Budget director outlines outside-agency grant reforms; commissioners ask staff to identify recurring recipients

Jeff Frank, the county’s director of budget and finance, presented an overview of the proposed 2025 outside-agency grant program and described changes implemented in the current cycle intended to professionalize grant-making, improve transparency and require stronger reporting by recipients.

Frank told commissioners that the county awarded $673,159 in outside-agency grants this year across 48 awards and grouped investments into five categories: community development (about $324,000), education (about $81,000), arts and culture (about $69,000), and veteran support (about $50,000). He described individual examples — advocacy services for children in foster care, home modifications for low-income homeowners, arts-access projects and veteran services — to illustrate the program's community reach.

For the upcoming cycle, Frank proposed codifying application and reporting procedures: broader public outreach, conflict-of-interest checks, a prohibition on awards exceeding requests, a requirement to spend funds within the grant year unless an extension is approved, return of unused funds above a fixed threshold, and enhanced financial reporting from grantees. He also said staff plan to produce an annual impact report describing grantee projects and outcomes.

Commissioner discussion focused on two topics: (1) which grants are de facto recurring commitments that could be folded into the county budget as permanent line items, and (2) outreach to underrepresented organizations. One commissioner suggested staff prepare a six-year history of recipients to identify organizations that consistently receive awards and might be moved into the operating budget; staff agreed to compile that history and present recommendations. Frank said the county would broaden outreach beyond emailing prior-year participants by using social media and targeted lists of local nonprofits.

During the same agenda section commissioners approved the county’s 2025 National Association of Counties membership dues (recorded in the minutes as $997) and asked staff to circulate NACo materials summarizing federal initiatives. The commission also discussed earmarking recurring grants (for example, the chamber and certain social-service providers) as budgeted line items to free competitive grant funds for smaller or one-time projects.

Why it matters: The outside-agency grant program directs county funds to nonprofits that deliver services the county does not directly provide. Codifying outreach and reporting standards and identifying recurring grantees as line items are administrative changes intended to improve accountability and free competitive dollars for smaller or new organizations.

Next steps: Staff will compile a multi-year history of award recipients, propose candidates for line-item funding, continue work on outreach plans and include the recommended reporting templates in the next grant cycle.