Los Gatos council stops routine bimonthly federal-funding reports, staff to alert council if problems arise

The Los Gatos Town Council voted Oct. 21 to end routine bimonthly reports on federal funding and grants while directing staff to notify the council promptly if any funding holdups occur.

Assistant Town Manager Katie Namura told the council the town has been awarded about $10 million in federal funding to date, with roughly $3 million still outstanding because many projects are still in progress. "We aren't seeing issues with being reimbursed for things we should be properly reimbursed for," she said, but staff recommended sunsetting the required two-month updates and instead providing timely ad hoc updates if a concern arises.

Council members pressed staff to flag specific local grants that would merit immediate notice. Council Member Badami highlighted the Highway 9 connector reimbursement (about $217,000) and roadside vegetation/wildfire grants (federal grants totaling about $1.467 million and a separate U.S. Forest Service allocation of about $750,000) as local priorities that should be tracked closely.

Vice Mayor Moore supported sunsetting the routine reports but asked for the option of an early-year check-in tied to budgeting and nonprofit support; other members preferred ad hoc notifications when a substantive problem emerges rather than regular "nothing changed" updates.

Motion and outcome: Council Member Risto moved to sunset the bimonthly requirement with the caveat that staff communicate any funding holdups to the council; the motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: Staff will continue to monitor federal agency processing and reimbursements and will notify council if delays or withholding of funds are identified. Staff said Highway 9 reimbursement remains in project closeout and the roadway reimbursement is expected; USDA-related paperwork for another grant has required additional follow-up.

Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 1139; motion and vote concluded SEG 1556.