Delaware County authority authorizes Next Generation grant ad while tabling 2025 budget

The Delaware County SIGRA Authority on Feb. 20 authorized its solicitor to place an advertisement for the Next Generation grant on or around April 1, 2025, but members tabled formal adoption of the 2025 budget until the March meeting after identifying discrepancies between two versions of budget documents.

Authority members debated whether to approve advertising before finalizing the budget. Treasurer Andrew Nelson and several members said the advertisement itself typically does not list the authority’s total budgeted amount, and that allocations can still be adjusted when the budget is finalized. Ronald “Ron” Evans, the authority secretary, and other members expressed concern about voting to advertise before everyone had reviewed the most recent budget numbers.

During the discussion, members said they intended to continue treating the annual budget as a guiding document rather than a final allocation that automatically obligates funds to specific recipients. Several members recommended that the authority or staff advertise a general grant opportunity while reserving the exact dollar allocations for a future vote or for internal guidance.

A motion to authorize the solicitor to place the advertisement on or about April 1, 2025, passed on a voice vote. The authority also voted to table the motion to approve the revised 2025 budget, after members said two circulated documents — a printed budget and an internal Google Sheets summary — contained differences that needed reconciliation. The chair said the budget and the internal summary will be reconsidered at the next meeting and that specific grant allocations could be confirmed at the time grants are approved.

Members discussed streamlining the grant application and agreement language and noted the authority has placed this grant on the same general schedule used the previous year. Solicitor Frank Bailey confirmed the advertisement authorization can be rescinded or modified at a later meeting if the authority decides to change course.

The authority also discussed how to present budget line items publicly: several members favored listing a single total for “special grants” on the public budget rather than publicly committing to precise line-item allocations that the authority expects to change during the year.

The authority’s vote to authorize the advertisement was taken after the budget motion was tabled; members said formal allocations to specific grant categories will be voted on as separate agenda items when ready.