared services and efficiencies with the Board of Education following the Blue Ribbon Commission report, and providing additional compliance support to subrecipients (the grants office has reallocated administrative HUD funds to provide technical assistance). Freund said projected grant spending figures in the budget book represent projected outflows (spend‑down of awards in hand plus projected spend rates), not guaranteed new awards.
Council questions prompted staff to describe monitoring and collection work for non‑tax revenues, the department’s staffing profile (15 positions, with three funded primarily through CDBG) and the plan to move the community project coordinator into the general fund after ARPA funds are exhausted.
Next steps: The grants plan for the coming year and HUD allocations will proceed through the public‑hearing and council‑approval process. OMB&G will target a July go‑live for eSIVIS, provide technical assistance to grantees, and continue tracking federal developments that could affect award timing or renewal.
