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Suamico grant coordinator reports $130,000 awarded over three years; board asks for contract cost review
Summary
Ben Rogers told the Suamico Village Board on Jan. 20 that the village secured about $130,000 in grant awards across three years and applied for roughly $3 million in requests; trustees asked staff to compile comparative costs ahead of a 2025 contract-renewal decision.
Ben Rogers, Suamico’s grant coordinator, told the Village Board on Jan. 20 that the village secured roughly $130,000 in grant awards over the past three years while submitting about $3,000,000 in requests.
Rogers said two grants were accepted in 2024: a Department of Natural Resources Knowles‑Nelson effort the village refiled (the board was later told Suamico missed one $480,000 DNR Knowles‑Nelson grant by a single point) and a state-local cybersecurity award of $25,661.38 from Wisconsin Emergency Management. "We submitted 40 grants…over $3,000,000 in requests," Rogers said, adding that the grants program has returned an estimated $2.54 for every $1 the village has spent on the position and related work.
Why it matters: the grants fund public safety equipment, parks, cybersecurity and infrastructure projects. Rogers listed pending applications and upcoming opportunities the village is pursuing, including a FEMA AFG application (peer review stage), a coastal management grant for Sunset Beach Lane, an interoperable radio application and a Firehouse Subs Foundation request for extrication equipment. He also said Suamico is eligible this year for municipal projects under the Packers Foundation cycle.
Board discussion focused on success rates, selection criteria and the cost of the current grant‑writing arrangement. Rogers said the largest portion of the $3 million in requests comprises highly competitive FEMA applications and that the village must compete with municipalities that receive priority based on census‑tract metrics. He described the process he uses to identify grant opportunities — scanning notices, consulting colleagues, and routing proposed projects to staff and to Alex for approval before submission — and said he has coordinated closely with staff on applications.
Trustees pressed for more detail on value for money after a treasurer’s report showed the grant‑writer contract cost recorded at $13,007.34 so far; staff clarified the full-year expense will be about $17,250 and that the cited $130,000 in awards covers a three‑year span. Rogers confirmed the original staffing agreement splits his time: 50% paid by the school district (he is technically a district employee), 30% by the Village of Howard and 20% by Suamico; in practice Rogers said he has sometimes exceeded those hours for Suamico work.
A board member asked whether a third‑party firm might deliver a higher win rate; staff said comparing rates is possible but results are not guaranteed and that a true apples‑to‑apples comparison would require another firm to apply for the same grants. Trustees asked staff to compile cost and vendor-rate information ahead of the contract-renewal conversation later in 2025.
No formal action was taken on the contract at the meeting. The board approved the consent agenda later in the same session, which included the treasurer’s report that contained the contract cost figures.
