Gilliam County Court members discussed on Jan. 7 the county’s lack of formal reporting or grant agreements for two funding streams that share funds with nearby cities, including economic enhancement money and SIP (community service fee) funds.

Presiding official (S1) said that the county transfers portions of economic enhancement revenue to the cities of Arlington, Condon and Lone Rock but currently lacks consistent written agreements or reporting on how those funds are spent. "We would request a proposal from each of those cities for what they're spending the money on," S1 said, proposing grant agreements or memoranda of understanding that include reporting requirements and expectations for cooperative communication.

Commissioners debated whether the transfers are technically "grants" or allocations under the county’s economic enhancement ordinance. Several commissioners agreed a lightweight proposal-and-report process would increase transparency without creating unnecessary administrative burden. Legal counsel (Jeremy Green, referenced in the meeting) will review and rework existing grant templates; commissioners also suggested asking recipient cities to present project proposals and annual reports so the court can document use of funds.

The court estimated nearly $500,000 in combined flows to the two cities under discussion and agreed to follow up with requests for proposals and revised agreement templates. No formal vote was taken; staff were directed to draft a process for how the county will request proposals and formalize agreements going forward.