Sedgwick County staff to add standing agenda item tracking expiring federal grants

A county staff member said Sedgwick County will add a standing agenda item to upcoming commission meetings to track federal grants that are ending or otherwise at risk and to present recommendations on whether and how to continue associated services.

The staff member told commissioners the office is already meeting weekly on Fridays at 9 a.m. to review grants that are ending and will bring recommendations to the board. “We are starting to hear of federal grants that are being either terminated early or we're being notified that they'll go away. We already have 3 on our radar,” the staff member said. “We're not gonna have a lot of time to think on it.”

The proposal would place a grants update near the end of the regular agenda, similar to how the commission has recently added recurring legislative and budget updates. Commissioners asked staff to include specific information in those reports, such as which positions are funded by each grant, services provided, and the number of clients affected.

Staff outlined possible short-term options for grants that lapse before alternative funding is secured: pause the service for the period without funding; authorize temporary use of general fund or contingency to bridge short gaps; or phase out services where no funding is available. The staff member said some grants may have funding gaps that cannot be backdated and cited an aging-related grant expected to have a one-month gap.

Commissioners voiced support for the idea. One commissioner said the standing update would be “very valuable” given the speed of recent notifications and the limited time for decision-making.

Staff said it will brief the full commission once recommendations are developed and will follow up with the five commissioners to identify what additional information they want included in the reports.