The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the County Council approve Supplemental Appropriation 26-8, a $180,000 request to implement a county hiring preference for displaced federal workers.

County staff said the appropriation, to come from general fund undesignated reserves, would temporarily expand the Office of Human Resources' capacity to carry out Bill 10-25E and Executive Regulation 24-25. Miss Casali, presenting the packet, said, "The requested amount for this is $180,000, and the source of funds is general fund undesignated reserves." She said the request was transmitted Oct. 9 and a public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4.

OHR staff described how the funds would be used. "The requested appropriation will temporarily increase the capacity of the Office of Human Resources to implement the provisions of bill 10-25 e and executive regulation 24-25," Miss Casali said. She told the committee that $125,000 of the appropriation would pay for two full-time contractors who will perform document verification, candidate contact, eligible-list creation and screening interviews, and that the remaining $55,000 would cover anticipated staff overtime.

Sam Freshour, chief of policy at the Office of Human Resources, told the committee the appropriation is intended to cover two fiscal years. "It is for 2 fiscal years. We have done some preliminary work, utilizing our existing funding in the Office of Human Resources, to make sure that those contractors were ready to begin at the effective date of this bill," Freshour said. Casali noted the appropriation is recurring until the program sunsets in July 2027, making the total projected cost $360,000, though the committee was considering only the initial $180,000.

Council member Friedson asked several procedural and fiscal questions about timing, contractor hours and the overtime line item, seeking clarity on why a full-year appropriation would be requested for a partial first year. Friedson pressed for limits on fund flexibility and a reporting plan: if overtime is not used, he asked that the funds revert to fund balance and that OHR report back to the committee with updated cost estimates before next year's budget. Freshour confirmed unused overtime funding would not be repurposed and said OHR expects the initial surge of applications to decline over time as processes stabilize.

Freshour described the operational workload driving the request: some recruitments have received more than 400 applications, producing eligible lists with 200'20 candidates that must be reviewed individually for minimum qualifications and eligibility categories such as veteran status, disability or displaced-federal-worker status. He said contractors will supplement recruiters so that service-level agreements with departments are maintained and staff do not burn out.

The committee asked staff to tighten appropriation language before the item goes to full council to reflect requests for restricted use and reporting. With that, the committee chair called for a show of hands to recommend the appropriation to the full council; the chair said everyone raised their hand in favor.

Next steps: the appropriation will advance to full County Council with committee-recommended language adjustments; a public hearing is set for Nov. 4. The committee was advised that the program began two weeks earlier and that OHR will return with updated operational estimates to inform the next budget cycle if needed.